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RhythKey Pro

中文文档

Introduction

This is a DIY mini portable rhythm game controller.
It controls rhythm games by simulating an Xbox 360 controller based on an ATmega32U4 Arduino module.

Supported rhythm game list:

  • ONGEKI
    Even supports RGB lighting effects synced with in-game events
  • SOUND VOLTEX
  • DJMAX RESPECT V
  • osu!mania
  • In Falsus Demo

There are also some untested games that should theoretically work, such as other modes of osu!, Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA, etc.

Roadmap

Currently, the project is complete enough for normal gameplay, but there is still room for improvement:

  • Adjust the thickness of the switch clip part of the top case model
  • Write a software wrapper to get real-time lighting information from ONGEKI's lighting effect pipe, and encode it into vibration data streams to push to the controller's RGB LEDs for real-time changes
  • Fine-tune the precision of the knob and eliminate the need for Smooth Axis settings
  • Redraw the EDA project files to split the PCB into two parts, bypassing JLCPCB's free prototyping size limit and reducing the board production cost

No ETA is provided; I don't know how long these improvements will take. Of course, PRs are warmly welcomed.

Assembly Guide

Please refer to the Manual for detailed steps.

Why Not ESP32?

The core function of this project is to simulate an Xbox 360 controller (an XInput device), which requires the main control chip to have native USB Device capability and the ability to customize device descriptors.

ATmega32U4 has a hardware-level USB controller. With the ArduinoXInput library, it can directly enumerate the device as an XInput controller, plug-and-play and driver-free on Windows. This is the decisive reason for choosing it for this project.

As for the ESP32 series:

  • ESP32-C3: Only has a USB Serial/JTAG interface and does not support USB Device mode. It can only simulate a controller via Bluetooth, and honestly, playing rhythm games with a Bluetooth controller is just having too much free time on your hands.
  • ESP32-S2 / S3: Supports USB OTG and theoretically can implement XInput via TinyUSB, but requires writing custom USB descriptors and protocol stack adaptation. The development complexity is far higher than the mature solution of ATmega32U4.

In terms of performance, the workload of this project (button matrix scanning, encoder reading, ADC sampling, WS2812 driving, XInput reporting) is more than enough for a 16MHz AVR, with no performance bottlenecks.

Considering compatibility, development costs, and ecosystem maturity comprehensively, ATmega32U4 is the optimal choice for USB game controller projects.

If you just can't stand Arduino, you are welcome to fork the project and change it yourself.

Acknowledgements / Project Origins

This project is a complete refactor and upgrade of Rhythkey_V1.
We express our deep respect and gratitude to the original author TheSiriusS233 for their excellent work.
If you are interested in the original version, please visit its official repository.

License

This project uses a hybrid licensing model:

In short, you are welcome to learn from, modify, and share this project for non-commercial purposes. However, using the hardware design of this project directly for any commercial production or sales is strictly prohibited.
Also, please do not use this project to manufacture units for others for profit (commission-based), as this also violates our terms.

External Links