SquidGodAnother week of progress on my platformer for the Playdate! This is the 4th devlog in the series. This week, I'm trying something a little different where I live document the progress on my game throughout the week!
What Its Like Making a Game For The PlaydateSquidGod2022-10-17 | Another week of progress on my platformer for the Playdate! This is the 4th devlog in the series. This week, I'm trying something a little different where I live document the progress on my game throughout the week!
Join my Discord to say hi or ask questions!: discord.gg/kDM8RU4aFt Follow me on Twitter to see what I'm up to!: twitter.com/SquidGodDevThe Hidden Secrets of Playdate Performance OptimizationSquidGod2025-02-08 | In this video, I'll be showing you how to optimize your Playdate games performance, covering how the Playdate hardware works, why certain things run slow, and how to fix it.
Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 0:55 What is Performance? 1:30 Why is Performance Important? 2:32 How to Measure Performance 6:15 Improving Performance: Memory 6:31 What is Memory? 13:37 Caching Data 15:32 Load Time 17:36 Loading Screen 20:01 Memory Limit 21:41 Garbage Collector 23:30 Object Creation 27:02 Object Pool 28:14 Garbage Collector Settings 28:48 Improving Performance: Code Execution 28:58 Expensive Functions 32:18 Tables 36:04 Arrays 38:15 Array Creation/Modification 40:19 Const 40:39 Improving Performance: Drawing 40:45 Direct Drawing 42:15 Sprites 47:53 Caching Draw Calls 49:43 Rotation and Scale 51:24 Blurring and Fading 52:14 Playdate Hardware Versions 53:13 When to Improve PerformanceThe Complete Beginners Guide to Playdate Game DevelopmentSquidGod2025-01-04 | In this video, I'll show you how to start making games for the Playdate using the Lua programming language and the Playdate SDK. We'll go over how to set up your development environment for Windows, Mac, or Linux. Then, we'll be making a simple game together. Lastly, I'll be going over some resources to look at so you can continue your Playdate game development journey.
Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 1:15 Installation 2:47 Mac SDK Installation 3:08 Windows SDK Installation 4:09 Linux SDK Installation 5:24 Template Setup 9:14 Making a Game: Introduction 10:52 Game Art 12:34 Step 1: Drawing the Player 17:25 Step 2: Controlling the Player 20:02 Step 3: Using Sprites 22:50 Step 4: Adding Game State 25:14 Step 5: Adding an Obstacle 26:55 Step 6: Handling Obstacle Collisions 28:16 Step 7: Keeping Track of Score 29:29 Step 8: Ramping Obstacle Speed 29:59 Debugging 31:49 Sharing Your Game 34:33 Starting a New Project 35:11 Resources 38:10 Publishing Your GameReimagining my favorite Flash game for the PlaydateSquidGod2024-09-24 | In this video, I'll be showing you how I made my latest Playdate game about piloting a propeller-strapped rat through increasingly challenging, hazard-filled worlds with crank-based movement! Loosely inspired by the Flash game "The World's Hardest Game".
You can pick it up on Catalog here: https://play.date/games/propeller-rat Or on Itch IO here: squidgod.itch.io/propeller-rat
Videos mentioned: - Metroidvania tutorial: youtu.be/7GbUxjE9rRM - Grid view tutorial: youtu.be/vhwWC4PfXfcWhy 99% of Indie Games Are Never ReleasedSquidGod2024-03-09 | In this video, I go over the struggles I had in the last year of trying to make games, and the conclusion it led me to about why it was so hard for me to make a game. I also show a lot of the games I've worked on over the last few years, so you can think of it as a reflection on my experience with game dev as a whole.
Join my Discord!: discord.gg/kDM8RU4aFtI Combined a Deckbuilding Game with an Action RoguelikeSquidGod2023-05-29 | I started working on a Playdate game that combines elements of a deckbuilding roguelike and an action roguelike.
Music/SFX from Epidemic Sound: share.epidemicsound.com/njknzw🔴 Live Playdate Dev | Combining an Action Roguelike with a Roguelike DeckbuilderSquidGod2023-05-14 | Hey! In this livestream, I'm doing more development on my next game - a roguelike deckbuilder and an action roguelike for the Playdate. It'll also be like an "office hours" session so you can ask any questions you have about Playdate development, programming, debugging your code, or anything like that. Feel free to ask as many questions as you like! Mostly every Saturday at ~9:30AM PST.
