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Playdate Software Development Kit is now available for free to all
- Jyaif 5y ago> Most games will use Playdate’s Lua API Oh my sweet summer child. Reminds me of the Android documentation that said something along "Most apps shouldn't use the NDK".
- rideontime 5y agoDo most apps use the NDK?
- wmf 5y agoAFAIK virtually all Android games use NDK because game engines like Unity are not written in Java.
- jiaaro 5y agoInstead of unity there is a first-party lua sdk, though
- hortense 5y agoAlmost all the most popular apps (Facebook, WhatsApp, Google Chrome, Google Maps ..) do. And of course, nearly all games do.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- mhitza 5y agoI've been keeping an eye to this little novelty console for a while now, and the additional stereo dock could be a really nifty desk fidget. While I won't be an early adopter of this console, I hope they it's not going to be a necessary limited edition so I'll have an easy time getting the combo at a later date.
- jonah-archive 5y agoAnnouncement tweet: https://twitter.com/playdate/status/1498427655175159822 https://twitter.com/playdate/status/1498427655175159822
- donkarma 5y agohow is it only 8 hours active battery?
- Gigachad 5y agoThe battery is about as big as a stick of gum. So 8 hours makes sense to me.
- neilv 5y agoHow many people are going to develop for a niche hobby platform with such closed-source restrictions (including anti-reverse-engineering): https://play.date/dev/sdk-license https://play.date/dev/sdk-license
- chipotle_coyote 5y agoThe "closed-source restrictions" are on the SDK itself, not applications written using it. At risk of being a bit flip, there's a pretty long history of people developing applications that run against proprietary SDKs. The "niche hobby platform" might prove to be more of an issue, but I don't think anyone developing for -- or for that matter, buying -- the Playdate is doing so with the expectation that it's going to be the next Nintendo Switch.
- rezmason 5y agoI'll own one, and I'm a game developer, so, at least one. What part of the license do you feel I should be upset about?
- awill 5y agoDoes anyone care about this after the Analogue Pocket and the Steam Deck have launched (I get my Steam Deck next week). I get they're different devices, but I feel the Playdate had a bunch of hype, and then took way too long to ship, and has lost that initial interest.
- codezero 5y agoI still think it's neat. As neat as Analogue Pocket, maybe not Steam Deck. I generally like small single-purpose electronics and find them to be fun ways to get some joy out of digital devices. I think I could do that with both the Pocket and Deck, but I like the idea of the minimalism of the Play, so I'm probably going to eventually own all three :P
- Arnavion 5y agoI don't think it's comparable to the Steam Deck, in the sense that the Steam Deck has always been about playing existing games and the PlayDate has always been about completely new games for that hardware. They serve different use cases. I don't have anything to say about the Analogue Pocket; your comment is the first I heard of it.
- city41 5y agoI always felt the Playdate was more competing with things like the Arduboy, Gamebuino, or even the Pico8. A new platform for brand new games that is perhaps retro inspired but not actually retro. I don't really think many people are debating between the Playdate and the Analogue Pocket or Steam Deck.
- caconym_ 5y agoAssuming Panic manages to ship their first run, tens of thousands of people who've already ordered are going to have Playdates in their hands sooner or later, and they will set the tone for its reception. It's not like the hardware is going to become obsolete; its appeal was always its simplicity and the "curated indie experience" on offer. Neither the Analogue Pocket nor the Steam Deck is really comparable in terms of capability or value proposition.
- tengbretson 5y ago
- imwillofficial 5y agoThis a dope, can’t wait to get my hands on my playdate!
- pull_my_finger 5y agoCan you disable the "seasons" feature? I don't love the idea of constant stream of random software getting loaded on there
- ngngngng 5y agoThis is a good question for the playdate discord where a few Panic employees hang out to answer questions. From their previous related answers I believe the playdate is extremely flexible.
- the_arun 5y agoInitial thoughts: 1. From the video on the site, device looks simple & portable. 2. The crank on the side makes you think it can play only 2D games. 3. $199 (device+cover) feels little expensive. 4. Display seems black white 5. Wonder why this was not done as an accessory device for smartphones instead of a separate device
- Gigachad 5y agoIt's a fidget toy for people with lots of money rather than an actual gaming device. It all makes sense once you see it with that perspective. It looks like a high quality build with a sharp oled screen and novel controls. A stick on crank for a phone would be silly and feel cheap.
- joezydeco 5y agoPanic is into gaming, and distributed Firewatch and Untitled Goose Game. I look at it as an homage to the Game 'n' Watch. And that was still a game. Does it really need to do everything in the world?
