What is known about the Panic Playdate to date by @design_jem on @Medium #Gaming
Josh McGrath documents on Medium a compendium of information on Panic’s announced Playdate handheld game system.
…(Playdate) a completely brand new video game platform designed and developed (even the operating system) by Panic, and backed by a coterie of indie game darlings … I have been scouring every source I can find (Twitter, podcasts, Edge Magazine’s fantastic profile) for any tidbit of information about this strange yellow device. … Panic worked on the project in secret for four years, revealing virtually nothing about it until now … As this information is scattered, I have put together a roundup of all the bits and bobs of information I could find. Just the facts, as it were — with a smattering of editorializing where appropriate.
The article is broken into two sections: the first is a list of facts about Playdate, the second is a more in-depth analysis of the technical side of Playdate based on SDK notes Panic released. Just a sample:
Speeds & Feeds
The system runs on an ARM CPU and will have 16 MB of external RAM plus 320 KB of on-board RAM. That’s like eleven floppy disks!
Storage amount is unclear, but it will be gigs-worth and solid state. I have been wondering if the OS supports swap memory, but have not found any statements about this one way or the other yet. Edit: Greg Maletic of Panic tells me the storage size is 2 GB.
Most games will run at 30 FPS, though in some cases the OS UI will run at 50 FPS.
Adafruit publishes a wide range of writing and video content, including interviews and reporting on the maker market and the wider technology world. Our standards page is intended as a guide to best practices that Adafruit uses, as well as an outline of the ethical standards Adafruit aspires to. While Adafruit is not an independent journalistic institution, Adafruit strives to be a fair, informative, and positive voice within the community – check it out here: adafruit.com/editorialstandards
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7:30pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat and our Discord!