Music/SFX from Epidemic Sound: share.epidemicsound.com/njknzw🔴 More progress on my Roguelike Deckbuilder + Squids Office Hours #7SquidGod2023-04-09 | Hey! In this livestream, I'm starting development on my next game - a roguelike deckbuilder for the Playdate. It'll also be like an "office hours" session so you can ask any questions you have about Playdate development, programming, debugging your code, or anything like that. Feel free to ask as many questions as you like! Every Saturday at 9:30AM PST.
Discord: discord.gg/kDM8RU4aFt Twitter: twitter.com/SquidGodDev Patreon: patreon.com/squidgoddev🔴 More Playdate Deckbuilder Coding + Squids Office Hours #6SquidGod2023-04-02 | Hey! In this livestream, I'm starting development on my next game - a roguelike deckbuilder for the Playdate. It'll also be like an "office hours" session so you can ask any questions you have about Playdate development, programming, debugging your code, or anything like that. Feel free to ask as many questions as you like! Every Saturday at 9:30AM PST.
Patreon supporters get access to early dev builds and the source code for all my games. Added a new tier for commented source code: patreon.com/squidgoddev
Music/SFX from Epidemic Sound: share.epidemicsound.com/njknzwLive 🔴 | Playing on the Unofficial Playdate Minecraft Server + Answering questions :)SquidGod2023-03-26 | Just playin some Minecraft on the newly setup Playdate Squad Minecraft server🔴 Making a Playdate Roguelike Deckbuilder + Squids Office Hours #5SquidGod2023-03-19 | Hey! In this livestream, I'm starting development on my next game - a roguelike deckbuilder for the Playdate. It'll also be like an "office hours" session so you can ask any questions you have about Playdate development, programming, debugging your code, or anything like that. Feel free to ask as many questions as you like! Every Saturday at 9:30AM PST.
Discord: discord.gg/kDM8RU4aFt Twitter: twitter.com/SquidGodDev Patreon: patreon.com/squidgoddevMaking a Vampire Survivors-like Game for the Playdate (ft. davemakes)SquidGod2023-03-06 | I partnered up with davemakes (developer of the Playdate Season 1 game Executive Golf DX) to make a survivors-like game for the Playdate! This project has been almost 3 months in the making, so I hope you enjoy :)
Patreon supporters get the source code for ALL my games (including this one). Support my channel so I can make more content like this :) patreon.com/squidgoddev Join my Discord!: discord.gg/kDM8RU4aFt
I get my music from Epidemic Sound: share.epidemicsound.com/njknzw🔴 Making a Playdate Deckbuilder + Squids Office Hours #4 | LIVE Playdate Development HelpSquidGod2023-02-26 | Hey! In this livestream, I'm starting development on my next game - a roguelike deckbuilder for the Playdate. I'll also be hosting an "office hours" session so you can ask any questions you have about Playdate development, programming, debugging your code, or anything like that. Feel free to ask as many questions as you like! Every Saturday at 9:30AM PST.
Discord: discord.gg/kDM8RU4aFt Twitter: twitter.com/SquidGodDev Patreon: patreon.com/squidgoddevPlaytesting Next Game + Squids Office Hours #3 | 🔴 LIVE Playdate Development HelpSquidGod2023-02-19 | Hey! In this livestream, I'll be hosting an "office hours" session so you can ask any questions you have about Playdate development, programming, debugging your code, or anything like that. I'll pick questions I think are interesting and do a brief lecture on the topic. Feel free to ask as many questions as you like! Every Saturday at 9:30AM PST.
Discord: discord.gg/kDM8RU4aFt Twitter: twitter.com/SquidGodDev Patreon: patreon.com/squidgoddevSquids Office Hours #2 | 🔴 LIVE Playdate Development HelpSquidGod2023-02-12 | Hey! In this livestream, I'll be hosting an "office hours" session so you can ask any questions you have about Playdate development, programming, debugging your code, or anything like that. I'll pick questions I think are interesting and do a brief lecture on the topic. Feel free to ask as many questions as you like! Every Saturday at 9:30AM PST.
