{"id":928,"date":"2021-02-09T00:00:27","date_gmt":"2021-02-09T00:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bullyrooks.com\/?p=928"},"modified":"2021-02-13T16:13:53","modified_gmt":"2021-02-13T16:13:53","slug":"overview-and-prerequisites-for-building-a-retropie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bullyrooks.com\/index.php\/2021\/02\/09\/overview-and-prerequisites-for-building-a-retropie\/","title":{"rendered":"Overview and Prerequisites For Building a RetroPie"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/retropie.org.uk\/\">Retropie <\/a>is a project which allows you to quickly install, manage and play a variety of emulators for various video game consoles.  Its an excellent way to get started with most of the installation and configuration taken care of for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Overview<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Retropie is build on two components <a href=\"https:\/\/www.retroarch.com\/\">RetroArch <\/a>and <a href=\"https:\/\/emulationstation.org\/\">EmulationStation<\/a>.  Emulators allow computers to act like a video game console (like Atari 2800 or Nintendo Entertainment system).  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Retroarch provides a common platform for installing, configuring and running emulators.  Because there&#8217;s some overlap in terms of controller configuration, running games, etc&#8230; it can become unwieldy  to do this for multiple emulators.  Retroarch reduces this overhead by essentially letting you configure once and then add systems (called cores) and apply the common configuration to new emulators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>EmulationStation is a front end which manages your games libraries (including box art, demo videos and game metadata) as well as the systems that you have installed in RetroArch.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When you combine these two you get a slick user interface, the ability to easily add games to your library or consoles to your system and a lot of ability to customize to make your Retropie system unique.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Prerequisites<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>You&#8217;ll need the following to get started:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Raspberry Pi<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A raspberry pi.  I personally recommend <a href=\"https:\/\/www.canakit.com\/\">canakit <\/a>(especially if you are new to raspberry pi).  Their kits come with everything you need, with basic, but high quality components and are priced correctly.  This model is the top of the line, comes with plenty of RAM and a 128GB SD card, which should be more than enough to run most consoles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-amazon wp-block-embed-amazon\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"CanaKit Raspberry Pi 4 8GB Extreme Kit - 128GB Edition (8GB RAM)\" type=\"text\/html\" width=\"960\" height=\"550\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen style=\"max-width:100%\" src=\"https:\/\/read.amazon.com\/kp\/card?preview=inline&#038;linkCode=as2&#038;ref_=k4w_oembed_VgtuAQOTSWc2KU&#038;asin=B08B6F1FV5&#038;tag=bullyrooks-20\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">SD Card to USB Adapter<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>I also recommend getting a USB 3.0 SD card adapter.  The canakit comes with a 2.0 USB adapter, which can be a bit slow.  This one has USB-A and USB-C adapters.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-amazon wp-block-embed-amazon\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Vanja USB Type C SD Card Reader, USB 3.0 Micro SD Card Reader OTG Adapter for TF, SD, Micro SD, SDXC, SDHC, MMC, RS-MMC, Micro SDXC, Micro SDHC, UHS-I for Mac, Windows, Linux, PC, Laptop\" type=\"text\/html\" width=\"960\" height=\"550\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen style=\"max-width:100%\" src=\"https:\/\/read.amazon.com\/kp\/card?preview=inline&#038;linkCode=as2&#038;ref_=k4w_oembed_zcjoDE1GFlgI8P&#038;asin=B07MBD66GZ&#038;tag=bullyrooks-20\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Double check that your computer supports USB 3.0 first. It should be a USB plug with a blue color on the plug.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com\/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcShnnJjLqpjHhZ-a4e1zGqS0NDhLv9_zm0rRQ&amp;usqp=CAU\" alt=\"Image result for usb3\"\/><figcaption>left plug (black) is USB2.0, right plug (blue) is USB3.0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Controller<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>You&#8217;re going to have to find the best controller that suits your needs.  I prefer an XBox style controller because I think this is the most compatible controller and I like the style.  Wired vs wireless is your choice as well.  I prefer wireless and since the raspberry pi is bluetooth compatible, you can use an XBox One controller (although they can be pricey and I&#8217;ve never set one up).  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I personally use XBox 360 wireless with a wireless adapter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-amazon wp-block-embed-amazon\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Microsoft Xbox 360 Wireless Controller, Black\" type=\"text\/html\" width=\"960\" height=\"550\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen style=\"max-width:100%\" src=\"https:\/\/read.amazon.com\/kp\/card?preview=inline&#038;linkCode=as2&#038;ref_=k4w_oembed_LauE6G1Fd2eeaO&#038;asin=B007EHO03A&#038;tag=bullyrooks-20\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-amazon wp-block-embed-amazon\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"QUMOX Wireless Gaming Receiver Compatible with The Microsoft Xbox 360 for PC Controller Windows\" type=\"text\/html\" width=\"960\" height=\"550\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen style=\"max-width:100%\" src=\"https:\/\/read.amazon.com\/kp\/card?preview=inline&#038;linkCode=as2&#038;ref_=k4w_oembed_GGoMvhIhygccOW&#038;asin=B00LUJTK3I&#038;tag=bullyrooks-20\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Keyboard<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>You&#8217;ll need a keyboard for a bit of setup.  