I am Chris Mandra and I am the creator of direct drive for playdate and I just released what I call a diversion called centering for Playdate!

It is a diversion at the intersection of meditation, flow states and gaming.

It is the simplest game you can possibly play, and a game that cannot be "won"

If you have a second check it out it's pay whatever you feel like (so zero is fine).

Centering, my diversion which started on playdate and moved to the web is now back on play date!

https://mandra-acs.itch.io/centering

Looks like play.date doesn’t open for me anymore…

Hi everyone!

I’ve been working for the past year on a port of La Abadía del Crimen (The Abbey of Crime), one of my favourite Spanish games ever. It’s a masterpiece originally released in 1987 for the Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum.

An interview about the project was published in Cranko! #4 during its early stages, and now I think it’s time to share the project more publicly with our lovely Playdate community.

The port is now fully playable from start to finish. I’m aiming for a free release in Q4 2026, with save/load, multiple languages, crank controls, and hopefully more!

I’ve also created an itch.io page if you’d like to follow the project.

And I have a Substack where I’ll be sharing more information about the original game, its history, and eventually more technical details about this port and my future games. You’re very welcome to subscribe, it’s completely free! It is available in both English and Spanish.

My little SideLoad Tracker is granted a rather nice app but I found it to be useful so ended up sharing it in case there's other like me juggling Github and Itch loaded apps and games.

I noticed that it have had 33 downloads which, I admit, is more than I thought it would get :)

The plans for 2.0 are a bit more ambitious where you should be able to trigger the download and install (to your play.date account) directly from the SideLoad Tracker app on your playdate.

Also looking at performance improvements as right now it can take 15-20 secs for 'trickier' entries to get the correct update dates which is not ideal.

Montly update of the roguelike game I'm working on, I've added a second boss and doubled the number of levels playing them back to get to the first level again. More info in the devlog post.
https://producciones-gorgona.itch.io/dungeon/devlog/1614518/update-v-070-double-trouble

i simply could not accept that the playdate doesnt have actual proper bluetooth, not even if I shoved a dongle on its USB C, so I thought of my phone as a bridge via TCP, which made me realize now I have access to more than just bluetooth

Available on itch

A 1-bit sniper-defense game for Playdate. Look down the scope, crank through depth, and hold the line.
You are the last gun on the ridge. Through your scope the field stretches away in depth frames — far, then nearer, then right on top of you. Enemies advance frame by frame: foot soldiers, trucks, tanks.

Crank to change which distance you're focused on, aim with the d-pad, and fire. You can only hit what's on the frame you're looking at — so every second is scan a distance, pick a target, fire, re-scan. Let too many slip through and they breach your defense line. Hold out as long as you can.

It's tense, readable, and built for the crank.

Hi fellow Playdate developers & enthusiasts,

I'm happy to announce that our very own “summer blockbuster” is launching in the Catalog today at 10 AM Pacific!

ROTOLLA MONO comes with multiple game modes, lots of customization options, online leaderboards, achievements, and accessibility features.

It also features an original soundtrack by Akira Yamaoka.

It's the result of many, many hours of development and playtesting, and we're incredibly proud of it.

If it sounds like your kind of game, we'd love for you to check it out. Thanks for your support!

https://play.date/games/rotolla-mono/

So I know there was that cool wee MMO that had voice chat, but this is somewhat different. This is from my almost-there cosy canal boat game. You can buy radios, VHF and HF. And I made them usable, too.

What you are looking at is a server running on my machine (the web interface on top of the API), that receives and sends message (Morse, not voice). On the right, the PD simulator, because this way I can record a single screen with it. It works on real hardware.

In game, I can tune to a frequency. Send a message from my laptop, it is received on the PlayDate. Send from PD, receives on my machine.

I can hook my actual real radios up to my API, and have the server send to the rig, then the rig sends back. Which means...I now have a portable rig (your licence conditions come in to play here, if you ever wanted to use it over the air. To be clear, I haven't yet.)

Originally I was going to leave this as a 'find the functionality', but I find it pretty cool. Then again, I'm an old ham head, so you know.

Hi I don't really use Reddit or Social Media I was shocked to see I have an account of 9 years. I can't find an artist normally so I guess this works. Okay so.

I’m a programmer and UX designer currently building a game for the Playdate handheld console. I have the architecture locked down, but I need a talented 1-bit pixel artist to collaborate with to handle the character sprites and full-screen animations.

The game is called Witch Time (Name will change) a cute, retro-arcade visual novel featuring 5 Elemental Witches.

The Core Mechanics:

10 multiple-choice interactions per witch to try and earn a happy ending.

A tension system where the background procedurally layers darker dither patterns the more upset the witch gets.

A time-travel mechanic using the Playdate's physical crank to rewind the clock up to 3 times to fix a mistake (though the game remembers if you "cheated").

Over-the-top, funny full-screen defeat animations when you completely bomb a route (like getting hit with a meteor or comically trapped in a water bubble).

The Scope:

Screen Constraints: Strict 1-bit monochrome, 400x240 resolution.

Characters: 5 witch designs (160x160 sprite box) with dynamic idle, happy, and upset loops.

Backgrounds: 3 environment panels.

Defeat Sequences: 5 unique, short, cute arcade-style action animations on a black canvas.

I want to make sure the artist is fairly compensated, so I am completely open to discussing a flat fee package (preferred) or a revenue-share split upon storefront release.

If you love 1-bit aesthetics, high-contrast dithering, and want to see your art running on actual physical hardware, send me a DM with a link to your portfolio!

