Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Scenic Route Software

@scenicroutesoftware.com

380 followers 82 following 160 posts

We believe in making games that challenge you in the most pleasant way possible. We love what we do, and we believe in taking the time to do things right. Currently focused on Playdate games!

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Scenic Route Software @scenicroutesoftware.com · 25d

Cheese ‘n Crackers for #playdate is out!

play.date/games/cheese...

3 8 45

Scenic Route Software @scenicroutesoftware.com · 2d

SAM-Y Pro Max Plus is an exceptional opponent thanks to the expertly installed Dynamo Defense Systems L19 logic board upgrade.

#playdate

Scenic Route Software @scenicroutesoftware.com · 9d

Added a parallax layer to make things feel less static, and it speeds up briefly when you or SAM-Y make a clear above a certain size. #playdate

Reposted by Scenic Route Software

Playdate @play.date · 9d

3️⃣ OUT TODAY: Playdate system update 3.0. Now with Folders, and a new Game Library app. Organize your games, your way.

⬇️ Get it: Playdate > Settings > System > System Update

🔡 Read more about it: help.play.date/manual/3.0/

10 46 220

Scenic Route Software @scenicroutesoftware.com · 11d

My daughter sent me this doodle she made of me while taking notes (being bored?) in class. Coffee and a #Playdate - pretty spot on.

A doodle in red ink on lined notebook paper of a stick figure with a beard and glasses holding a cup of coffee and a Playdate.

Scenic Route Software @scenicroutesoftware.com · 14d

This was just supposed to be a video of SAM-Y getting mad about having tiles stolen, but it turned into a video of SAM-Y doing the same thing to me but four times worse. #playdate

Scenic Route Software @scenicroutesoftware.com · 20d

I'm curious if folks that were put off by the time pressure in the original game will feel more at home here. This is way more of a strategy game, though SAM-Y still manages to out-strategize me most of the time. #playdate

A screenshot of an upcoming game for the Playdate titled "Four Corner: Square Off", a sequel to the original game that is turned based rather than time based. The image shows a 10x10 grid of tiles on the left side of the screen, a droid named SAM-Y and two counters made up of a 4x4 grid on the left labeled "Human" and "SAM-Y"

1 8

Scenic Route Software @scenicroutesoftware.com · 24d

“But who uses iPhones anymore?", you say. "What if I want to play this game on my #Playdate, and what if instead of a generic CPU it was against SAM-Y from Shift?”

I hear you. "Four Corners: Square Up" - coming at some point.

(This is SAM-Y playing, not me.)

Reposted by Scenic Route Software

Playdate @play.date · 25d

① Cheese 'n Crackers is a strategy game where your job is to re-arrange toppings on a cutting board to combine them into the most delicious snacks possible!

🧀 play.date/games/cheese-n-crackers/

1 1 12

Scenic Route Software @scenicroutesoftware.com · 25d

Cheese ‘n Crackers for #playdate is out!

play.date/games/cheese...

3 8 45

Scenic Route Software @scenicroutesoftware.com · 29d

I’ve made it smarter than “pick biggest rectangle” by weighting bonus tiles and having it favor those in its matches, and now it’s too good at the game.

1 3

Scenic Route Software @scenicroutesoftware.com · Sep 9

I wrote a hint routine for the iOS rewrite of Four Corners and realized I could make the game play itself. I've turned that into a mode where you fill up the entire counter before a CPU opponent can.

I need to make it smarter than "pick biggest rectangle", but it's already pretty challenging.

1 1

Reposted by Scenic Route Software

Swift Language @swift.org · Sep 3

Writing Swift for tiny devices: an article on Playdate game Four Corners, recently rewritten in Swift for faster performance news.play.date/news/four-co...
TL;DR "Any game that is particularly demanding that you would typically want to write in C could probably be achieved with Swift."

Four Corners: the first game in Catalog written in Swift - Playdate News

Official news about Playdate, the yellow handheld video game system with a crank.

news.play.date

1 14 45

Scenic Route Software @scenicroutesoftware.com · Aug 27

What would a Playdate to iOS port be without a #playdate themed Easter egg? Illegal, I think.

Scenic Route Software @scenicroutesoftware.com · Aug 21

Things in the iOS version of Four Corners that are different from the #playdate version:

- There are specials that become the color you started on.
- There are specials that reduce the board to two colors.
- After level 10, a fourth color is introduced.
- You can choose which color to bomb.

Scenic Route Software @scenicroutesoftware.com · Aug 18

Fun with color tweens.

Scenic Route Software @scenicroutesoftware.com · Aug 11

The Swift re-write was for Four Corners and it’s now live on Catalog!

And, since a lot of the models weren’t #Playdate specific I figured I’d resurrect the iOS version of the game, too. It’s not done yet, but it’s getting there!

A photograph showing the puzzle game Four Corners running on an iPhone and a Playdate.

2 20

Scenic Route Software @scenicroutesoftware.com · Aug 7

But I do think the language features of Swift and the performance of the compiled binary outweigh the inconveniences.

Scenic Route Software @scenicroutesoftware.com · Aug 7

That said, it hasn't been easy or all that friendly. I couldn't get the build script to work in Xcode, and I'm not sure if break points are even possible. If there is a run-time issue, the simulator crashes without a stack trace making debugging very, very hard.

1 1

Scenic Route Software @scenicroutesoftware.com · Aug 7

I'd say this has been a very worthwhile exercise, and now that I've worked out the gotchas and filled in the C API's gaps, I think any new project for #playdate will be done with Swift.

1 3

Scenic Route Software @scenicroutesoftware.com · Aug 7

The older #playdate project is now 100% converted to Swift, and after spending the morning making some optimizations, it runs at 48-50fps (The Lua version can barely eek out 30) and the worst drop I saw was to 43 for a single frame on a particularly heavy operation.

1 2

Reposted by Scenic Route Software

scraecrow @rae.wtf · Aug 1

the second installment of the playdate community sale, augustravaganza 2025, is here!! over 60 titles, on sale all week!

head to play.date/games/tags/o... to see what's on sale — something from your wishlist? something you've never even heard of? — and pick up some new games to ring out the summer!

Flat, bubbly promotional poster with a yellow background and green accents. "2025 Playdate Community Augustravaganza! Over 60 games on sale, across all genres and styles! Runs from August 1st to August 7th, pacific time." There's a link to the catalog sale page, and a variety of Playdate game thumbnails lining the bottom of the frame.

2 15 41

Reposted by Scenic Route Software

weenus @weenus.fun · Jul 30

@toopoo2002.bsky.social made sure to capture some of our process while making PURPLE NURPLE! vimeo.com/1104900514?s...

Please check out our game at studioweenus.itch.io/purplenurple

#playdate #gamedev #indiedev

the making of PURPLE NURPLE

Play PURPLE NURPLE on the Playdate!

vimeo.com

1 7 12

Reposted by Scenic Route Software

scraecrow @rae.wtf · Jul 30

happy birthday, HEXA! this game released one year ago on july 30th, and to celebrate...there's a new update out in #playdate catalog (hopefully) later today!

• achievements!
• custom missions!
• a new-and-improved hard mode!
• bunches of bug fixes

read the patch notes: rae.wtf/blog/hexa-ma...

Bold text reading "HEXA", laid on a metallic background with a hexagonal panel.

1 7 37

Reposted by Scenic Route Software

Playdate @play.date · Jul 28

☘️ Coming soon: Playdate system update 3.0. Folders, Game Library, and it's optimized for enormous game collections.

24 55 380

Scenic Route Software @scenicroutesoftware.com · Jul 28

Linux also, maybe?