If you have a USB keyboard that you can reuse temporarily it should be fine.  I personally use a logitech wireless keyboard.  There are a few reasons for this.  One, I think setup is a little easier because I can put the pi anywhere on my workspace and don&#8217;t have another wire laying around.  Two, I like to take my retropie on the road if we&#8217;re having a group trip and if I need to do some quick configuration or debugging I may not want a full size keyboard.  Three, for pis that are installed (on the backside of a TV, for example) sometimes its more convenient to use wireless.  Four, when doing setup, its often easier to have 2 keyboards (one on the pi and the other controlling your other computer for reading the how to and copying files to USB) I like having a wireless one for the second keyboard for reason one above.  This is your preference and its optional.  Here&#8217;s what I use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-amazon wp-block-embed-amazon\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Logitech Wireless Touch Keyboard K400 with Built-In Multi-Touch Touchpad, Black, Standard Packaging\" type=\"text\/html\" width=\"960\" height=\"550\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen style=\"max-width:100%\" src=\"https:\/\/read.amazon.com\/kp\/card?preview=inline&#038;linkCode=as2&#038;ref_=k4w_oembed_IPM9WgRqqMEGee&#038;asin=B005DKZTMG&#038;tag=bullyrooks-20\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Imager<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>You&#8217;ll also need a way to write the retropie image to the SD card (supplied by the canakit).  You can <a href=\"https:\/\/www.raspberrypi.org\/blog\/raspberry-pi-imager-imaging-utility\/\">download raspberry pi imager here<\/a>.  Although you can use <a href=\"https:\/\/www.balena.io\/etcher\/\">balena etcher<\/a> as well, imager comes with lots of different OS options.  If you decide to use etcher instead, make sure to pickup the <a href=\"https:\/\/retropie.org.uk\/download\/\">retropie image here<\/a>.  Make sure to get the one for pi 4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You&#8217;ll also need a collection of ROMs, which are the &#8216;game files&#8217; you need to run on the emulator.  I&#8217;m not going to get into how to find and download them.  I do recommend finding a complete ROM set for the consoles that you want to install and then paring it down to the ROMs that you own (or actually want to play).  Complete sets <em>generally<\/em> will have everything that you need and have been curated to have the correct names.  Although EmulationStation is very forgiving and can detect the correct name from a file name, its much better to have the files named correctly from the start.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Using a complete set is especially important for MAME because some ROMs are only compatible with certain MAME versions.  You&#8217;ll want to use the correct ROMs for the correct emulator and starting from a complete set makes that much easier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let me know in the comments what controller(s) you plan to use and if there were any issues setting them up.  I&#8217;d also like to hear about other keyboard options that you might be using as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Products mentioned are available through affiliate links at no extra cost to you. Using these affiliate links to purchase helps support the blog and allows me to bring you new content. Thank you!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Amazon Associate Program: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-summary\">\nRetropie is a project which allows you to quickly install, manage and&hellip;\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/bullyrooks.com\/index.php\/2021\/02\/09\/overview-and-prerequisites-for-building-a-retropie\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &ldquo;Overview and Prerequisites For Building a RetroPie&rdquo;<\/span>&hellip;<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[109],"tags":[114,113,111,112],"course":[108],"class_list":["post-928","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gaming","tag-diy","tag-emulation","tag-raspberry-pi","tag-retropie","course-build-customize-retropie","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":943,"url":"https:\/\/bullyrooks.com\/index.php\/2021\/02\/09\/retropie-first-startup\/","url_meta":{"origin":928,"position":0},"title":"RetroPie First Startup","author":"Bullyrook","date":"February 9, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"We'll need to do a little initial configuration before we start adding consoles and games. Turn it on Make sure that your power, hdmi, keyboard and sd card are all plugged in. Turn it on. You should see the retropie start up. First some linux startup, then a retropie start\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Gaming&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Gaming","link":"https:\/\/bullyrooks.com\/index.php\/category\/technology\/gaming\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":955,"url":"https:\/\/bullyrooks.com\/index.php\/2021\/02\/09\/adding-themes-and-splashscreen\/","url_meta":{"origin":928,"position":1},"title":"Adding Themes and Splashscreen","author":"Bullyrook","date":"February 9, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"We want to choose a theme and splashscreen to make our retropie unique. I'll show you how to do that here. Choosing a Theme The built in emulationstation themes are pretty good. You can view them here. Just make sure to choose a theme that supports video. If you don't\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Gaming&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Gaming","link":"https:\/\/bullyrooks.com\/index.php\/category\/technology\/gaming\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bullyrooks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/image-52.