In this video, I'll be going over what making games is like for the Playdate and how to setup a Playdate SDK game development environment on Windows using Visual Studio Code. This video is an update to a previous video I've made called "Getting Started with the Playdate SDK: Setup and Basics".
Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 2:14 SDK Installation 4:24 Manual Code Compilation 6:38 Notes About Simulator 7:19 Installing VSCode 7:34 Installing Playdate Project Template 10:00 How the SDK Works 10:45 Writing a Demo 13:25 Uploading to Device 13:43 Next Steps and ResourcesSquids Office Hours #1 | 🔴 LIVE Playdate Development HelpSquidGod2023-02-05 | Hey! In this livestream, I'll be hosting an "office hours" session so you can ask any questions you have about Playdate development, programming, debugging your code, or anything like that. I'll pick questions I think are interesting and do a brief lecture on the topic. I'm thinking of making this a weekly thing, but I'll see how it goes first. Feel free to ask as many questions as you like!
Discord: discord.gg/kDM8RU4aFt Twitter: twitter.com/SquidGodDev Patreon: patreon.com/squidgoddevSquidGod Live StreamSquidGod2023-02-03 | ...How to Make a Metroidvania/Platformer | Playdate SDK TutorialSquidGod2023-01-23 | In this video, I go step by step in teaching you how to make a metrodivania/platformer game similar to my game "The King's Dungeon" for the Playdate SDK using Lua.
*Playdate environment not yet set up* - Getting Started with the Playdate SDK: Setup and Basics: youtu.be/J0ufxinp7No
*New to Playdate development* - Everything About Playdate SDK Collisions in 7 Minutes: youtu.be/27vCPiwgWzQ - Everything You Need to Know About Sprites in the Playdate SDK: youtu.be/8OCebUVKlb4 - Object Oriented Programming for the Playdate SDK: youtu.be/e9x6DsWk-IU
Music/SFX from Epidemic Sound. Get a 30 day free trial: share.epidemicsound.com/njknzwIs the Playdate Too Expensive??SquidGod2022-12-19 | The Playdate is $179. Is that overpriced?? Watch this thinly veiled economics lecture to find out more.
Follow me on Twitter to see sneak peeks/updates!: twitter.com/SquidGodDev Join my Discord!: discord.gg/kDM8RU4aFtYou Can Make Your Own Custom Handheld In This GameSquidGod2022-12-12 | This week, I'm taking a little detour and trying out this new game called Retro Gadgets! I explore how the game works and try and make a little recreation of the Playdate.
Music/SFX from Epidemic Sound. Get a 30 day free trial: share.epidemicsound.com/njknzwMaking a handheld game with no game engine in 7 daysSquidGod2022-11-14 | I spent 1 week making a quirky tennis game for the Playdate!
Music/SFX from Epidemic Sound. Get a 30 day free trial: share.epidemicsound.com/njknzwGame Developer Tries Web Development (Devlog)SquidGod2022-11-07 | An update for my platforming game on the Playdate handheld. This is the 6th devlog in the series. This week, I've updated the website that you use to share levels. Enjoy!
Join my Discord to say hi or ask questions!: discord.gg/kDM8RU4aFt Follow me on Twitter to see what I'm up to!: twitter.com/SquidGodDevMaking My DREAM Feature for My DREAM Game for My DREAM ConsoleSquidGod2022-10-31 | An update for my platforming game on the Playdate handheld. This is the 5th devlog in the series. This week, I've added a saving and loading system so you can actually use the level editor properly. Enjoy!
Music: Epidemic Sound - share.epidemicsound.com/njknzw Lud and Schlatts Musical Emporium - youtube.com/channel/UCFbtXFIaAJ0fOtgyeDs8Jog🔴 LIVE - Explaining the code for my Playdate game!SquidGod2022-10-28 | Hey! In this livestream, I'll be diving into my game code for "Escape from Complex 32", the Playdate game I made recently. I'll be recording the livestream and also cutting it down to a video, so if you need to miss part of the livestream no worries! Feel free to ask as many questions as you like!
