[HN Gopher] Developing a D-20 Watch for Tabletop Roleplaying Games
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Developing a D-20 Watch for Tabletop Roleplaying Games
Author : Timothee
Score : 60 points
Date : 2024-11-12 19:40 UTC (7 days ago)
(HTM) web link (timestoptech.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (timestoptech.com)
| cheeseomlit wrote:
| Pretty neat! I like the idea of an electronic device for tabletop
| dice rolling that isn't a smartphone, something with more
| 'tactile feedback' so to speak- more built-for-purpose and less
| of a distraction. Obviously you can just roll dice, but having
| the system-specific math automatically calculated based on the
| rolls can save so much time and keep the game moving. That's
| partly why we've largely moved to VTTs (Foundry is excellent)
|
| I'm not sure about the wristwatch form factor though, most dice
| rolls in TTRPGs are visible to everybody as they're made, so I
| would've expected a device you can place in the center of the
| table so everyone can see the rolls (the exception being private
| DM rolls of course). Being system agnostic or programmable would
| also be really cool, but I can understand why a hobby project
| would just focus on the game the creators (and 99% of the TTRPG
| market) are playing.
| Popeyes wrote:
| Handy for those secret DM rolls though.
| smlacy wrote:
| Cute idea.
|
| Not a single photo of this from any other angle than straight-on,
| so I presume it's very thick and that such off-angle/oblique
| photos would be unflattering to the product.
| gnatman wrote:
| There's a video on the product page here, plus dimensions.
|
| https://timestoptech.com/products/d-20-steel
|
| Case Width: 37 mm Thickness: 10 mm Lug-to-Lug: 41 mm Lug Width:
| 20 mm Weight: 48 g
| bongodongobob wrote:
| That thing is screaming for an accelerometer or something so you
| can shake your wrist to roll. Very cool.
| SamBam wrote:
| And while you're shaking your wrist, the die keeps rolling, and
| it only settles a half second after you stop.
|
| The same way people will roll a die for a while in their hands,
| especially if they really want a good roll, even though after
| the first two shakes it's making no difference. You should be
| able to really keep shaking your wrist for a while if you want.
| ramses0 wrote:
| Technically don't even need an accelerometer, just go with the
| cheap "spring switch" (vibration switch?
| https://www.amazon.com/HiLetgo-Vibration-Switch-Shock-Sensor...
| ) that you'll find in the bouncy LED balls.
| halgir wrote:
| This looks like such a fun product. Similar to another commenter,
| I don't think it's all that useful, since the tactility of the
| physical dice roll is such a big part of tabletop gaming (for
| many people at least). But to me, watch complications are not so
| much about utility as they are about being cool for its own sake.
|
| I would _love_ to see something like this made into a mechanical
| watch complication.
| thrtythreeforty wrote:
| How much does it cost to create a custom LCD? Sensor Watch [1]
| has created a replacement Casio watch LCD for his replacement
| Casio module, and I can't wait to get mine. The fact that he's
| done several iterations of LCD prototypes means that it can't be
| _that_ out of reach, and yet I somehow doubt the price for qty 5
| is going to be that attractive.
|
| [1]: https://www.crowdsupply.com/oddly-specific-objects/sensor-
| wa...
| Luc wrote:
| EEVblog had a couple of videos on this in 2018. $100 for 5
| displays!
|
| https://youtu.be/ZYvxgl-9tNM
| slim wrote:
| Also the sensorwatch has a random number watchface using the
| very capable embedded RNG in the microcontroller
| Miraste wrote:
| This isn't quite as purpose-built, but if you want dice on your
| wrist this WearOS project deserves to be shared:
|
| https://github.com/A31Nesta/OptiDice
| tcmart14 wrote:
| This is really cool. I am curious though, did using the PineTime
| from Pine64 cross your mind as a way to handle the hardware? If
| so, what was the reasoning for not going that route?
| ramses0 wrote:
| Buttons. Buttons. Buttons. Buttons. Buttons. And Battery Life.
| I just got a Garmin Fenix 7, and _finally_, a smart-watch with
| buttons that are reasonably well-thought out (and a battery
| that lasts longer than one week).
|
| But seriously: the interface design that goes into "up, down,
| ok, back, start" and the gestures of "press, hold, hold2"
| necessitate (and enable) a whole different UX than smearing
| react javascript components onto a 30mm touch screen with a
| (checks specs) 1 week battery life.
|
| There are _real_ advantages to designing a stateful / navigable
| interface, and years-long battery life makes it Not a Toy.
| berbec wrote:
| I will be purchasing soon!
| slim wrote:
| disappointed because there's no information on the hardware (what
| kind of microcontroller is it using ?) or the software (is it
| custom ? is it using an OS ? is it written in C ?)
| zoklet-enjoyer wrote:
| $$$TAKE MY MONEY$$$
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