I’ve been wanting to do some projects like this from the software side. I want an e-ink display + ESP32 inside a case. But I don’t want to do that myself for the nth time as it doesn’t feel novel or interesting. Is there any decent hardware option that begins fully open?
Also: If I take very good care of my Weathergotchi, do I get to change the weather?
Calling this a tamagotchi is silly. The only thing this and tamagotchis have in common is that they’re small electronic devices with a screen (and even that tech is different).
When you compare a project to something that it isn’t, you’re doing it a disservice. The people who are intrigued by the tamagotchi angle are disappointed, while the people who are uninterested in it (but might still like the project) won’t even give it a change. Everybody loses.
Xirdus•Jul 15, 2026
It's marketing. Attach yourself to some wildly more popular brand for no reason other than to boost your own popularity. Like JavaScript did with Java.
latexr•Jul 15, 2026
Except the repo doesn’t mention “tamagotchi” even once. Even the “gotchi” in the name only appears once in the README.
I’m talking about the submitted title to HN.
voidUpdate•Jul 15, 2026
I get the weather- part, but I don't get the -gotchi part... Do you have to keep the device alive by... seeing new types of weather?
xd1936•Jul 15, 2026
I think it's evoking "this little smiley face guy on a small monochrome screen", and not implying interactivity.
mghackerlady•Jul 15, 2026
It's dumb anyway. Iirc the -gotchi part comes from the Japanese transliteration of the english word "watch". Unless your program's a pocket watch of some kind as well as a virtual pet, it's just a tama
neom•Jul 15, 2026
Uotchi is the Japanese word for watch. Tamago (egg) and Uotchi (watch) - so here they're implying "Weather Watch", it should probably be Weatherotchi or something, but still works fine imo. Korea and Japan love smashing words together to make new words, for example in Korea "Chimaek" is Chikin (치킨 - fried chicken) + Maekju (맥주 - beer), something Koreans often ask if you'd like to go out for.
swingboy•Jul 15, 2026
This doesn’t look as fun as a Tamagotchi.
world2vec•Jul 15, 2026
The YouTube video [0] is quite funny, I like when someone doesn't take themselves too seriously.
I have no idea what he's talking about most of the time but I can't stop watching.
whacked_new•Jul 15, 2026
Ouch, shade on the SensorPush. I had 2 and I got 2 more. It requires an app, but they're quite well made imho.
But yes, open source would be better. If physical portability is not a requirement, Xiaomi hygrometer 2 with this custom firmware https://github.com/atc1441/atc_MiThermometer is quite excellent
DonHopkins•Jul 15, 2026
Andrew Quitmeyer doesn't take himself very seriously, but dogs take him VERY seriously.
Mark Your Territory - Check Into Foursquare by Peeing
This is charming. E-paper is such a good fit for ambient data like this — always visible, no glow, basically no power. How often do you refresh the display, and does partial refresh ghosting become a problem over time?
inigyou•Jul 15, 2026
As opposed to the climategotchi, which just shows a dead guy on fire.
shadowpho•Jul 15, 2026
I see the antenna points straight at ground and buttons. Is the wifi ok?
nosrepa•Jul 15, 2026
It does not use wifi or Bluetooth.
Neywiny•Jul 15, 2026
Other comment says no wifi but even if it did, those antennas don't radiate in a straight line
8 Comments
Also: If I take very good care of my Weathergotchi, do I get to change the weather?
temperature, humidity, audio in AND out!!!
When you compare a project to something that it isn’t, you’re doing it a disservice. The people who are intrigued by the tamagotchi angle are disappointed, while the people who are uninterested in it (but might still like the project) won’t even give it a change. Everybody loses.
I’m talking about the submitted title to HN.
[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I44iGj7gLGA
But yes, open source would be better. If physical portability is not a requirement, Xiaomi hygrometer 2 with this custom firmware https://github.com/atc1441/atc_MiThermometer is quite excellent
Mark Your Territory - Check Into Foursquare by Peeing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRdfeb7vDWg
https://github.com/quitmeyer/Mark-Your-Territory---Pee-to-Ch...
https://www.instructables.com/Pee-to-Check-In-to-Foursquare-...
https://popupcity.net/insights/pee-to-check-in-to-foursquare...