If you want to follow along with the game source code file for convenience, it's only available to Patreon supporters, but I'll basically be showing everything in this livestream. Support is much appreciated and helps out the channel a lot! patreon.com/squidgoddev
Devlog 1: youtu.be/RNAyEvI_7rI Devlog 2: youtu.be/Q63tTh3yHbQHow Much Money Did I Make From My First Game?SquidGod2022-10-24 | I just released my first commercial game for the Playdate, a little handheld console, and in this video I talk about how much I made from it. I also cover 3 lessons I learned from the experience.
Join my Discord to say hi or ask questions!: discord.gg/kDM8RU4aFt Follow me on Twitter to see what I'm up to!: twitter.com/SquidGodDevA week of progress on my Playdate platformerSquidGod2022-10-10 | I'm continuing work on my Mario Maker-like game where you create your own custom platforming levels and share them using audio data. In this week's devlog, I revamped the art style and settled on a level design system that I was happy with.
Check out my new book "The Beginner's Guide to Lua for Game Development" and learn how to code using Lua! Now with a Spanish translation! squidgod.itch.io/lua-for-game-development
Support me on Patreon and get this + all my games and their source code!: patreon.com/squidgoddev
Join my Discord to say hi or ask questions!: discord.gg/kDM8RU4aFt Follow me on Twitter to see what I'm up to!: twitter.com/SquidGodDevMaking Mario Maker for the PlaydateSquidGod2022-10-03 | I'm continuing work on my Mario Maker-like game where you create your own custom platforming levels and share them using audio data. This week, I made some adjustments to the platforming physics and added some new obstacles.
Support me on Patreon and get this + all my games and their source code!: patreon.com/squidgoddev
Join my Discord and say hi or ask questions! I'll respond :): discord.gg/kDM8RU4aFt Follow me on Twitter to see what I'm up to!: twitter.com/SquidGodDevI Made a Game That Lets You Share Levels Using Morse Code | Devlog 0SquidGod2022-09-26 | This week, I'm starting a new Playdate game devlog series! I'm making a Mario Maker-like platforming game where you can build custom levels, but with a twist - you can share your levels using an audio data transfer tool I've made. The Playdate currently has no networking API, so this is the only way to transfer data wirelessly. Check it out!
Support me on Patreon and get this + all my games and their source code!: patreon.com/squidgoddev
Join my Discord and say hi or ask questions! I'll respond :): discord.gg/kDM8RU4aFt Follow me on Twitter to see what I'm up to!: twitter.com/SquidGodDevCreating a Scene Manager for the PlaydateSquidGod2022-09-19 | Want to create different scenes in your Playdate game and make transitions between them? In this video, I show you how to set a scene manager using Lua for the Playdate SDK.
Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro 1:09 - Simple scene management 2:00 - More advanced scenes 2:58 - Creating example scenes 4:32 - Creating a scene manager 6:42 - Using the scene manager 7:21 - Passing data between scenes 8:06 - Creating a wipe transition 10:59 - Disabling scene transitions during an active transition 11:32 - Create a wipe transition with an image 11:44 - Creating a fade transition 12:44 - Improving fade transition performance 13:22 - Drawbacks of this scene management approach 14:40 - Alternative #1 14:55 - Alternative #2 15:10 - Alternative #3
#Playdate #PlaydateSDK #PlaydateConsoleAdding fishing and evolutions to my Tamagotchi gameSquidGod2022-09-12 | I spent the last week making a content update for my virtual pet game, in which I added a fishing minigame, an evolution tree, and some bug fixes.
Follow me on Twitter to see sneak peaks/updates!: twitter.com/SquidGodDev Join my Discord!: discord.gg/kDM8RU4aFtRemaking Tamagotchi 25 years later...SquidGod2022-08-29 | I spent 2 weeks making my own virtual pet game for this handheld device called the Playdate!
