The mechanical keyboard that works on Game Boy cartridge cases

Enlarge / TypeBoy game cartridges from FlatFootFox with TypePaks installed. LeStuChef/Reddit

There's nothing quite like that burst of anticipation when you first slip a game cartridge into its slot. Who would have thought that someone would bring this nostalgic, unique tactile experience to a wireless mechanical keyboard?

Meet FlatFootFox's TypeBoy. With a name ostensibly referencing the Game Boy, the Wireless Split Mechanical Keyboard has more in common with the Game Boy Advance than its purple and gray color scheme.

Two TypePaks. PlatFootFox

The TypePak screen can give an overview of the battery life. PlatFootFox

You will want to bring your soldering skills to this project. PlatFootFox

I've seen mechanical keyboards that pay homage to classic Nintendo consoles and classic console games. I've even seen keyboards that look like Nintendo consoles. But this is the first time I've seen a mechanical keyboard that requiresa Nintendo game cartridge shelland slot to work.< /p>

For no obvious reason, the TypeBoy version detailed on the FlatFootFox blog and via Reddit recently embedded its brains into a third-party Game Boy Advance game cartridge shell, which is inserted into a Game Boy cartridge slot built into the keyboard. In this case, there are two cartridges, since it is a split keyboard

This wacky idea was inspired by building an open-source cartridge reader and realizing that a keyboard's microcontroller could probably fit inside a Game Boy Advance cartridge. That's all it takes to send the ever-inquisitive mind of a tinkerer to the lab.

FlatFootFox explained to Ars Technica why they didn't try the project with another type of game cartridge:

I could have used a full size Game Boy cartridge and included a slightly larger screen, but the [Game Boy Advance] cartridge is as small as it gets and still has room for all the parts I needed . There are also several online vendors selling replacement Game Boy cartridges, so I didn't need to pick up a cartridge from, say, an existing Game Gear cartridge.

The game cartridge shell contains the custom controller and the Bluetooth keyboard PCB. FlatFootFox calls it a TypePak, which resembles Game Boy's Game Pak.

"Simply insert the TypePak into a keyboard with a compatible Game Boy cartridge slot, flip the power switch, and you have a working wireless keyboard. (After flashing the appropriate firmware and keyboard, of course sure)", the blog says.

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