Downwell Countertop TATE cabinet build

Completed in 2020. This cabinet was a fun build that makes the most out of Downwell's hyper limited input mechanics. The body is one continuous cut of maple ply bent with a kerf cut to create a unique curved top.

For those who haven't played the game, Downwell uses only 3 buttons, Left, Right and Shoot (which doubles as a jump when grounded.) Another unique feature of the game is that it's possible to play in "taté" mode, which uses a vertical monitor.

When designing the interface, I went with a big glowing red button, which is nice and satisfying to smack! The joystick is a Sanwa cherry topped joystick. It comes stock with a square gate and 4 switches to achieve 8 directions. I removed two of the switches and modified the gate to allow movement in just 2 directions. Left and right. This is the sort of extra effort I think is critical, if not the whole point of, designing and building a dedicated cabinet.

The game is running on a Latte Panda, which is like a Raspberry Pi that can run Windows. I was honestly pretty surprised that Downwell didn't have a native Linux port, and trying to run it through an emulator on a Pi was just not performing up to snuff. The Panda was twice the price of a Pi but, hey. It works.

We brought it out a few times and people had a lot of fun with it. Thanks for taking a look!