Attract-Mode is open source and runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows. It hides the underlying operating system and is intended to be controlled with a joystick, gamepad or spin dial, making it ideal for use in arcade cabinets. Launchbox can also be launched natively from Kodi.Īttract-Mode A graphical frontend for command line emulators with a completely customizable appearance. Premium also includes Big Box, which is an HTPC version of the frontend. It comes with an integrated metadata scraper, and the interface is highly customizable, likely the most customizable alongside HyperSpin, but only with a license for the premium version. Was originally built as an attractive front-end for DOSBox but has since expanded to support both modern PC games and emulated console platforms.

These frontends can be used with almost any emulator of your choosing, as long as they support command-line arguments. They're generally very adaptive and can support different arguments between emulators to ease integration. These 'Launchers' or 'Executors' use their own graphical interface to start emulators. This is mostly found in Android frontends intended for smartphones and tablet computers. Touch A touch interface is often similar to a HTPC interface, the difference is that they are intended for touch screens. RetroArch, HyperSpin and MAME's integrated frontend MEWUI are examples of this interface. Normally the navigation is optimized for joysticks or gamepads, although they often work with keyboard controls as well. HTPC This type of interface is often intended for viewing on a big screen, such as a TV or arcade monitor. Examples of this type of interface are LaunchBox and OpenEmu. This is a GUI based on one or several window(s) and it's normally controlled by a mouse. WIMP WIMP stands for 'Windows, Icons, Menus and a Pointer'. Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) įrontends have different types of GUIs, here we have categorized them as follows:

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