From Cartridge to Capture Card: Revisiting Friday the 13th (NES) on My Own Terms

Some games define your childhood. For me, that game was Friday the 13th for the NES.

I spent countless hours with it—renting it from the video store, then eventually owning my own copy. My brother and cousin and I would pass the controller around, learning every path through the woods, every pattern of Jason's attacks. Most people gave up on the game. We didn’t. We kept playing until it became second nature.

Decades later, I finally decided to preserve that experience in the most “me” way possible: with a Raspberry Pi 4 running Batocera, HDMI out to a Mirabox capture card, and my Beelink SER6 Pro Max mini PC running OBS. I even used my Creative Labs Live! Mic M3 for live commentary.

And it all worked.

I played through the game in real time—no save states, no fancy edits. Just a clean capture of a moment that means a lot to me. Doris even sat beside me while I played, which felt like a sweet full-circle touch since she’s become such a big part of my life now.

It’s my first full-length video for MotoLinux.com, and I’m incredibly proud of how it turned out. This is more than just a gameplay video—this is a tribute to the joy of learning, to persistence, and to capturing things that matter before they fade into memory.

🎬 Behind the Scenes

Here’s what went into making this video possible:

🎮 Capture Setup:
I connected my Raspberry Pi 4 (running Batocera) to a Mirabox HDMI capture card and recorded everything through OBS on my Beelink SER6 Pro Max mini PC.

🎤 Audio Decisions:
I recorded my voice using my Creative Labs Live! Mic M3 and carefully balanced it against the gameplay audio in OBS. I added a compressor and EQ to give it more presence without overpowering the game. I also decided not to run the voiceover through Audacity this time—raw and real felt right for this one.

📺 Thumbnail Design:
For the thumbnail, I took a screenshot during gameplay and replaced the character “Mark” with my MotoLinux penguin riding a motorcycle. I even pieced together pixel letters to display my name (“William”) above the health bar—just a little tribute to my personal touch.

📢 First Launch Moments:
This was the first full-length upload to the MotoLinux YouTube channel, and within minutes I had likes on the video, my first interaction on X, and some kind words from early viewers. It reminded me that it's never too late to share the things you love—and that nostalgia, when channeled through effort, can connect people.

Watch it here:

👉 Friday the 13th NES | My Childhood Strategy Captured via Pi + Mirabox