Modders, inventors, and creators keep the Retro Gaming world turning. They’re the lifeblood of the scene, using new and ingenious ideas to bring life back to old consoles and games. They create new ways of playing via exciting peripherals using technology that just wasn’t around as we were growing up, and they never fail to concoct new and exciting ideas that manage to capture the feeling of the arcade hall and the misspent hours we all shared playing games as kids.
One of these creators is Shaun Campbell, the face, hands, and mind behind Did Somebody Say Retro? Shaun is a talented craftsman and avid Retro Gamer who has built some incredibly impressive pieces over the years. No doubt you will have seen some of his work on social media, including our own channels, with his own socials attracting retro gamers from across the globe and serving as a central hub for all things crafty and nostalgic.
I had the pleasure of speaking with Shaun and got the chance to pick his brains about creating the WoodBoy and how it all came together, as well as which iconic peripherals Shaun would have made differently had he had the chance.
Table of Contents
Getting To Know Shaun Cambell Of Did Somebody Say Retro?
RD: Thanks for joining us for this edition of Let’s Talk Retro Shaun. Why don’t you give me a brief introduction about you and your modding work as an introduction to the community?
Shaun: I create unique retro gaming machines as a hobby, for my Did Somebody Say Retro? customers and also for NQ64. Some examples of my work are the WoodBoy and Wallboy which are machines I have built around a Game Boy, then also some portable console setups that I’ve built like the CaseStation and N-SIXTY-SUITCASE which are complete console setups built inside a suitcase/aircase. But this all stems from my past work on modding Game Boys, giving them new screens, shells, and everything in between.
RD: I played on the WallBoy when I visited NQ64 in Manchester with Brandon back in 2023 and people loved it on socials. The WoodBoy feels as though it takes the awesomeness factor one step further – where did the inspiration come from?
Shaun: I’m a trained Carpenter and worked in the trade for many years, so I’ve always wanted to combine this skill set with what I have learned over the years in the retro gaming industry. Being a huge fan of the Game Boy, I really wanted to celebrate it in a new way. I decided that turning it into an arcade machine would provide a whole new gaming experience, so I gave myself the challenge of making it by hand, out of pine, and with no artwork, so there was very little room for error!
Introducing The WoodBoy
RD: The WoodBoy is an astounding piece of work and it’s instantly apparent that you’re a master at your craft. What are the dimensions of this pine marvel, and how long has it taken you to put it together?
Shaun: I don’t have the weight for it unfortunately, but the dimensions are (W) 450mm / (H) 650mm / (D) 400mm and I’d say I could build one comfortably in the week, but over a good 3 to 4 days if I was left to my own devices!
RD: I’m intrigued as to how you set about a task like this. I’m creatively minded with the written word but I only think in terms of planning out an article or the chapter structure for a book. Did you spend a long time preparing for a project like this, or did you just get stuck in?
Shaun: To be honest I just grabbed a big piece of card out of the recycling at home, laid a 4:3 monitor down on its side, and then just drew a profile around that and used that to start building the prototype. Once the prototype was built I could see what needed tweaking for the final product. I wanted to make sure that the WoodBoy was as slim as it could be, so although there was the challenge of everything being a tight fit, you get the benefit of having a minimal border around the screen, and it’s easy to pick up and transport when needed.
Let’s Talk Cartridges
RD: One thing that people who follow you on Instagram will no doubt have seen, and the piece de resistance of the WoodBoy, is that it plays actual Game Boy cartridges. It’s a seriously nice touch – how hard was it to implement it into the design?
Shaun: This is all thanks to the GBHD and DMTV Consolizer by GameBox.Systems. This wonderful bit of kit allows you to turn an original GameBoy motherboard into a mini console, controlled by a SNES or NES pad and outputting VGA or HDMI. With it playing original cartridges, that’s already taken care of in the consolizer, but the addition of the external cartridge reader was the latest modification I did to it which although there was a lot of wiring to do, it was relatively easy to fit. The brains behind the consolizer is Aaron, who unfortunately passed away last year. I had the pleasure of meeting him in person when he visited the U.K. and I got to show him the WoodBoy and WallBoy projects which both use the consolizer. He was a really special guy and a big loss to the retro gaming community – Thanks for everything mate.
RD: It’s a great loss, but it’s nice that his work can live on for so many people to enjoy in projects like yours. Apart from the consolizer, tell us about some of the components inside the unit itself. For the non-technically-minded amongst us (myself included), how difficult was it to piece everything together, and how did you find creating the arcade unit from wood?
Shaun: So at the heart of it is the consolizer, it outputs a video signal to the monitor, and the audio goes through an amplifier and then into a couple of speakers located behind the marquee lamp. The consolizer is controlled by a SNES pad, so I opened up the pad and wired microswitches to the relevant traces on the control pad’s circuit board, allowing me to connect an arcade joystick and buttons to it. There were definitely challenges using pine which is a softwood. I decided not to use T-Molding as I feel adding plastic would take away from the aesthetic I was going for so I needed to get my edges chamfered accurately. I also wanted to use no artwork and no wood filler on the outside, so I fixed it all together using carefully positioned brackets, all from the inside.
RD: And were there many prototypes?
Shaun: Just the 1 prototype was built, and that was out of some scrap chipboard I had in the garage!
A Viral Sensation
RD: Talk about nailing it first time huh – that’s impressive! We love the WoodBoy, but how has the public received your creation? Are there any plans to see these up and down the country coming up soon?
Shaun: When I first built it 2 and a half years ago, it did quite well in relation to the size of my account at that time, but it didn’t go viral. I uploaded a video of it this year as a Throwback Thursday post and it just took off, it really took me by surprise actually. Because of its newfound interest, I decided to make some new content on it, and then took on some follower requests for an external cartridge reader. That video is now on 6.5 million views, with the next WoodBoy video after that now my biggest ever post at 10 million, which is crazy man! It’s very heartwarming to see something you’ve worked hard on get that much love; it’s really cool and I’m so grateful to every single person for the likes, comments, shares, and messages. And I’d love to make more, but with the announcement of baby number 2, I’m going to have to put that on hold for a bit!
Projects & Peripherals
RD: For people who are new to work, what are three other projects that you’re proud of that you’ve worked on over the years?
Shaun: If I had to pick three, I would say the WoodBoy Color XL, the CaseStation, and the WallBoy that you played on in Manchester.
RD: Let’s wrap things up by posing a tricky question to you – If you had to pick three pieces of gaming tech you wish you had made because you could have improved them, what would they be?
Shaun: The first would have been an official transparent PSP. Give me any cartridge-based console and I’d have clear instructions inside with a little bottle of isopropyl and cotton buds so you can clean the cartridge pins properly! And last of all, the OG GameBoys would have at the minimum an official front-lit screen like the GameBoy Advance SP, ideally backlit though if I would have had my way!
Thanks very much to Shaun for taking the time to chat with me for this edition of Let’s Talk Retro. If you’re feeling in a crafty mood after reading all about Shaun’s creations, then why not take a listen to our podcast episode with hardware hacker and inventor Dr. Tom Tilley, the inventor of the world’s largest Game & Watch!
