A MiSTer marquee that finally has style

Difficulty

Intermediate

AI-buildability

4/5

The firmware and browser editor already exist, so the work is mostly flashing and light wiring of a round display to an ESP32-C3, plus designing artwork with AI help.

Time

A weekend

Cost

$10–25

Estimates based on the original write-up. How AI-buildability is scored. The maker built this with AI tools: more vibe-coded builds. Building with an AI assistant? Connect it to Afterware (free MCP server).

Most MiSTer marquees are a small monochrome OLED, the kind that has been sitting in a parts bin for years. Erico Mendonca wanted something with more style, so he wrote firmware for the ESP32-C3 that speaks MiSTer's existing secondary display protocol and drives round GC9A01 panels instead. If a circle isn't your thing, the same firmware runs on the Cheap Yellow Display for a rectangular version.

He didn't touch the MiSTer side at all. The ESP32 does all the art work. A web-based editor lets you build your own artwork and tie it to the commands the MiSTer actually sends, so the screen changes with the core and the game that's loaded. Flashing also happens in the browser, so setup doesn't require a toolchain. Multiple client displays can run off one system over WiFi, which is handy if you want to show the boot screen in several rooms at once.