What could be better than putting in a few hours of Super Mario Bros. on Delta and then charging your phone on a wireless charger that looks like a NES game? Nothing, that’s what, which is why this Super Charge Bros. Kickstarter campaign has us so excited.
The campaign is being set up by Roo, aka The Retro Room. I’ve come across the Retro Room before when scouting the internet for homebrew games for our favourite Nintendo consoles, and now I’ve discovered via Kickstarter that he’s working on this epic NES-themed charger. The Kickstarter isn’t live yet, but we do know that Roo is working in conjunction with Boston Wener (prototypes) and ZombiWorkshop with regard to the art, and it’s all looking fantastic so far!
The concept is simple; place your phone on the NES cartridge and voila, watch as your compatible phone charges. It’s USB-powered and easy to put anywhere in your home and would look perfect in any nerdy office (I’m thinking about my own here). Check out the official trailer below!
Quickfire Q’s With Roo: The Retro Rooms
RD: Thanks for joining us Roo. Why don’t you give our readers a brief introduction to who you are and how you got into modding?
Roo: My name is John Roo. I run a publishing company called The Retro Room Games. I started programming and building about 7 years ago with the Arduino. My dad is a programmer and builds electronics. He helped usher me into the scene of things.
RD: How did you come up with the concept of the charging pad and getting started with the design process?
Roo: I was at a local convention in Houston, Texas, called Retropalooza. An old friend walked up and greeted me. He said he had been toying with the idea of building chargers and putting them in the NES cartridges. I reminded him that I am into mass manufacturing and that I’d love to jump on the project and help turn it into something large. He agreed, and it was right there when started our partnership.
RD: What was the prototype stage like, and have you had any issues so far?
Prototyping was mostly dissecting old carts and building things. It took a few tries to become solid, but now that we have manufacturing involved, we don’t need to dissect poor old carts. As for issues, not really. The process has been rather smooth and uneventful. Let’s hope it stays that way!
RD: The artwork stays very true to the NES game cartridges and is a brilliant mixture of old and new tech. How easy was it to come up with the design?
Roo: I worked with a wonderful artist named Lucan on the art. His tag is @ZombiWorkshop …I’ve since worked with him and I plan to continue to work with him on cover art. He’s brilliant.
RD: Obviously you spend a lot of time making video games, but what’s next on the agenda?
Roo: I hope to someday build my own video game console. It’s a dream of mine. I love the idea of giving games a proper home, considering I’m already in the world of licensing games. It might be something I work on in the future.
RD: Finally, tell us about your favourite retro games and peripherals
My Favourite retro games would be Donkey Kong Country 2, A Link To The Past, and Final Fantasy. I’m pretty basic haha, you can’t beat what is good. In terms of my favourite peripherals, they would all probably be light guns haha. I’m a huge sucker for the arcade and shooting at the screen is always rather nostalgic. I loved the idea of bringing the arcade home.
RD: How can people keep up to date with what you’re working on next?
Roo: You can find me on Twitter @TheRetroRoom or head to my website for more info!