Music/SFX from Epidemic Sound. Support the channel and get a month free with my link! share.epidemicsound.com/njknzwAdding New Areas to My Gladiator Roguelite | Playdate Devlog 5SquidGod2022-08-08 | More progress on my Gladiator Roguelite for the Playdate! I added two new areas to the game - a cloudy night area and a mountainous area. I also go over the roadmap for the rest of the project. Watch this devlog to see my progress! Subscribe to follow along with the game - I upload every single Monday! However, next week I'll be taking a break since I feel a little burnt out, but the week afterwards I'll have a special surprise video/project :)
Follow me on Twitter to join the conversation around my game in development: twitter.com/SquidGodDev
#Playdate #PlaydateDev #PlaydateConsoleAdding an Ability Wheel to My Gladiator Roguelite | Playdate Devlog 4SquidGod2022-08-01 | I'm continuing development on my Gladiator roguelite indie game for the Playdate. This week, I made more progress on the shop and added a Breath of the Wild type ability wheel! Watch this devlog to see my progress! Subscribe to follow along with the game - I upload every single Monday!
Follow me on Twitter to join the conversation around my game in development: twitter.com/SquidGodDev
#Playdate #PlaydateDev #PlaydateConsoleCreating a Roguelite Map for My Gladiator Combat Game | Playdate Devlog 3SquidGod2022-07-25 | I'm continuing development on my Gladiator roguelite game for the Playdate. This week, I started work on the map system for the game! Watch this devlog to see my progress! Subscribe to follow along with the game - I upload every single Monday!
Follow me on Twitter to join the conversation around my game in development: twitter.com/SquidGodDev
#Playdate #PlaydateDev #PlaydateConsolePhysically Cranking to Spin Attack | Playdate Devlog 2SquidGod2022-07-18 | I'm continuing development on my Gladiator roguelite game for the Playdate. This week, I added 4 new enemies, a spin attack with the crank, and also a wave spawning system! Watch this devlog to see my progress and check out combat for my Playdate indie game! Subscribe to follow along with the game - I upload every single Monday!
Follow me on Twitter to join the conversation around my game in development: twitter.com/SquidGodDev
#Playdate #PlaydateDev #PlaydateConsoleAdding Combat to My Gladiator Roguelite | Playdate Devlog 1SquidGod2022-07-11 | I'm continuing development on my Gladiator roguelite game for the Playdate. This week, I updated the background visuals and added an enemy into the game - the wolf! Watch this devlog to see my progress and check out combat for my Playdate indie game! Subscribe to follow along with the game - I upload every single Monday!
Follow me on Twitter to join the conversation around my game in development: twitter.com/SquidGodDev
#Playdate #PlaydateDev #PlaydateConsoleIm Making a Gladiator Roguelite | Playdate Devlog 0SquidGod2022-07-04 | I'm starting a new series where I make a Dead Cells-esque combat action roguelite on the Playdate. The plan is to work on this game for 1-2 months and to make a really fun complete package.
#Playdate #PlaydateDev #PlaydateConsoleI Made a Fishing Game for This Weird Console (ft. @Goodgis)SquidGod2022-06-27 | Made a fishing game for the Playdate! Watch this video to see a devlog of the process of making it over the course of two weeks, with a special collab with @Goodgis who made the art for the game.
#Playdate #PlaydateDev #PlaydateConsoleThe COMPLETE Grid View Tutorial for the Playdate SDKSquidGod2022-06-20 | Want to make menus, inventories, and lists easily for the Playdate? Learn everything about how to use the grid view UI component for the Playdate SDK. I go over every single step in making a grid view and describe how to use the methods and properties associated with them.
Follow along with the source code: github.com/SquidGodDev/Gridview Grid View SDK documentation: https://sdk.play.date/Inside%20Playdate.html#C-ui.gridview
Support me on Patreon to help me make more of these videos and get access to my Playdate games/source code!: patreon.com/squidgoddev
Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro 0:13 - Creating a grid view 0:40 - Setting number of columns and rows 0:54 - Drawing grid view to screen 1:40 - Drawing custom cells 2:09 - Cell padding and highlight selected cell 2:38 - Drawing text in cell 3:21 - Navigating between cells 3:47 - Fixing grid smearing 4:34 - Using crank to navigate grid 5:05 - Adding border with 9-slice 6:12 - Adding sections 6:54 - Creating a list view 7:40 - Addressing performance
#Playdate #PlaydateSDK #PlaydateConsoleEverything About Playdate SDK Animators in 4 MinutesSquidGod2022-06-13 | Learn how to use animators to animate things using the Playdate SDK. I go over what exactly animators are and how to use them so you can take your Playdate game to the next level!
