YouTuber Print ‘N Play has put his Raspberry Pi Pico to good use by building a miniature version of the arcade classic Space Invaders using just a few components and plenty of MicroPython.

Building a miniature video game is entirely possible with Raspberry Pi Pico. In fact the Pico can emulate many 80s computers and consoles. 

In Print ‘N Play’s detailed video he covers how to connect the hardware for the project, a small I2C OLED screen with a 128 x 32 pixel resolution, a 10K potentiometer used to control your ship, and a simple buzzer for sound effects. We learn how to connect these devices to a breadboard, test that they are working and learn how to write the code that eventually becomes a Space Invaders game.

The Raspberry Pi Pico looks set to become the go to device for retro hardware projects. The Pico can output video via VGA / DVI and it can access SD cards enabling the storage of larger game files. With Print ‘N Play’s project we could reduce the size to fit inside a 3D printed arcade cabinet!