Handheld gaming devices often woo gamers with vibrant high-refresh-rate screens, providing a truly immersive gaming experience. But the newest player on the scene, the ‘Ink Console,’ is flipping the script as it prepares for its debut on Crowd Supply. Rather than focusing on high FPS or dazzling OLED displays, this console showcases a 7.5-inch e-ink screen with a resolution of 800 x 480. Drawn from the nostalgia of classic games and choose-your-own-adventure books, the creators of Ink Console are striving to offer a unique kind of immersion.
At heart, the Ink Console is an e-reader married with a joystick, simplifying navigation through gamebooks. It also boasts a user-friendly development kit, enabling players to craft their own stories to enjoy or share with others. Furthermore, it has a built-in SD card reader for adding more gamebooks as they become available, enhancing the device’s utility.
Alongside its game-oriented features, it includes a system for inventory management embedded within its operating system. This allows players to gather and organize items needed for their in-game adventures. There’s even a health status indicator, making it an ideal platform for text-based role-playing games.
The developers behind the Ink Console drew inspiration from text-adventure treasures of the ’80s and ’90s, such as Zork I and the Goosebumps series. These stories let readers shape their narrative based on choices made along the way. By bringing these classics into a digital, interactive format, they hope not only to rekindle a love for reading among younger audiences but also to make these stories more accessible.
The console’s assortment of digital features, like its health and inventory systems, aims to draw readers further into the narrative. By doing so, they hope to appeal to a broad audience, engaging both young readers and seasoned ones.
While the Ink Console won’t be locking horns with cutting-edge handheld devices, such as the Lenovo Legion Go S, or versatile tablets like the iPad, it carves out its niche by focusing solely on adventure reading without the distraction of notifications or apps. It stands out as an excellent choice for those who cherish reading and text-based adventures, provided it lands at a reasonable price.