- HelixEndeavor 5y agoIt's not OLED. It's more like one of those LCD watch displays but massively technologically advanced forward.
- Gigachad 5y agoAh so it isn't. Still looks quite good in the images. High enough resolution to feel premium.
- boondaburrah 5y agoI've held one in my hand and damn that screen is clear as hell (but reflective) I think it sits somewhere between IPS and OLED for me, and being reflective it's easier to look at.
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- aluminum96 5y agoThis is typically lovely and well-designed Teenage Engineering hardware. I'm sure the buttons will feel great. I'm wary of buying it though, it might end up sitting on a shelf looking pretty like my Pocket Operator.
- smoldesu 5y agoMy Pocket Operator definitely spends a lot of time on the shelf, not quite sure it's looking pretty without a case though...
- bodge5000 5y agoHope it ends up better than the OP-Z buttons though. I haven't had a lot of trust in TE build quality since that, but it looks like the case at least is sturdier
- RototRobot 5y agowhile the device is novel and I wish the devs the best, I just cant wrap my head around who would actually want to use this device? The Gimmick seems like it would wear off rather fast for anyone interested in gaming, the Seasonal model of games released seems to put all the risk on the consumer to hope they make more. the games dont actually look all the interesting, and as a fun toy for non-gamers it seems to expensive. to me it looks like a product a lot of teenage engineering fans and hipsters will want to buy but after a week sits on a shelf unused.
- oh_sigh 5y agoMy take is the same. I suspect we will see them strategically placed in the background of Cool People Who Make Youtube Videos, but that's about it.
- LeoPanthera 5y agoI'm kind of mad about the seasonal model. It means that only the "first wave" of owners will get to experience the excitement of the new games with other owners. For everyone else, it's old news.
- philistine 5y agoThe season begins once you first power up the device. Everybody is on their own release schedule.
- pianoben 5y agoI've said as much in previous comments, but I certainly want to use this device! It's got an open SDK, binaries are freely loadable and runnable. The Lua API at least is quite simple, and plenty enough to get a backend dev like me up and running with my own games, on real gaming hardware! That's almost never been practical, in my experience anyways. Playdate promises to dramatically lower the barrier to portable game development; I'm looking forward both to playing with it, and helping show my son that he too can make awesome things with computers. The crank is seemingly a gimmick but a good one, and I'm looking forward to seeing how it is (or isn't) incorporated in games. It seems to have inspired a good bit of creativity, at least in the Season One games they've demoed so far.
- rendall 5y agoThis reminds me of the Pokitto, created by my friend Jonne. It's a programmable pocket game console, too. https://www.pokitto.com https://www.pokitto.com With a clever and efficient BOM, he was able to get a color display and the price down to about 50 bucks. He's working on a networked version now.
- criddell 5y agoYour friend may have the technical part down, but the design needs a lot of work. A gaming machine should be fun.
- throwaway6734 5y agoThis does look fun
- rendall 5y agoIt's fun.
- lostgame 5y agoIs there a hardware PICO-8?
- lewisflude 5y agoYes! There's this: https://shop.pocketchip.co/ https://shop.pocketchip.co/ https://www.lexaloffle.com/bbs/?tid=34009 https://www.lexaloffle.com/bbs/?tid=34009
- ok123456 5y agoI thought it was going to be the source code to Mac Playmate for a second.
- squarefoot 5y agoWay overpriced compared to other alternatives like the Odroid Go Advance which costs less than 1/3, runs Linux, can emulate plenty of other gaming platforms, and by having a gpio connector exposed to the outside and thoroughly documented hardware seems a really interesting hacking platform. Also, it employs both a RockChip RK3326 and a ESP32 module. https://www.hardkernel.com/shop/odroid-go-advance-black-edition-clear-white/ https://www.hardkernel.com/shop/odroid-go-advance-black-edit... https://wiki.odroid.com/odroid_go_advance/start https://wiki.odroid.com/odroid_go_advance/start
- okkdev 5y agoThat's not what I want tho. I want a neat unique device with certain restrictions to curb my creativity. I'm the target audience.
- criddell 5y agoDifferent products appeal to different people. For me, the Playdate is far more interesting. You get the device and 24 games and get to support the development of something novel. All that for less than $200? To me, that seems like a very reasonable price. Plus, the Playdate has great industrial design. The Odroid is downright ugly in comparison.