#Playdate #PlaydateSDK #PlaydateConsoleHow I made my Playdate gameSquidGod2022-06-06 | Last week, I had a livestream walking through my Playdate game source code. I've cut it down to a shorter video and added timestamps for your convenience - hope it's helpful!
Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 0:12 Why I'm showing my game architecture 0:43 File structure 2:08 Main file philosophy 2:50 Why you should local vs global 3:59 "Globals" file 4:33 Scene manager/transitions 10:05 Game background/infinite scrolling walls 12:37 Obstacles 15:54 "Technical Debt" and "Bad Code" 17:46 Obstacles continued 20:15 Player 20:33 Angle to velocity with trigonometry 21:50 Player physics 23:35 Collisions 24:11 Drawing the laser gun 26:07 Laser beam 26:32 Result display (fading background) 30:00 Title screen 31:27 How many hours to make this game
#Playdate #PlaydateDev #PlaydateConsoleAvoid this CRUCIAL game dev mistake (Playdate devlog)SquidGod2022-05-30 | Watch how I tackle scope creep in my Playdate game with 3 major tips that I follow! This week, I finished the game I was working on for the Playdate called Escape from Complex 32, where you control a giant laser gun attached to a little robot and use it to blast yourself up and dodge obstacles. I added a score display, a title screen, scene transitions, sound effects, and more! I was only able to wrap things up in this devlog because of how I effectively managed my game scope.
Support me on Patreon! Patrons support the development of my games and the creation of my devlogs/tutorials. They also get early access to my games (like this one) and the source code!: patreon.com/squidgoddev
#Playdate #PlaydateDev #PlaydateConsoleMaking a game for the PlaydateSquidGod2022-05-23 | Finally got my Playdate! Check out my devlog of this past week of progress as I make a fast paced game for the Playdate where you control a giant laser to launch yourself and dodge obstacles as an effort to escape the complex you're trapped in.
Support me on Patreon! Patrons get early access to this game and the source codes for my games: patreon.com/squidgoddev
#Playdate #PlaydateDev #PlaydateConsoleHow to Make a Simple Playdate GameSquidGod2022-05-09 | In this tutorial, I go through step by step how to make a simple space-invaders inspired game for the Playdate SDK using Lua. If you're a beginner, you should be able to follow along, given you've watched some of my other videos. I go over moving the player, shooting projectiles, collisions, spawning enemies on a timer, displaying a score, resetting the game, and adding screen shake.
Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro 0:30 - Setup 1:47 - Creating the Player 5:10 - Creating a Projectile 7:24 - Creating an Enemy 10:38 - Creating an Enemy Spawning System 12:36 - Creating a Score Display 14:13 - Resetting the Game 15:01 - Adding Screen Shake
Support me on Patreon to help me make more of these videos and get access to my Playdate games/source code!: patreon.com/squidgoddev
#Playdate #PlaydateSDK #luaLearn to Code in Lua for Playdate Game Dev! Part 2SquidGod2022-05-02 | Want to learn how to make games for the Playdate, but don't know how to program? No worries - this is part 2 of my series going over basic programming concepts for complete beginners like tables (array + dictionary), loops, and using the Playdate SDK libraries. I'll be teaching Lua, one of the languages you can use with the Playdate SDK. This is for people who want to use the Playdate SDK, and is not a guide for Pulp. If you want to learn Pulp, I have some videos for that on my channel as well.
Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 0:22 Tables 1:22 What is an Array? 2:36 What is a Dictionary? 4:06 Loops 4:28 Numeric For Loop 5:35 Table Helper Functions 6:28 Generic For Loop 7:25 Using the Playdate SDK API 8:10 Using "Import" 8:28 Update Function
Support me on Patreon to help me make more of these videos and get access to my Playdate games/source code!: patreon.com/squidgoddev
#Playdate #PlaydateSDK #luaLearn to Code in Lua for Playdate Game Dev! Part 1SquidGod2022-04-25 | Want to learn how to make games for the Playdate, but don't know how to program? No worries - in this video I'll go over basic programming concepts for complete beginners like variables, operators, and functions. I'll be teaching Lua, one of the languages you can use with the Playdate SDK. This is for people who want to use the Playdate SDK, and is not a guide for Pulp. If you want to learn Pulp, I have some videos for that on my channel as well.