If at any point you feel sad that you're not having a great day or a little fed up with work, just think how lucky you are to have been born at the same time as Marky Pi's creations. We love all of the work Mark Ghirardi does in repurposing toys into retro gaming devices, using his imagination to create some weird and wonderful concoctions to play games like Simpsons Road Rage and Turtles In Time, just like this modified Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Lil' Gamer.
With its massive D-Pad and A/B Buttons, it makes for a great emulation device. As Mark's Instagram name suggests, he utilisies Raspberry Pi boards to create handhelds out of toys like Skannerz, and in this case, a Fisher-Price Game Boy-esque toy from 2021.
Adding extra buttons to the back of the device and replacing the static image of a dog with an actual screen, Mark has made a brightly coloured handheld emulator that looks incredibly pleasing to use. He's even hidden a volume wheel underneath the Tetris-style sliders on the side and added a USB charging port into the casing, too.
Mark's innovative modding stance is one that I'm a big fan of, and I love his nostalgic take on giving toys a different purpose. When you look at all of the dull coloured, similar-shaped handhelds out on the market and then see something like his modified Laugh & Learn Lil' Gamer with its square B button, it just feels fun and takes you back to the feeling of being a kid. It's what retro gaming is all about, after all!
