ChipTuesday: Custom DMGs

Written by Marc DeAngelis

Tuesday, 15 September 2009 17:15

You'll find that most DMGs (the original line of Game Boys - and weapon of choice for chiptuners) come in a plain old shade of gray. Nintendo spiced things up a little with it's Play It Loud line-up by adding new colored cases like yellow, red, green, and black -- but that's still not enough for some people. While most DMG case customizations look like something done in ten minutes by a five-year-old on Ritalin, some people can modify their case with stunning results. Hit the link of the best of the best custom DMGs.

The most striking DMG mod is, by far, the Killboy (above), by Thretris. Most of Thretris' paint jobs consist of a full coat of a single color, accompanied by a paint splatter of a contrasting tone. Kinda boring. But the inclusion of the two black stripes on the Killboy make it distinctive. The yellow, black, and red allude to the iconic bridal ninja.

Kill Arcadian creates custom Game Boys to sell online. His best work is this yellow DMG with a cool circuit board design. The intricate circuit lines are super clean and thin, which makes this paint job look very professional. This design wasn't thrown on over the course of a few minutes with a magic marker. He also threw in a purple LED backlight and, like the Killboy, this DMG also features a prosound mod.

MuteCity DMG also sells his custom creations over the lovely Internet. One of his best-looking paint jobs is the Striped DMG. While there are a few mistakes, the color scheme sends me right back to the '80s and early '90s. It also makes me want a popsicle.

I love the glossy white finish - including the buttons - on this DMG. Also, the power LED and backlight match the iconic 1UP mushroom, which is perfectly recreated. Most DMGs that are painted white don't look too great, but this one by Nonfinite is something else.

Here's another one from the very talented Nonfinite. I love the simplicity of its design. He airbrushed on the matte black main coat and heart, and used automotive detailing paint for the sparkling buttons. The cyan LED and backlight are a nice touch, too, even though they don't exactly match the grayish-blue heart and buttons.

I'm a sucker for things that are the wrong color. Take, for example, a black and sparkly-pink Rising Sun, which is traditionally red on white. This one was done by Dead Beat Blast and features a pink LED, pink backlight, and prosound mod. It's flashy yet subtle at the same time.

Sometimes simple design goes a long way. This DMG's color is particularly prepossessing. Ultrasyd added just a touch of flair to his cleanly painted Game Boy by replacing its stock buttons with some from a Super Famicom controller, which can be quite a pain. It's simple but unique.

[Killboy: 8bitcollective via tinycartridge All Else: 8BC]