Playdate Pulp launched: Make games in your browser
Crank it up!
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The long-awaited Playdate is very nearly here and as promised a few months back, Pulp, the new handheld’s in-browser source development kit is now available. It allows you to begin work on your new ideas for the cranked-equipped yellow rectangle and once we all manage to get one, share them via your favourite storefront (like itch.io) or if you’re in the midst of development, actually beam them straight over to the Playdate itself for testing.
What is Playdate?
Playdate is Panic’s niche, an indie handheld that has a crank and a black and white screen. It’s designed to be a plaything, something that might never be a full handheld experience outside the audience it gathers. A curiosity, a toy. It’s got 24 games already lined up that Panic will be pushing to the console over the course of a ‘season’ and if it does well enough, will look into an additional season.
Pulp is intended to fill the gaps between the weeks and potentially long season break while they acquire more developers.
By allowing anyone to access game development for the console with basic knowledge of managing a user interface or having some experience with game engines in the past, Pulp offers a great opportunity for Panic to fill a console with a hard limit with as many games as it possibly could get people making.
The Playdate is currently on a permanent preorder, having been delayed due to a battery failure in the first testing batch in 2021. The first couple groups of those who did get a preorder in July of 2021 will be receiving the console in the first part of 2022, while those who ordered later won’t see there’s till later in the year or 2023, depending on the chip shortage.