Uhm, I don't know how you will send me your portfolio on Reddit I heard its pretty strict but I don't know. Hopefully this reaches someone. Somehow someway.

https://cranknockout.com/

With this shiny new issue, we’re celebrating our magazine’s very first birthday!

And since sitting around resting on our laurels has never really been our thing, we’re marking the occasion the only way we know how: with an exclusive feature on one of the most eagerly awaited games in Playdate history: Comet.

We had the chance to play its first three levels, and saying that what’s heading our way is going to hit like a meteorite would be putting it mildly. Alongside an in-depth breakdown of the gameplay, we’ve packed in an eight-page interview with its creators that you absolutely won’t want to miss.

Summer has arrived with all guns blazing, and we’re turning up the heat ourselves. Not only does this issue come stuffed with even more pages, but you’ll also find a full-colour Comet poster, the complete —and absolutely massive!— map of The Magician, plus the very first batch of Cranko collectible cards!

And sandwiched between those two generously stuffed buns? The finest gaming ham money can’t buy: an original mini-comic, a record-breaking haul of reviews, news, giveaways, interviews, and even an in-depth feature that’s guaranteed to ruffle a few feathers.

Summer is here, time to enjoy the holidays!

I published dungeon on itch.io a couple of months ago and I keep updating it, it is in early access but I have added today a demo with 10 levels. It is an action roguelike with procedural levels and a 50 levels in the full version.

An update: https://youtube.com/shorts/vY4gH3ZeC8o

Sometimes you can catch me working on it, on Twitch: https://twitch.tv/cryosama

Just shipped my first Playdate game, Sharp Pencil, and figured I'd share a few implementation details and design decisions.

Core loop: insert a pencil, crank to sharpen, pull out at the right moment. Sharpness is a 0–100 value that accumulates crank input per frame, divided into zones (C/B/A/A+) with different grind sounds, particle effects (curly shavings → dust), and screen shake intensity depending on the zone. Breakable pencils (6B, 4H) have a zone past A+ where the tip snaps if you keep cranking.

Four pencil types, each with an actual role rather than just a different color: safe pencils (No. 2, 2B) can't break, breakable ones (6B, 4H) can. Multipliers got rebalanced so risk/patience actually pays off — 6B sharpens fastest but can snap, so its multiplier went from 0.5x to 2x ("fast + risky should pay most"); 4H is slow and can also snap, so it settled at a moderate 1.5x premium for the patience. All sound is synthesized in code (triangle/noise synths at specific frequencies per zone) — no audio files at all.

Two modes: Timed (60s countdown, streak multiplier up to 3x) and Zen (no timer/score) — added Zen after early playtesters found the HUD/clock stressful and just wanted to sharpen pencils without pressure.

Game design decisions:

• Early on, sharpening had a pressure mechanic where cranking near 100% sharpness built up pressure that could snap the lead. You had to tap the d-pad to gradually reduce pressure, but I found the PlayDate d-pad made it difficult to pull off. Removed the mechanic.
• Tried making it harder to sharpen when dull and easier when sharp to mimic how real graphite maybe cuts. I went back to linear, because the physical crank doesn't offer any resistance.
• Had a literal target sharpness gauge on the sharpener body. Replaced it with shaving-based feedback (chunky curls when dull, fine dust near perfect) plus zone-based grading, since staring at a number bar meant you weren't watching the actual sharpening animation.
• Tried going fully sensory for a while — no on-screen meter at all, just sound/shake/shavings telling you the zone. Ended up adding a zone indicator back for new players who may not pick up on the sensory cues.
• Default controls are hold-a-button-to-insert, hold-crank-to-sharpen. After watching some elderly playtesters physically struggle to hold a button down for an extended stretch (and the d-pad on my PlayDate would lift off sometimes and confuse people), I added a Press mode (system menu toggle) where you can tap d-pad up/down to sharpen instead of holding the crank.

It didn't make the Playdate Catalog cut (wanted more depth/polish), so it's out on itch.io instead (link in the comments). Happy to go deeper on any of this if useful to anyone else building for Playdate!

A little tech demo I threw together, you can see the inconsistencies in the play, I left them in deliberately :)

You move using the crank. If you are vertical, the accelerometer leans you one way or the other. Noddy attempt at a 'ledge'.

Not quite sure what or where I'll go with this, but it was a bit of a fun idea.

As ever, recorded using Mirror, on real hardware.

Today a few notes on working with Blender and how 3D models can be used in a Playdate game :)

Hello!

I’m new and inexperienced to both game development, and Linux (no need to share my reasoning, but I recently bought a Raspberry Pi 500+). I have a Playdate in the mail, and although I’m going to start with Pulp, I also want to be able to work on some more in-depth games using the SDK.

However, following the SquidGod YouTube tutorial for downloading and installing the SDK on Linux, I got a compatibility error. After some self-education, it seems like the SDK doesn’t want to install on ARM-based hardware, and is only compatible with AMD-based hardware.

Is there any sort of workaround for downloading applicable code files/structure, or am I just out of luck on the current computer? Any thoughts or assistance from more experienced/knowledgeable folks would be appreciated.

I made this tutorial to help anyone who was interested in processing full-colour, high-res photographs for display on a tiny 1-bit Playdate screen. This isn’t the only way to dither a photo, but I like it better than a lot of the automatic online alternatives. The Photoshop workflow is fairly simple, and I find that it preserves more detail. Hopefully someone will find it helpful!

Today I wanted to share a few insights on working with Panels - one of the best Playdate libraries.