kgsws patches 9 game boys into one big screen using reversed engineering

a bigger display for a game boy

kgsws connects nine game boy LCD screens to the ESP32 and raspberry pi, a project that allows video output to flash on a grid display using a tenth game boy. ‘this used to be a game boy device, but I have removed the CPU and replaced it with ESP32. let’s take a look at how really good it is and how far can we push it,’ says tech artist kgsws.

kgsws uploaded a demo video on youtube to show how he dismantled nine game boys only to patch them together through reversed engineering. in the video, he guides the viewers on how they can play a game from a game boy while the video output springs on the nine screens as a single display. the reverse engineering pays homage to the old days of the console, a tribute to the 90s kid whose free time was spent pressing the chunky buttons to help the character jump over the obstacles.

nine game boys used for the project.

the game boy screens projecting a game.

surfing the internet on a game boy

since the raspberry pi runs a linux OS, the video output may also project the desktop screen. kgsws tries to play minecraft and surf the internet through the game boy screens as seen in his demo video. ‘now, here’s all the treasure I have,’ says kgsws during the first steps of the project. ‘I have removed a bit more than just a CPU, and here are all the boards. now, let’s move on to the cable.‘ after he shows the CPUs and boards on camera, he proceeds to solder the wires to the CPUs and boards. as soon as he wraps everything up, he fires up the game from his red game boy, the tenth one, and plays it while looking at the bigger display.

game boy screens dismantled from the consoles.

more than just playing games

the project not only allows users to project videos and computer content from a linux OS, but also boasts functionality such as a clock and marquee letters. ‘you only have to sacrifice eight game boys to get this,‘ he jokes in the video. with this reversed engineering, users are invited to come up with their own creative use of this technique. kgsws has uploaded all the codes he used to create the project on his github account.

game boy screens projecting numbers.