GameBoss: Fully Functional Gameboy Costume

[mahuti]

So, I know it's been done before, and it isn't the most original idea ever, but... I built a working gameboy for my halloween costume last year.

1. I always thought it would be funny to own a gigantic working gameboy
2. I thought it would be even better if I could wear it.

That being the case, I built a fully working, to-scale version of a gameboy, which (for the most part) is accurate down to about 1/32" of an inch. I think, all told, it took about 70 hours to build, and probably cost about $400 just in wood, plexiglass, vinyl lettering, paint, weird tools and electronics and parts and things like that.




It runs off of a Raspberry Pi with a PiCade X Hat hooked to a decased a computer monitor. The monitor is a widescreen monitor, with big sections of it covered by the body and the bezel... but because of that I can just let a red border show through and light up the "battery" LED area really nicely.  The controls work, the games are playable. The whole thing is rechargeable, and has about a 2 hour total run-time on a $90 pan-sized "battery" available from Walmart. It weighs probably over 50 lbs, and is a bear to get in and out of. It is not for the claustrophic as it's tight and inflexible The shoulder pads are nearly non-existent and really uncomfortable. To be honest, it's a drag to wear, but it is fun nonetheless.

It's 3/8 inch MDF over a frame of 1x1" pine boards. The controls are painted wood backed by plastic (to keep them from falling out), floating over the top of a control panel of push buttons which provide the keypress as well as the button bounce.

The bezel is plexiglass with vinyl reverse lettering and stenciling for the lines and paint. The whole thing was painted with a sprayer and polished until it looks like plastic

The back has a slot for swappable "cartridges" in case I'm feeling extra. The battery compartment looks removable, but I left it solid to give the thing strength.

Around the head area, the top is two breakaway magnetically attached wood panels.

Very happy with the results. The one thing I learned from this experience: having people tap repeatedly on buttons placed in my midsection while staring feverishly at me is disturbing. It'd be a great costume to wear at some crazy adult party though 


Here's some pics:

Body
Front panel, early cuts

Front panel, early cut of d-pad area

Body, unpainted

Body back being routered

Back routering finished

Back


Curved Bottom
Bottom Curve Structure

Bottom Curve Finished

Bottom Curve Kerfed


D-Pad
D-Pad being built

D-Pad is mostly one solid piece routered

D-Pad Nearly Done

Controls being sprayed

Controls being built

Back of controls

Control Panel
Control Panel

Control Panel Installed


Bezel
Bezel Lettered

Bezel Steniled

Bezel Painted

Bezel Completed


Interior (TV)


Completed
Completed with Gameboy for Scale

Completed Side Angle

Completed On

[nexusmtz]

That's a crazy sweet costume!  I'm sure you turned heads when you walked in, except yours, "because he has no neck!" (hope you're old enough to know that one.)

Great job!

[tomton]

This is amazing! Great attention to detail and really cool end result 

[Drnick]

Impressive, I've seen a few giant gameboy builds over the years, but never a wearable/playable one

[javeryh]

This is such a cool project.  Lots of detail in the build - you are quite good with the router.  I bet people have a blast playing it.

[Arroyo]

This thing is insane.  That is very well executed, looks like you caught all the details.  How freakin heavy is that thing?

[mahuti]

Thanks guys.

With regard to the weight... I haven't weighed it, but it's over 50lbs, uncomfortably heavy. I have a big frame, so I wasn't worried about carrying the weight, but the placement on my shoulders makes it uncomfortable, and it chafes. It's basically a pile of lumber, an old 19" wide LCD, and a battery. I knew it would be heavy, so I built it as lightly as I could, but I had to make it strong enough to last more than one wearing, so it's not like it's balsa or cardboard.  If it was harnessed real nice like a hiking backpack, it'd be ok, but it's held on my shoulders by two upside-down heavy equipment wall hangers, which are pretty uncomfortable. Worse yet, the bottom is a bit narrow, and the overall width leaves my arms half hanging out, so my general movement is restricted. I knew when I built it that it would be uncomfortable, and I didn't care. I wanted it to lean more towards accuracy and awesomeness than comfort. As it is, it sits in my arcade basement just looking cool, so the discomfort trade-off is worth it.

With regard to wearing it, the worst part is that it has to be laid on sawhorses and I have to lean over and shimmy in and out of it awkwardly. If I was a superhero, i'd have made it drop down from the ceiling on a winch or something

[pbj]

I'm asking what everyone is thinking - how do you piss in that thing?

[mahuti]

Not an option. Not unless one decided to wear adult diapers. Hard pass for me.

[thatpurplestuff]

Not an option. Not unless one decided to wear adult diapers. Hard pass for me.

Wasn't the headphone jack on the bottom?  Just sayin....


Awesome costume, love it!

[mahuti]

Yeah, but the hands can't reach the jack so... it becomes a partner sport. Having random folks banging my buttons and d-pad is bad enough without them trying to replace my batteries and adjust my dials for me.

[PL1]

how do you piss in that thing?

https://www.biorelief.com/product/stadium-pal-kit




Scott

[mahuti]

I used to have a friend in high school that referred to that kind of setup as a "party catheter"

Anyway, man did this go of the rails or what