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Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →A maker has built a work-in-progress text-adventure prototype around a Seeed XIAO ESP32-C3, an e-paper display and Google’s Gemini API. The board connects over Wi-Fi to get a story passage and choices in JSON; a rotary encoder lets the player move through the text and select what happens next. The enclosure is not finished, and the project post does not identify several key hardware details, including the exact display model and battery runtime.
How the Gemini text adventure works
The XIAO ESP32-C3 acts as a Wi-Fi-connected game client rather than generating the story locally. Gemini supplies each story segment and its available choices as JSON. The device shows the passage on e-paper, and the player uses a rotary encoder to scroll and select a choice. That selection is sent back to Gemini to request the next segment.
The project creator, posting as u/Mammoth-Grade-7629, describes the hardware as done but says the case has not been made. The creator says the Gerbers, schematics and code are available in the project thread. That makes this a prototype, not a finished packaged device; the thread alone does not establish that the firmware builds or that the linked Gemini configuration remains current.
What is known about the hardware
Controller and controls
The named controller is the Seeed XIAO ESP32-C3. A rotary encoder provides the local scrolling and choice-selection input. The post does not give the encoder’s make or model, so it does not support a specific parts recommendation or comparison of feel and layout.
#1 Best Overall
- 【ESP32-C3 RISC-V Development Board】 Built with the ESP32-C3 32-bit RISC-V chip (160MHz), featuring Arduino/CircuitPython support and multiple development ports. Ideal for IoT and edge AI projects.
- 【Outstanding RF & Long-Range Connectivity】 Equipped with U.FL antenna for stable Wi-Fi/BLE5.0 communication over 100m. Complete RF performance ensures reliable IoT connectivity.
- 【Ultra-Low Power & Battery-Friendly】 4 working modes, including deep sleep at 44μA. Onboard battery charge IC supports Li-ion/LiPo, perfect for wearables and wireless IoT.
- 【Thumb-Sized & Production-Ready】 Compact 21x17.5mm design with SMD/Breadboard-friendly layout. Single-sided component mounting ensures sleek integration into wearables.
- 【Rich I/O & Edge Computing】 11 digital I/O (PWM) + 4 analog I/O (ADC), plus UART/IIC/SPI/IIS ports. Optimized for TinyML and edge AI applications.
E-paper display
The exact panel size, resolution and driver board used in the prototype are not identified. Seeed’s documentation for its XIAO e-paper expansion board lists compatibility options including 1.54-inch 200×200, 2.13-inch 212×104 and 2.9-inch 128×296 displays. Those are documented options, not confirmation of which screen this build uses or how it is wired. Seeed also provides SPI pin mappings and warns that 1.54-inch and 2.9-inch panels may flicker with dynamic effects. The project’s use of e-paper establishes it as a text display, not as evidence of smooth animation or a particular refresh experience. See Seeed’s e-paper expansion-board guide for compatibility and setup details.
Battery and enclosure
The project post reports no battery arrangement, battery-life test or runtime. It also says the case is unfinished. As a result, the post does not establish how portable the completed build will be or how long it can run between charges.
Rank #2
- Flexible MCU Board: Incorporate the ESP32-C3 32-bit RISC-V chip, operating up to 160 MHz, mounted multiple development ports, supported by Arduino / CircuitPython
- Outstanding RF performance: Implement complete Wi-Fi functions and Bluetooth Low Energy, while supporting communication over 100m with a U.FL antenna
- Elaborate Power Design: Provide 4 working modes as low as 44 μA in deep sleep mode, while supporting lithium battery charge management
- Thumb-sized Design: 21 x 17.5mm, Seeed Studio XIAO series classic form factor and elegant productization of single-sided components mounting, suitable for wearable devices
- Perfect for Production: Breadboard-friendly & SMD design, no components on the back
What to check before building a similar device
The project offers a useful interaction model, but anyone adapting it will need to choose and verify parts and software that the post leaves unspecified:
- Match the display to the board and driver. Check the panel, expansion board, SPI pin mapping and library setup against Seeed’s documentation; do not assume the project used one of the listed panels.
- Plan the screen layout around the display. Panel dimensions and resolution affect how much passage text and how many choices can fit on screen. The listed compatible sizes are options, not tested variants of this game.
- Choose the encoder and physical layout. The project confirms rotary-encoder input but does not identify its component or mounting arrangement.
- Verify the Gemini integration. The post does not name a model, endpoint, response time, reliability level or API cost. Consult Google’s current Gemini API getting-started documentation when checking model and API requirements; the project post does not establish that its present configuration uses a currently supported model or endpoint.
- Measure runtime on the actual build. No battery-life result is reported, so runtime needs to be measured with the selected battery, display behavior and Wi-Fi/API usage rather than inferred from the post.
What the project does—and does not—show
The notable idea is the division of work: a small Wi-Fi microcontroller handles input and display, while Gemini generates the branching story. The player interacts through a physical control instead of a conventional phone or computer interface. The available description is enough to explain that concept, but not to establish performance, cost, battery life, exact parts beyond the named controller, or a ready-to-build bill of materials.
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Best Value
- Entering download mode: Press and hold the BOOT button of ESP32C3, then press the RESET button, release the RESET button, and then release the BOOT button, at this time, ESP32C3 will enter the download mode. (You need to re-enter the download mode every time you connect, sometimes you press it once, the port is unstable and will disconnect, you can judge it by the port recognition sound)
Rank #4
- The ESP32-C3 SuperMini Development Board is an ultra-compact IoT board based on the ESP32-C3 Wi-Fi/Bluetooth dual-mode chip. With its small form factor, high-performance wireless connectivity, and versatile interface options, this board provides an ideal solution for developers creating space-constrained IoT applications
- Ultra-Compact Design:Single-sided surface mount design, making it easy to integrate into space-limited embedded devices; Lightweight and portable, suitable for a wide range of compact IoT projects.
- Powerful Core Performance:Equipped with a 32-bit RISC-V CPU clocked at up to 160 MHz, supporting floating-point operations (FPU), Offers 400 KB SRAM and external QSPI flash expansion, enabling multitasking capabilities.
- Excellent Wireless Communication:Supports Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11 b/g/n) for stable and fast wireless connectivity; Features Bluetooth 5.0 with BLE (Low Energy) and long-range mode, allowing flexible device interconnection.
- Rich Interfaces and Expansion Options: Provides 11 GPIO pins supporting digital I/O and PWM output.Includes 4 ADC pins for analog input, suitable for connecting sensors.Supports UART, I2C, and SPI protocols for versatile communication and expansion.
Rank #3
- If external power supply is required, just connect the + level of the external power supply to the position of 5V, GND connects to the negative terminal. (Support 3.3 ~ 6V power supply). Remember that when connecting the external power supply, you cannot access USB, USB and external power supply can only choose one.
- Powerful CPU: ESP32-C3, 32-bit RISC-V single-core processor, running at up to 160 MHz； The ESP32-C3 is a 32-bit RISC-V CPU containing a FPU (Floating Point Unit) for 32-bit single-precision arithmetic with powerful computational capabilities.
- AITRIP the ESP32C3SuperMini is positioned as a high-performance, low-power, cost-effective iot mini development board for low-power iot applications and wireless wearable applications.
- It is equipped with a rich set of interfaces, with 11 digital I/Os that can be used as PWM pins and 4 analogue I/Os that can be used as ADC pins, and it supports four serial interfaces, including UART, I2C and SPI. There is also a small reset button and a bootloader mode button on the board.
- Package: 2PCS ESP32-C3 Development Board +2PCS Expansion board
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