Figment e-ink gaming handheld turns books into interactive adventures
E-ink screens are trying to look like real paper, and modern panels show excellent results as they are easy to read in direct sunlight and have a very low power consumption. However, their low refresh rate also means that these displays are usually not suitable for gaming handhelds.
Nonetheless, Figment will put an e-ink screen into its new gaming handheld, which is primarily intended for text-based games or so-called "Choose Your Own Adventure" books. To be more precise, Figment puts a 7.5-inch e-ink display into a chassis that’s roughly the size of an Asus ROG Ally. The device has a D-pad with four buttons on the left side and three action buttons on the right side.
The current prototype is based on a 3D-printed housing and an ESP32 processor, which isn't particularly powerful. However, since the gaming handheld only displays images and text, Figment doesn't need a lot of performance. The downside of the slow processor is that the handheld requires an active internet connection for some features. This primarily includes the option to generate "Choose Your Own Adventure" games based on existing e-books using artificial intelligence.
That said, Figment can also display regular books without an internet connection. The project is currently under development and still in an early stage, so it's unclear whether the Figment handheld will ever hit the market. Anyone interested in Figment can register their email address in order to receive updates on the progress of this intriguing project.
Source(s)
Figment, via Liliputing
