This Fictional ’80s VHS-Based Console Plays Very Real Games Across 10 Vintage CRT Televisions

Gaming PC and video game console hardware has progressed to the point where game developers have very few technical limitations to hold back their vision. Sure, a massive open world game won’t have graphics as nice as games set in a smaller world, but both huge play areas and amazing graphics are achievable. But, back in the early days of video games, the gameplay itself was often a result of tight technical constraints.

In one of the most imaginative recreations of those limitations I’ve seen, Ryan Mason, a student at OCAD University in Toronto, has created a very intriguing VHS tape-based video game console. As his fictional back story goes, the Cathode MK.1 was a console developed in an alternate ’80s reality, and ran on tapes loaded into a VCR. New games could be “downloaded” by simply recording from a special TV channel designed to distribute them.

But, while that fascinating concept is made up, the system Mason built to play the games is very real. It doesn’t actually run from a VHS tape, and instead is played on an Arduino, with games being launched from IR sticker on the tape. Those games are the really impressive part of the project, because they’re played across 10 individual CRT televisions in a very unique way.

In one adventure game, the player explores a home. As they enter a new room, it’s displayed on the adjacent TV. In another Pong-style game, the ball bounces around from TV to TV, challenging players to anticipate its path and to keep track of where their paddles were positioned. To make that work, Mason programmed a hardware switch that changes the active TV when the scene changes in the game. The result is mesmerizing, and I, for one, wish the fictional Cathode MK.1 was something that really existed when I was a child.