Playdate: a small pocket computer with games from the creators of Qwop and Katamari



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Panic's is made known through high-end Mac software, but more recently, the company has launched into the video game by publishing an independent hit Fire picket and the next Untitled goose game. Now the developer is expanding his work in games and is moving in a very unexpected direction. Today, Panic has unveiled Playdate, a tiny, gameboy-like, yellow camera with a black and white screen, a few large buttons and … a crank to control the original games developed by independent stars like Keita. Takahashi and Zach Gage. .

The company said it wanted to create "something really different in the world of video games." According to the appearance of Playdate, she managed to do it. "The yellow color immediately made Playdate feel accessible, friendly and impossible to resist," said Panic co-founder Cabel Sasser.


Playdate

First of all, the material. The device is incredibly small, measures 74 × 76 × 9mm, with a 2.7-inch screen. It looks a bit like an extended iPod Nano. The Playdate features a reflective black and white screen with no backlight, two buttons on the front, a directional pad and a crank that fits snugly on the side of the device. The crank does not power the terminal as one would expect; instead, it's a unique control option. "Think of the crank as an analog stick, but you can spin endlessly," says Panic.

On the screen, Panic says that, while it sounds incredibly good, it's a little more upscale than you think. "In appearance, it might be tempting to compare the screen to the Game Boy, for example," says the company. "But the Playdate display is quite different: it has no grid lines, no blur, is extremely sharp and clear, and has a much higher resolution. It sounds strange, but it's really an "upscale" black and white screen.

Other features include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, USB-C and a headphone jack. The terminal runs on a custom operating system created by Panic and has a battery that charges with the USB-C port. ("We do not have the final numbers yet, but the first reading results look promising," says the company about the battery life.) If you're wondering why the material is so smooth it was designed in collaboration with Teenage Engineering, Swedish. renowned company for its beautiful synths. They had the idea of ​​starting.

The material is not the only thing unique in Playdate, however. Instead of buying cartridges or game downloads, the hardware will come with what Panic calls a "season" of games. This means that 12 titles, each designed specifically for the Playdate, will be released over time. When you turn on the device for the first time, you will have access to a game and a new one will be unlocked every week after that.


Playdate

Although we do not know much about the games themselves, Panic has assembled a team of independent designers to design experiments on the device. The first game to unlock calls Crankin's Time Travel Adventure, and it was designed by none other than Katamari Damacy creator Keita Takahashi. Here is the basic principle:

This game uses the crank exclusively to control the flow of time, back and forth. Your goal? Give Crankin 'a rendezvous with Crankette while avoiding an ever-growing series of ridiculous obstacles – obstacles are not affected by time control. Will Crankin 'arrive at his appointment on time? (Spoiler alert: no)

Other contributors include QWOP the creator Bennett Foddy, The last rocket Shaun Inman, designer, and Zach Gage, the spirit behind inventive mobile games like Really bad failures and Flip Flop Solitaire. "The games will remain a surprise until they are magically delivered to your device," says Panic. Once the game is unlocked, it will be available forever, and Panic says he will consider additional seasons depending on the evolution of the device's sales.

The Playdate is expected to be available in early 2020 and will cost $ 149. If you want to arrive early, pre-orders will be held later this year. Panic says he is still "determined" in which countries the device will be shipped.

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