Student Turns Fresh Watermelon Into Classic Game Boy With Raspberry Pi

Summer is coming to a close in the northern hemisphere, and the flow of choice produce will also slow down in grocery stores. But a student in Singapore turned quarantine boredom into a chance to build a playable Game Boy contained inside a fresh watermelon, according to a video he posted to YouTube.

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Student builds Game Boy inside watermelon with Raspberry Pi

We're not calling it the Melon Boy, but it consists of a Raspberry Pi linked to a small LCD screen, buttons, and an external battery pack — all stuffed into an ordinary watermelon, scooped clean on the inside.

The student — named Cedrick — is an information systems student at the Singapore Management University, according to the video description on YouTube. He claims the inspiration came when he found nothing better to do amid the COVID-19 lockdown than building a gaming console.

"Making a console has always been a favorite project for the rpi [Rasberry Pi] community, it's one of those things you definitely need to try if you are in the scene," he wrote, to VICE. "I decided to attempt the project myself with an added personal twist :)"

Watermelon snug casing for Game Boy electronics

Surprisingly, the watermelon serves as a great casing for the electrical hardware because it's malleable, creating a snug grip around the buttons as players grind away at their favorite games.

Now Cedrick plays "Pokemon Emerald" on the MelonBoy at the grocery store, resting the console in the watermelon bin while recording baffled reactions of passersby. He also takes it on city trains, and plays next to concerned commuters.

To their credit, watermelons with screens and wires and buttons might come off like a DIY bomb.

Cedrick uses a small watermelon that fits snugly in two hands — which raises its portability value. This is a great feature because lightweight mobility were the essential consumer incentives for the original Nintendo Game Boy. One wonders if the electronics for a console could fit into an even smaller fruit.