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synapticsugar.games
Synaptic Sugar
@synapticsugar.games
1.2K followers 15 following 100 posts
We're a small indie dev team aiming to make humorous, whimsical, imaginative games that can be enjoyed by most ages. Our first game is #AgentsOfGroove, a story-driven rhythm game in development for Playdate. Find out more at https://synapticsugar.games
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Synaptic Sugar @synapticsugar.games · May 2
We're working on a rhythm game for #playdate called #AgentsOfGroove!

In a world where music and dancing have real power, a group of undercover dancers stumbles upon an evil conspiracy -- but will they be able to stop it?

Watch a teaser here: vimeo.com/940546840

RT appreciated!
#gamedev #indiedev
Agents Of Groove Teaser Trailer
Agents of Groove is a rhythm game in development for Playdate, with a dynamic soundtrack and a story that unfolds as you join a group of undercover dancers in an…
vimeo.com
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Reposted by Synaptic Sugar
synapticsugar.games
Synaptic Sugar @synapticsugar.games · 4d
What is this robot after, and how is it connected to the G.R.O.O.V.E. case? A case more unsettling at every step, like a tall tale told by an excitable sailor in exchange for the promise of more attention. Find out in #AgentsOfGroove!

#playdate #gamedev #indiedev #ScreenshotSaturday
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synapticsugar.games
Synaptic Sugar @synapticsugar.games · 4d
What is this robot after, and how is it connected to the G.R.O.O.V.E. case? A case more unsettling at every step, like a tall tale told by an excitable sailor in exchange for the promise of more attention. Find out in #AgentsOfGroove!

#playdate #gamedev #indiedev #ScreenshotSaturday
6 17
Reposted by Synaptic Sugar
play.date
Playdate @play.date · 6d
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/
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Reposted by Synaptic Sugar
synapticsugar.games
Synaptic Sugar @synapticsugar.games · 12d
Melody Handler, information expert on the #AgentsOfGroove team, works behind the scenes planning missions, accessing remote systems, and guiding the agents. Often Daley's last defense against danger, she just as often has to save him from himself.

#gamedev #indiedev #playdate #ScreenshotSaturday
A portrait of a smiling woman wearing stylish glasses, large hoop earrings, and a black turtleneck is on the right side. A text card is on the left side, with the text: "As such, you won't generally see me in the field much, but you'll certainly hear from me!", and an icon representing the A button lies underneath it.
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Reposted by Synaptic Sugar
uncrankdpd.bsky.social
UncrankdPD @uncrankdpd.bsky.social · 8d
The clock is ticking! Don't miss the deadline to submit your trailer by October 7th for the upcoming Autumn #Playdate Community Direct on November 1st.
forms.gle/1LGaTVp1Mw3R...

Make sure to spread the word and get those submissions in!
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Reposted by Synaptic Sugar
synapticsugar.games
Synaptic Sugar @synapticsugar.games · 10d
It's not too late to get into #playdate, in fact now may be the best time!

Thanks @mattkamen.bsky.social and WIRED for interviewing us for this piece!
wired.com
WIRED @wired.com · 11d
With almost laughably low power, a monochrome screen, and unique controls, niche-micro console Playdate shouldn't make any sense in a world of modern gaming. Yet, it's near impossible not to love it. www.wired.com/story/three-...
3 Years Later, Playdate Is Still Gaming's Best-Kept Secret
With almost laughably low power, a monochrome screen, and unique controls, niche-micro console Playdate shouldn't make any sense in a world of modern gaming. Yet, it's near impossible not to love it.
www.wired.com
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Reposted by Synaptic Sugar
mattkamen.bsky.social
Matt Kamen @mattkamen.bsky.social · 9d
My deep dive retrospective on @play.date at three years old, over @wired.com - from getting started to the current development scene of this quirky handheld!

Thanks to developers @synapticsugar.games, @raphcal.bsky.social, and @loudo.lugludum.com for their contributions!
wired.com
WIRED @wired.com · 11d
With almost laughably low power, a monochrome screen, and unique controls, niche-micro console Playdate shouldn't make any sense in a world of modern gaming. Yet, it's near impossible not to love it. www.wired.com/story/three-...
3 Years Later, Playdate Is Still Gaming's Best-Kept Secret
With almost laughably low power, a monochrome screen, and unique controls, niche-micro console Playdate shouldn't make any sense in a world of modern gaming. Yet, it's near impossible not to love it.
www.wired.com
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synapticsugar.games
Synaptic Sugar @synapticsugar.games · 10d
It's not too late to get into #playdate, in fact now may be the best time!

Thanks @mattkamen.bsky.social and WIRED for interviewing us for this piece!
wired.com
WIRED @wired.com · 11d
With almost laughably low power, a monochrome screen, and unique controls, niche-micro console Playdate shouldn't make any sense in a world of modern gaming. Yet, it's near impossible not to love it. www.wired.com/story/three-...
3 Years Later, Playdate Is Still Gaming's Best-Kept Secret
With almost laughably low power, a monochrome screen, and unique controls, niche-micro console Playdate shouldn't make any sense in a world of modern gaming. Yet, it's near impossible not to love it.
www.wired.com
2 11
synapticsugar.games
Synaptic Sugar @synapticsugar.games · 12d
Melody Handler, information expert on the #AgentsOfGroove team, works behind the scenes planning missions, accessing remote systems, and guiding the agents. Often Daley's last defense against danger, she just as often has to save him from himself.

