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I think a good comparison is how long it takes for people to make games on the PlayDate. The PlayDate has a weak processor by modern standards, but it also has

I think a good comparison is how long it takes for people to make games on the PlayDate. The PlayDate has a weak processor by modern standards, but it also has a lot of modern little touches and a modern SDK. Yoyozo[1] is a recently released PlayDate game. The first toot about working on it on Mastodon[2] is from Sept. 5 and it got into the PlayDate store on Nov. 21. Elsewhere the creator said he put about a month into it. So a lone dev working on a legacy-like platform can launch a game in a month. I think Yoyozo doesn't have quite as much depth as Donkey Kong (not as many screens, no enemies), but it was made by a lone dev, so it probably all balances out. I think people are basically still capable of the same level of output, maybe a little higher, if they're willing to work on a limited platform. [1]: https://blog.gingerbeardman.com/2023/11/21/yoyozo-how-i-made-a-playdate-game-in-39kb/ https://blog.gingerbeardman.com/2023/11/21/yoyozo-how-i-made... [2]: https://mastodon.gamedev.place/@gingerbeardman/111013661521052756 https://mastodon.gamedev.place/@gingerbeardman/1110136615210...

adamrezich 3y ago
Playdate development in C is a ton of fun and I can't recommend it enough. it strikes an excellent balance of constraints to design around (two colors, low resolution, limited Sharp LCD fill speed, no threading, small stack size, ten-second watchdog limit per frame) while still being accessible by modern standards (64-bit ARM architecture, plenty of RAM, extensive API). if you've burned out on modern game development, it's a welcome breath of fresh air.
- msephton 3y ago
  I believe the ARM chip in Playdate is 32-bit, but yes to the rest!
  - adamrezich 3y ago
    ah yeah you're right, my bad
msephton 3y ago
Fun to see you mention my game as I also submitted this Donkey Kong link! I worked on YOYOZO from September 5th to 27th (23 days) I submitted it to Catalog on 21st. The final week of the stretch was polishing. I did another day or maybe three to add score boards just prior to launch. It was in review/queue longer than it was in development, by far!

adamrezich 3y ago

Playdate development in C is a ton of fun and I can't recommend it enough. it strikes an excellent balance of constraints to design around (two colors, low resolution, limited Sharp LCD fill speed, no threading, small stack size, ten-second watchdog limit per frame) while still being accessible by modern standards (64-bit ARM architecture, plenty of RAM, extensive API). if you've burned out on modern game development, it's a welcome breath of fresh air.

msephton 3y ago
I believe the ARM chip in Playdate is 32-bit, but yes to the rest!
- adamrezich 3y ago
  ah yeah you're right, my bad

msephton 3y ago

Fun to see you mention my game as I also submitted this Donkey Kong link! I worked on YOYOZO from September 5th to 27th (23 days) I submitted it to Catalog on 21st. The final week of the stretch was polishing. I did another day or maybe three to add score boards just prior to launch. It was in review/queue longer than it was in development, by far!