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bullyrooks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/image-52.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bullyrooks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/image-52.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bullyrooks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/image-52.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":952,"url":"https:\/\/bullyrooks.com\/index.php\/2021\/02\/09\/scraping-rom-metadata\/","url_meta":{"origin":928,"position":2},"title":"Scraping ROM Metadata","author":"Bullyrook","date":"February 9, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"In order to help make EmulationStation useful and good looking we want to add metadata to the ROMs in the library. We can use skyscraper to do this. Configure Your Controller Reboot your Pi and wait for it to get to the EmulationStation screen. Lets configure the controller now (make\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Gaming&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Gaming","link":"https:\/\/bullyrooks.com\/index.php\/category\/technology\/gaming\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":965,"url":"https:\/\/bullyrooks.com\/index.php\/2021\/02\/10\/adding-background-music-to-emulationstation\/","url_meta":{"origin":928,"position":3},"title":"Adding Background Music to EmulationStation","author":"Bullyrook","date":"February 10, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"One of the features I saw used in some of the images I looked at was background music playing while browsing the library. I'll show you how to get that setup. I'll be following the instructions here for the most part. Setting up mpg123 SSH into your Pi and run\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Gaming&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Gaming","link":"https:\/\/bullyrooks.com\/index.php\/category\/technology\/gaming\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":932,"url":"https:\/\/bullyrooks.com\/index.php\/2021\/02\/09\/flashing-retropie\/","url_meta":{"origin":928,"position":4},"title":"Flashing Retropie","author":"Bullyrook","date":"February 9, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"After you assemble the raspberry pi kit you'll need to flash the retropie image onto the SD card. Setup Imager Install raspberry pi imager and run the application. You should see a screen like this: From choose OS choose emulation and game OS Choose RetroPie Choose the version for the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Gaming&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Gaming","link":"https:\/\/bullyrooks.com\/index.php\/category\/technology\/gaming\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bullyrooks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/image-43.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":947,"url":"https:\/\/bullyrooks.com\/index.php\/2021\/02\/09\/installing-roms\/","url_meta":{"origin":928,"position":5},"title":"Installing ROMs","author":"Bullyrook","date":"February 9, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"There are a few ways to install ROMs. Some are faster than others and some need more configuration to setup. I'll explain how to do it by copying across a network as well as installing from USB. Copying ROMs Over the Network This is going to be the easiest method,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Gaming&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Gaming","link":"https:\/\/bullyrooks.com\/index.php\/category\/technology\/gaming\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bullyrooks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/928","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bullyrooks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bullyrooks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bullyrooks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bullyrooks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=928"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/bullyrooks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/928\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":983,"href":"https:\/\/bullyrooks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/928\/revisions\/983"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bullyrooks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=928"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bullyrooks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=928"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bullyrooks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=928"},{"taxonomy":"course","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bullyrooks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/course?post=928"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}