Remember the satisfying click of inserting a floppy disk and waiting for your favorite game to load? What if you could recreate that nostalgic experience while launching modern game collections? That’s exactly what I built with my NFC Floppy Disk Game Launcher - a system that transforms vintage floppy disks into physical game launchers using NFC technology.

The Concept

The idea is beautifully simple: take an old floppy disk drive, gut the internals, and replace them with an Arduino and NFC reader. Then if you attach NFC stickers inside floppy disk, you can “read” them, and use this as a trigger to launch any game or application when inserted.

This project bridges the gap between physical and digital gaming, creating a tactile experience that modern gaming has largely lost. Each floppy disk becomes a unique key to unlock specific games, scripts, or applications.

Hardware Components

The beauty of this project lies in its simplicity. You’ll need:

  • Arduino Uno (or compatible microcontroller)
  • MFRC522 NFC/RFID module (13.56MHz)
  • Old floppy disk drive (for the housing)
  • NFC stickers/tags (ISO 14443A compatible)
  • Floppy disks (as many as you want games)
  • Connecting wires and basic soldering supplies

Hardware Components

The MFRC522 Module

The heart of the system is the MFRC522 NFC module. This little board operates at 13.56MHz and supports ISO/IEC 14443 Type A cards, MIFARE, and NTAG formats. With a typical reading range of 1-3cm, it’s perfect for detecting tags inside floppy disks.

Pin Configuration:

  • VCC → 3.3V (important: not 5V!)
  • GND → Ground
  • RST → Digital Pin 9
  • SS → Digital Pin 10
  • MOSI → Pin 11 (SPI)
  • MISO → Pin 12 (SPI)
  • SCK → Pin 13 (SPI)

The Build Process

Step 1: Prepare the Floppy Drive

First, I carefully disassembled an old 3.5” floppy drive, removing all the mechanical components while preserving the outer shell. The goal is to maintain the authentic look and feel of inserting a floppy disk.

Step 2: Mount the NFC Reader

The MFRC522 module needs to be positioned where it can reliably read NFC tags inside inserted floppy disks. After some experimentation, I noticed the metalic shell for the floppy disk reader was interfering with the readings, so I had to fully remove all the mechanical parts. Because of that, I had to replicate the insertion mechanism, I did this with Lego !

Step 3: Arduino Integration

Then I connected the NFC reader to the Arduino, which is itself connected via USB to the computer for both power and serial communication.

The Software

The system consists of two main components: Arduino firmware and a Python script running on the computer.

Arduino Code

The Arduino continuously polls for NFC tags and sends their unique identifiers via serial communication:

#include <SPI.h>
#include <MFRC522.h>
#include <Wire.h>

#define SS_PIN 10
#define RST_PIN 9

MFRC522 mfrc522(SS_PIN, RST_PIN);

void setup() {
  Serial.begin(9600);
  SPI.begin();
  mfrc522.PCD_Init();
  Serial.println("NFC Floppy Reader Ready");
}

void loop() {
  if (!mfrc522.PICC_IsNewCardPresent()) {
    return;
  }

  if (!mfrc522.PICC_ReadCardSerial()) {
    return;
  }

  // Send UID via serial
  for (byte i = 0; i < mfrc522.uid.size; i++) {
    Serial.print(mfrc522.uid.uidByte[i] < 0x10 ? "0" : "");
    Serial.print(mfrc522.uid.uidByte[i], HEX);
  }
  Serial.println();

  mfrc522.PICC_HaltA();
  delay(1000);
}

Python Game Launcher

The Python script monitors the serial port and maps NFC tag IDs to specific games or applications:

import serial
import subprocess
# Mapping NFC tag UIDs to games/applications
rfid_to_game = {
    "04a1b2c3": "wine ~/.wine/drive_c/Games/DoomII/doom2.exe",
    "05d4e5f6": "/usr/games/dosbox ~/Games/Commander_Keen/keen.exe",
    "06g7h8i9": "steam steam://rungameid/12345",
    "07j8k9l0": "/home/user/scripts/launch_emulator.sh"
}
try:
    arduino = serial.Serial('/dev/ttyUSB0', 9600, timeout=1)
    print("Connected to NFC Floppy Reader")
    
    while True:
        if arduino.in_waiting > 0:
            tag_id = arduino.readline().decode('utf-8').strip().lower()
            
            if tag_id in rfid_to_game:
                print(f"Launching game for tag: {tag_id}")
                subprocess.run(rfid_to_game[tag_id], shell=True)
            else:
                print(f"Unknown tag: {tag_id}")
                
except KeyboardInterrupt:
    print("Shutting down...")
finally:
    arduino.close()

Creating Game Disks

The most fun part is creating the game collection! I simply attached the NFC tag on the back of the floppy disk, without removing the internal magnetic disk. Each disk gets:

  1. Custom label designed to match the original game
  2. NFC sticker positioned for reliable reading
  3. Registry entry in the Python script

I created disks for classics like:

  • Starcraft - Wine launcher for the Windows version
  • Theme hospital - DOSBox integration
  • Custom scripts - Microsoft Paint, etc.

Hardware Components

The Experience

The final result is magical. You hear the familiar mechanical sound of inserting a floppy disk, followed by your game launching instantly.

Floppy Drive Disassembly

The tactile experience brings back memories while the instant loading provides modern convenience. Friends visiting are always amazed - it looks like retro gaming but works better than the originals ever did.

Conclusion

The complete source code is available on GitHub. The project is designed to be easily reproducible with common components.

The NFC Floppy Disk Game Launcher proves that sometimes the best new ideas come from combining old and new technologies in unexpected ways. It creates a bridge between the tactile satisfaction of retro gaming and the convenience of modern digital libraries.

More importantly, it demonstrates that innovation doesn’t always mean adding complexity - sometimes it means thoughtfully removing it. By stripping away the mechanical complexity of floppy drives while preserving their physical interaction model, we get the best of both worlds.

Whether you’re a retro gaming enthusiast, an Arduino hobbyist, or just someone who misses the physicality of old computing, this project offers a fun way to bring some of that tactile magic back to modern gaming.

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