- boondaburrah 5y agoThey're not remotely the same product though. The person buying this /does not want/ those features, so those are actually downsides. They actively don't want emulation machines, because those machines never ship with any games they haven't played before (or could play other ways). Also I held one in my hand early on in the pandemic (they did a small show where I was) and the thing /feels/ worth the asking price. It's really solid, and the SHARP "memory LCD" tech they're using is one of the clearest monochrome screens I've seen. OLED is more capable, but this is easier on the eyes and battery. However, with price increase+shipping+tax, I can't afford one. I hope they become popular enough to either drop in price or do a mk2. I would like GPIO though that'd be nice.
- nstart 5y agoFor those mentioning the price, it's worth noting that you receive games for free on the device. That's part of the package From their homepage: > Here's the truly unique bit. Playdate isn't just an empty system. Once you set up your Playdate, you'll start to receive two brand new games... every week. For 12 weeks. > >That's 24 free games, in lots of genres. Some are short. Some are long. Will you love them all? Probably not. Will you have a great time trying them? Absolutely. Still expensive, but also only just. Especially given the hardware crank part which I definitely would want to be high quality seeing how much it's going to be used. The only question I have though is what type of games will people be making for this before the novelty wears off? It's going to need games which are made from "crank first" perspectives if this device is to actually last. So! To kick off a conversation here if it's not too late. What games would you make if you were developing for this device? I'd probably make a couple 1. A skateboard game where the crank is the balance 2. A game where you control a tank/space ship gunner position and the crank is used for both reloading and targeting. I can't think of any game right now where there would be a story where the crank mechanic is central to it. Curious if anyone else has ideas here.
- drorco 5y agoHuman power plant + palm gym.
- germinalphrase 5y agoObviously, fishing.
- bodge5000 5y agoI think a kind of fencing game would be pretty cool, in which you turn the crank forwards to lunge forwards (maybe you only actually "strike" after a full turn, and the rest of it is just moving forwards) and jump backwards when you crank backwards. Would be especially cool if it were from the first person perspective (of course something very basic in terms of style, like vector tanks or something) Really regretting cancelling my preorder now, I wanna make that :(
- nstart 5y ago
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- AussieWog93 5y agoA lot of people here seem to be surprised that people would spend $200 on a niche gaming console when you could instead get an emulation machine or "real" handheld. To add a bit of perspective, from someone who sells classic video games for a living: this console's main point isn't to be affordable or play high-end games. Its target market probably already owns an OLED Switch, a Vita, PSP, every DS model and 2 or 3 Game Boys (one of which is modded with an IPS display). It's designed to be interesting. That's it. Doesn't need to have a killer app or broad library. Any utility it offers comes from the fact that it's something to add a bit of spice and fun to an already broad games collection, and possibly the clout that comes from showing other people that you own one. From that perspective, I think these guys have absolutely hit it out of the park. Not surprised by the success of this at all.
- senko 5y ago> Any utility it offers comes from the fact that it's something to add a bit of spice and fun to an already broad games collection, and possibly the clout that comes from showing other people that you own one. Is that niche large enough for a sustainable success? (not arguing, genuinely interested to hear your opinion)
- AussieWog93 5y agoFor a mega-corporation the size of Microsoft or Sony, not at all. For a small business staffed entirely by enthusiasts, absolutely. There always have been, and always will be, successful businesses based in niche novelties.
- traspler 5y agoFor anyone asking "why", Panic has written a blogpost about it and talked about it on their podcast: https://panic.com/blog/the-story-of-playdate/ https://panic.com/blog/the-story-of-playdate/ It wasn't always their goal to enter the console market, it started as an idea for a very special anniversary project and evolved into the playdate. It might be a pricy, boutique, indie gaming handheld for us but from what I've read more of a "fun" project and life experience for panic.
- code_runner 5y agoI haven’t heard of this device and thought It felt like something from teenage engineering… awesome that they’re involved. A full blown sdk for a device like this seems like a blast. Side projects/hobby coding can get boring/stale sometimes but this seems like a blast
- plutonorm 5y ago"Play date", well that was a risky click on a work computer.
- stephc_int13 5y agoI love the device and the SDK. But as a game dev, what I utterly dislike is the business model. I don't understand it and I feel I won't have any control. I think they botched it.
- Loughla 5y ago>I don't understand it >I think they botched it. How can you assert 'B' if 'A' is true?
- stephc_int13 5y agoI don't understand the business model. But I think what they botched is the launch of their device. If the business model is not attractive for a game developer, I don't see much value in the device, it is merely a nice toy.