A Fightstick, also known as an Arcade stick, is a video game controller, designed for fighting games such as Street Fighter or Tekken. It typically features a joystick alongside 6 or more buttons for attacks.
I decided to take the challenge of designing and building my own fight stick, dubbed the Fightstick project. However, I wanted to focus on creating a portable, minimalist design, so I spent much of the planning process figuring out ways to reduce the size of the fightstick. Notable design choices include:
- Using low-profile mechanical keyboard switches (Kailh Chocs) instead of standard Arcade-style buttons, which are typically thicker
- Using mechanical keyboard switches are best used on a PCB, so I had to design a custom keyboard PCB to mount the switches to
- Laser cutting a custom acrylic case to hold all the components at the desired dimensions
- Using four buttons instead of a joystick, since a joystick sticks upwards out of the case, making it more difficult to carry
- Soldering as many connections as possible, instead of using pin and header connections which take up more space
Typical Arcade Stick (Pictured: Mayflash F500)
Project files (including extra media) can be found here.
Completed Functional Fightstick (Missing extra mechanical switches & square keycaps, but otherwise totally functional)
PCB pre-soldering inside the Acrylic case
Soldered PCB with keyboard switches (worked on this at Hack the North!)
Tools and parts used
Mistakes and Lessons
In the process of doing this project, I have made several errors and learned much about electrical and product design. Errors include:
- Printing the PCB with the wrong footprint
- My first version of the keyboard PCB used the Cherry MX switch footprints, which were different than the Kailh choc switches I had. Thus I had to redesign and reorder the PCB with the correct Kailh footprints
- I learned that I need to do a better job of double and triple checking compatibility before I commit to a design
- Deciding a USB receptacle was faulty, when in reality the USB-C cable protocol was causing issues
- Upon soldering all my connections, I realized that plugging in my fightstick into my computer via USB A-C cable did not work at all. I labeled it as due to a faulty USB receptacle, and sought a replacement.
- However, upon replacing the USB receptacle, the issue still persisted, which led me to dig a little deeper. I eventually realized that the USB-C signal protocol is much more complex compared to USB 2.0, and it was likely causing my fightstick to not work.
- Upon resoldering all the appropriate connections to a new board, using a USB A-A cable resolved the issue.
- I learned that, whenever possible, keeping supplies and equipment used on my project will reduce the risk of random issues or unknown details from affecting its function. If I was using a USB A-A cable from the start, I would have removed another potential point of failure from the project, as I can be sure the USB A-A cable behaves like a wire between my PC and the fightstick.
Early prototype drawings
PCB Schematic on KiCAD