Important news about HackSpace

We have some important news to share about HackSpace: Issue 81 was the last issue of HackSpace as a standalone magazine, and HackSpace has become part of The MagPi, the official Raspberry Pi magazine. Starting with issue 145, We’ll be adding pages to The MagPi to make room for the stories and tutorials you’ve come to expect from HackSpace.

Giant Game Boy

By Andrew Gregory. Posted

Growing up in Chicago, Willie Colón, was always on the go with a Game Boy Color, so Willie decided to take that iconic shape and build what is the Game Boy XL.

"I made the initial designs on Illustrator, and from there I made the front and back plates of the Game Boy," says Willie. "I took my designs to a CNC router, got them cut out, then sanded, and finally, I stained them by hand. I used a cheap TV monitor with an HDMI to connect the Raspberry Pi, and used arcade buttons for the controls on the front plate to make it functional."

"Thanks to the help of my good friend Isaac Gelman (another amazing maker), I was able to get some help on the finer details by laser cutting the D-pad and buttons. The reason I built a giant Game Boy was to see if I could do it!"

"There was a gamer-centric gallery happening where I work at Nickelodeon, and I was trying to figure out if it would be possible to take on such an ambitious project. I have also always been passionate about the original DMG, so it was a perfect fit."

"It is currently hanging in my living room for everyone to see and play, but when I’m home alone, I use a special Bluetooth Game Boy cartridge, and put it into one of my self-modded Game Boys to control the XL. I love gaming! Video games have always, and will continue to be a huge part of my life.

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