Keeping kids entertained is always a challenge and the purchase of an iPad or an Xbox is certainly a reasonable way to achieve that. But some parents have the time and skill to go a step further to build something that can really engage and nurture those young minds. That’s what super dad Trevor Johnson did when he built the Herman Entertainment System (HES) for his kids’ enjoyment and creative expression.
Johnson originally intended to build a RetroPie handheld video game emulation system, but ran into issues with hardware compatibility. That led him to the creation of the HES, which is so much better. A RetroPie handheld will give the player access to a massive library of great games, but those are purely entertainment. The HES, which runs a custom Python-based software ecosystem, lets the kids create their own games with the assistance of an LLM AI, so they can build useful skills and express their creativity at the same time.
The hardware to build an HES console is simple, affordable, and easy to assemble. It consists of a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W single-board computer, an Adafruit 1.3” TFT Bonnet (which includes the display, a joystick, and buttons), and a Waveshare UPS HAT to supply power from a lithium battery. Those components fit inside a 3D-printable enclosure with grips for comfortable play.
That hardware alone would be pretty nifty, but the software really makes the HES stand out. On top of Raspberry Pi OS Lite, Johnson programmed a Python system for managing games, along with an API and hardware abstraction layer to simplify and standardize the development of new games. The really cool part is that the HES’s Python system plays nicely with an AI assistant that the kids can work with to create whatever games they dream up.
Johnson uses Perplexity AI for that, but it should work with several other popular AI assistant models. However, Perplexity AI is particularly well-suited to the task because it can operate within a “Space” tailored to the HES. That Space gives the Perplexity AI assistant the information it needs to create games for the HES and, because the HES Space is public, anyone can utilize it.
You could even do that right now — just follow the link and ask the assistant to create a game. For example, I just had it make a hangman-style game and it spit out the code (compatible with the HES) with only two short prompts.
That makes the HES the perfect console for kids, because they have the freedom to create any game they want. And, ideally, they’ll learn a thing or two about programming along the way.
