Comment by remywang

1 day ago

I had some good fun writing non-gaming apps for the playdate console including a browser [1] and Kagi news mirror [2] and feel the device has great potential as an alternative to android/iOS duopoly

[1]: https://github.com/remysucre/ORBIT

[2]: https://github.com/remysucre/cranky-news

9 comments

remywang

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xstas1  20 hours ago

I had never heard of the Playdate but it looks like a very interesting device... and... I want it? Would you suggest getting one?

  • archargelod  18 hours ago

    I would've got one if it wasn't so pricey for these specs. You can get a cheap Anbernic for 40-60$ running linux, with decent ARM CPU and a good backlighted screen.

    • cl3misch  9 hours ago

      ...but what do you do with it? Play emulators? The Playdate has bespoke games designed for it, and many people say it's worth the price.

      Tbh I find it a bit weird to talk about leisure devices like a handheld in terms of pure specs as if it was a server for number crunching. I use it to have fun, and (for me at least) a huge part of that is UI and ease-of-use.

      2 replies →

  • Arelius  9 hours ago

    It's a neat piece of hardware, but honestly I never wanted to play any of the games. I don't really know for to do discovery for it, and none of the ones I tried stuck for me, honestly, I prefer to emulate games from my childhood, or retro/indie games I already have on my back-log.

  • ddtaylor  17 hours ago

    I was given one and it had some fun gimmicks but if doesn't really last beyond a few sessions. The ecosystem is strange and I just went back to a "real" device a bit after.

  • remywang  15 hours ago

    I really like my playdate! Lots of indie games, and their Lua API is very good, coming from someone with no prior experience with Lua or games programming.

  • Auracle  15 hours ago

    The games are quirky and too many use the crank, IMO. That said, if you want something a bit more unique than everything else it’s a fun toy.