A enterprising tinkerer has turned the Raspberry Pi into a miniature Super Nintendo, by building his own controller adapter.
The Raspberry Pi is a credit card-sized computer that has struck a chord with hackers and tinkerers. It can already run Linux, browse the web, play video and act as an AirPlay hub. "I got the idea that it would be nice to have a tiny PC that could just be switched on to play this or that good old game," says a chap who goes by Florian, and writes for petRockBlog. "When I read about the Raspberry I finally decided to start this project."
The Pi has a handful of General Purpose Input/Output ( GPIO) pins, so users can connect peripherals and expansion boards to the chip. The pin's behaviour can be read or controlled through software.
Florian connected the pins to a pair of SNES connectors, ripped off the vintage console itself. A basic C program reads the button presses of the two controllers, and passes that information to a virtual keyboard
That's then read by an emulator. A GitHub user named ToadKing has a built a multi-console emulator for the Raspberry Pi, called RetroArch. It runs the Super Nintendo, as well as the NES, the Game Boy, and a few arcade machines.
When they work in unison, the minute computer can play a classic game of Super Mario Kart, using the original (20-year-old) controller.
Florian has included enough information in his blog for anyone with a little wiring and coding knowledge to emulate. You can get the RetroArch emulator here.
As for Florian, his next step is to build a proper case for his creation. "Having some experience with other laser-cut cases I already started to design a case for the Raspberry that also contains ports for two SNES connectors," he writes. "When this is finished I will write about it in another post."
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
