As older, more rare games become pricier, one student, determined to enjoy retro games, found a solution with his own kind of invention.
“I realized that instead of playing [old video games] on the original hardware, I could emulate them on my computer,” said junior Ian Westlake, who created a video game console out of 3D printed pieces.
“I saw this portable Super Nintendo where they had shrunk the system and added a 5-inch screen. and I thought it was the coolest thing, but it was really expensive…so I went with this instead,” said Ian.
Ian used a program called RetroPie to emulate games onto a USB stick that is later inserted into the console itself. It acts as a universal device since you can play anything from any game console before the PlayStation 2 with any controller that has a USB port on top of the built-in controller.
Inside the hardware lies the Raspberry Pi and other technological components required for operation.
“My favorite part was just sitting in the garage at night and putting all the pieces together,” said Ian.
Ian printed pieces of the project with the public library’s 3D printer and waited for additional parts to ship in from China. Once all parts were collected, the gaming system was assembled.
“A lot of people can’t say they make game consoles as a hobby and enjoy it,” said junior Shelbie Gray, a friend of Ian’s.