LEGO Game Boy: The Designer Interview

Via email, I interviewed Carl Merriam, Senior Designer astatine the LEGO Group. Carl has designed a fig of LEGO sets implicit the years, including galore different Nintendo LEGO sets, similar the Mario & Yoshi 1 that I built and that sits connected my table to this day.

IGN: How did you get started designing sets astatine the LEGO Group?

Carl Merriam: I joined the LEGO Group successful 2014 arsenic a decorator connected LEGO Minecraft. I ever accidental that moving arsenic a LEGO decorator is beyond a imagination for me, arsenic I built with LEGO bricks my full life. In assemblage I started to photograph my enactment and enactment it online. I did immoderate LEGO committee enactment for household and friends and a fewer promotional things for section business.

I recovered the AFOL (Adult Fans Of LEGO) assemblage online and started to stock my builds with them. I yet made a portfolio of these photos and applied for a plan position. I applied connected a Friday. The pursuing Monday I received an email from the LEGO Group: “Come to Denmark for a store successful 2 weeks.” I went to the store and had a ton of amusive gathering with LEGO bricks successful Billund. Then a fewer weeks aboriginal I got a telephone with a occupation offer.

IGN: What different sets person you worked connected earlier the LEGO Game Boy?

Carl Merriam: I person designed products for galore antithetic LEGO franchises including Super Mario, Minecraft, Mixels, Boost, Star Wars, Icons, Ideas and MINDSTORMS. The afloat database tin beryllium recovered present astatine Brickset.

IGN: Were you a instrumentality of the Game Boy arsenic a kid?

Carl Merriam: My older sister Julie got the archetypal Nintendo Game Boy successful our household and utilized to complaint america a dollar an hr to play it. Eventually I got my ain and played it similar crazy. My favourite Game Boy crippled is The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening. Designing the LEGO mentation of that Game Pak made my bosom skip a beat.

IGN: The lenticular surface pieces are precise cool. Have those kinds of pieces ever been utilized successful a LEGO acceptable before?

Carl Merriam: The LEGO Harry Potter location banners from 2023 usage the aforesaid benignant of lenticular sheets, but we similar to marque caller things with the aforesaid pieces.

IGN: How did you determine which games to include? Did they person to beryllium first-party Nintendo games? Did you see going with Tetris?

Carl Merriam: LEGO and Nintendo person a longstanding partnership, truthful we decided to observe these first-party games, arsenic they were immoderate of the archetypal to beryllium included successful the Game Boy portfolio.

IGN: What's your favourite portion astir the LEGO Game Boy set?

Carl Merriam: The LEGO System is simply a language. The LEGO Game Boy is simply a poem written with LEGO Bricks.

I utilized each my powers arsenic some a seasoned LEGO decorator and a lifelong LEGO instrumentality to marque this acceptable arsenic fantabulous arsenic possible, truthful determination are tons of favourite things to take from. If I person to prime conscionable 1 it’s the powerfulness switch. While moving connected this set, I focused connected replicating each the haptics of the existent Game Boy arsenic intimately arsenic possible. I made each the buttons press-able and the dials turn-able, but getting that powerfulness power to descent and click similar the existent one... that is my favourite feature.

IGN: Are determination different video game-based LEGO sets you'd similar to enactment connected successful the future?

Carl Merriam: I americium a large instrumentality of video games. I deliberation the LEGO ceramic offers truthful galore opportunities, which is wherefore I person ever been a instrumentality of the format. While I cannot speech astir thing that we are presently moving on, it is harmless to accidental that if it’s made of LEGO bricks, I americium excited to physique anything.

Chris Reed is simply a commerce exertion and deals adept for IGN. He besides runs IGN's committee crippled and LEGO coverage. You tin travel him connected Bluesky.

Originally posted:

Oct 2, 2025 6:30 pm