[HN Gopher] Write Playdate Games in Zig
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Write Playdate Games in Zig
Author : hasheddan
Score : 132 points
Date : 2022-06-04 13:17 UTC (9 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (gist.github.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (gist.github.com)
| ducktective wrote:
| So after watching their teaser [1], playdate is a handheld gaming
| device with _exclusive_ games on it every week available via
| WiFi.
|
| [1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdF3CnFvxg4
| davidwritesbugs wrote:
| Waiting for the Doom port. Though serious question: what if you
| get a game you really like can you opt to keep it? Is it a one
| game at a time?
| S1ngleM4lt wrote:
| From their FAQ:
|
| Q: Do games get deleted when the week is over? A: Absolutely
| not. You keep the games forever.
|
| https://help.play.date/games/season/
| PinkMilkshake wrote:
| https://devforum.play.date/t/doom-on-playdate/852
| sonofhans wrote:
| No, the games stack up. Every Monday we get 2 new games, and
| all the prior games stay on the device. A Playdate has 4GB, and
| games are pretty small, so there's lots of room. Panic has this
| documented --
| https://sdk.play.date/1.11.1/Inside%20Playdate.html#_game_si...
|
| You can delete games and then download them again. Panic fully
| supports sideloading games, too.
| srgpqt wrote:
| Appears to be something like a Zig SDK for https://play.date/
| Shadonototra wrote:
| what a refreshing language, everything is in zig including the
| build script! that's perfect
| [deleted]
| jedisct1 wrote:
| Oh, yes, this is Panic's game system.
|
| I didn't follow that the project had made so much progress. Damn,
| it looks insanely cool. A black & white screen is quite limiting
| for games, though.
|
| Zig looks like a perfect language for such a platform.
| otachack wrote:
| Applying limits is a catalyst for creation. Not having to deal
| with limitless colors, in Panic's Playdate example, frees up to
| think about gameplay, mechanics, and story instead.
| tgv wrote:
| Color does appeal to buyers, though. A B/W game system is
| doomed to a niche position.
| jakelazaroff wrote:
| Why is a niche position bad? Panic's goal isn't to dominate
| the handheld games market.
| solar-ice wrote:
| It's made by a company that publishes niche games, in
| collaboration with a company that designs niche hardware.
| Finding an interested niche was the goal.
| shakna wrote:
| The PlayDate was intentionally designed to be a niche
| product, so that doesn't really seem to detract at all from
| the platform.
| Uehreka wrote:
| Personally, I think it's an interesting gimmick, but if I'm
| being honest I wouldn't say that dealing with color actually
| limits my ability to think about other things when developing
| software/games.
| sonofhans wrote:
| It is insanely cool, and fun. For sure it would be a different
| type of fun with a color screen, and not all to the benefit.
|
| For one thing, they're somewhat expensive for little toys:
| $179. I bet a megacorp making 10 million at a time could do it
| more cheaply, but Panic seems to be doing it in batches of
| thousands. A backlit color screen would boost that cost. Then
| they'd need a bigger battery to provide the same life (~8 hours
| playtime), which would increase cost and maybe size.
|
| Then yes, while the games would be cooler in some ways, they'd
| also take more time to develop. One nice thing about Playdate
| gameplay so far is that it feels very pure: just a few controls
| and an interesting puzzle. They've distilled the fun down to as
| simple an experience as they can.
| cableshaft wrote:
| That $179 price includes 24 newly made games (by that I mean
| not just tossing some retro roms on the device) by various
| developers, including some bigger names.
|
| I'm sure those developers are getting a cut of that for
| compensation for their efforts. Wouldn't be surprised if at
| least $40-50 of that cost is just going to the developers of
| those games. Assuming there's 24 developers, that means
| they're only getting between $1-2 per device sold, that's
| nothing huge.
| frosted-flakes wrote:
| Panic have said that the parts alone cost ~$90 per device.
| That doesn't include assembly, shipping, writing the OS,
| developing the SDK, etc. Plus the season games. In all, the
| price seems very reasonable.
| cableshaft wrote:
| I agree, I preordered one. I'm in wave 3, so hopefully
| I'll get it before the end of the year.
|
| I also already have the gameplay to one of my video games
| ported to Playdate (using Lua). Still need to improve
| graphics, add sound, figure out how to make menus look
| nice with only 1 color graphics, etc., and I wasn't going
| to release it until I tested it on an actual device, not
| just the simulator.
| frosted-flakes wrote:
| I am also in group 3, in the 18000s (order #). I'm still
| kicking myself because I didn't set an alert and order
| one right away, but instead waited until the end of the
| day to put in my order. But I've waited this long, I can
| wait a bit longer.
| TheDesolate0 wrote:
| No, lol.
|
| That's what the world needs... More plastic garbage
| DrewRWx wrote:
| Wow, that is shortsighted. The Playdate development community
| has cultivated a sense of art and exploration in gamedev from
| AAA to indie devs that I haven't seen in a long time! (Or at
| least since the PICO--8.)
| AnIdiotOnTheNet wrote:
| Eh.... I kind of agree with parent actually. This could
| easily have been a VM for phones and PCs the intended
| audience almost certainly already have. Instead it produces a
| niche product that I suspect will 40% be bought to look good
| on people's shelves, 20% with vague intention to develop for
| it that never gets realized so it ends up in a drawer like so
| many Raspberry Pis and Arduinos, and 90% will be in a
| landfill in 30 years.
|
| I might have bought it in that case, but even though I know
| some of the developers listed for this thing are incredibly
| good, I just don't need more trinkets in my life personally,
| not even taking into account the environmental cost (which is
| admittedly relatively tiny).
| danb91 wrote:
| Oh wow, thanks for the post here, hasheddan! Just an FYI for
| everyone, I had heard people were interested in writing Zig for
| the Playdate, so I put out some code I have for a game I've been
| developing on Twitch.
|
| I do plan on having a more complete template in a proper Github
| repo at some point in the future when the code is more complete.
| When that is finished I'll post it on my Twitter @dbokser91. Feel
| free to reach out if anyone has questions about this code!
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