#gamedev #indiedev #playdate #ScreenshotSaturday
A portrait of a smiling woman wearing stylish glasses, large hoop earrings, and a black turtleneck is on the right side. A text card is on the left side, with the text: "As such, you won't generally see me in the field much, but you'll certainly hear from me!", and an icon representing the A button lies underneath it.
1 3 12
Reposted by Synaptic Sugar
synapticsugar.games
Synaptic Sugar @synapticsugar.games · 18d
Let's start a series about the characters of #AgentsOfGroove! And who best to start with than Daley Bellbottoms, legendary undercover dancer and Rhythm wrangler of secret organization G.R.O.O.V.E.? 🪩

#gamedev #indiedev #playdate #ScreenshotSaturday #pixelart #1bit
A portrait of Daley Bellbottoms, a friendly-looking man with a big head of curly hair, glasses and thick sideburns and mustache. Some chest hair pokes through the open collar of his shirt. A dialog card on the right side of the portrait reads: I've been doing this for a long time, with Mel's help of course!
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synapticsugar.games
Synaptic Sugar @synapticsugar.games · 18d
Highly skilled, if impulsive and surprisingly clumsy, Daley often finds himself in improbably tight spots but always manages to make it out (even if with some help). 🕺

A veteran of many years in the organization, he relies on proven successful methods. He's truly seen it all -- or so he thinks! 🤔
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synapticsugar.games
Synaptic Sugar @synapticsugar.games · 18d
Let's start a series about the characters of #AgentsOfGroove! And who best to start with than Daley Bellbottoms, legendary undercover dancer and Rhythm wrangler of secret organization G.R.O.O.V.E.? 🪩

#gamedev #indiedev #playdate #ScreenshotSaturday #pixelart #1bit
A portrait of Daley Bellbottoms, a friendly-looking man with a big head of curly hair, glasses and thick sideburns and mustache. Some chest hair pokes through the open collar of his shirt. A dialog card on the right side of the portrait reads: I've been doing this for a long time, with Mel's help of course!
1 7 16
Reposted by Synaptic Sugar
synapticsugar.games
Synaptic Sugar @synapticsugar.games · 25d
You've seen how the art for #playdate game #AgentsOfGroove evolved over time, but how did the game levels come together?

We made a simple visual editor to make the process a lot easier, especially for long levels like this one. This is what it looks like!

#gamedev #indiedev #ScreenshotSaturday
A level editor screenshot showing the title "Synaptic Sugar Level Editor - doc01Level" at the very top. Right below the title and the program's menu bar, a rendered view of the art from the Docks level of Agents of Groove covers the full width and about a third of the image. This view shows the same spot we showed in previous posts, with 1-bit pixel art of the loading docks, crates, barrels and oil drums scattered around in a messy arrangement, broken glass and a hole in the ground surrounded by construction cones. A guard is in the top middle, with his back turned. Below the rendered view, the image is split in three sections: the leftmost area shows a list of collapsible UI elements referencing the objects in the rendered view. One element is expanded and shows four sub-fields: name, position, type, layer, with associated values. A delete button is also visible for this entry. The middle portion contains a grid with individual sprites and their internal names ("docksCrate", "docksBottle3", and several others). The rightmost area is empty and only contains two buttons that say "collapse all" and "expand all". Horizontal or vertical scroll bars in all sections imply that there's a lot more to scroll through.
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synapticsugar.games
Synaptic Sugar @synapticsugar.games · 25d
You've seen how the art for #playdate game #AgentsOfGroove evolved over time, but how did the game levels come together?

We made a simple visual editor to make the process a lot easier, especially for long levels like this one. This is what it looks like!

#gamedev #indiedev #ScreenshotSaturday
A level editor screenshot showing the title "Synaptic Sugar Level Editor - doc01Level" at the very top. Right below the title and the program's menu bar, a rendered view of the art from the Docks level of Agents of Groove covers the full width and about a third of the image. This view shows the same spot we showed in previous posts, with 1-bit pixel art of the loading docks, crates, barrels and oil drums scattered around in a messy arrangement, broken glass and a hole in the ground surrounded by construction cones. A guard is in the top middle, with his back turned. Below the rendered view, the image is split in three sections: the leftmost area shows a list of collapsible UI elements referencing the objects in the rendered view. One element is expanded and shows four sub-fields: name, position, type, layer, with associated values. A delete button is also visible for this entry. The middle portion contains a grid with individual sprites and their internal names ("docksCrate", "docksBottle3", and several others). The rightmost area is empty and only contains two buttons that say "collapse all" and "expand all". Horizontal or vertical scroll bars in all sections imply that there's a lot more to scroll through.
1 5 16
Reposted by Synaptic Sugar
play.date
Playdate @play.date · 27d
💡🔬🎮 Playdate brings game design into education!

The Playdate handheld console has made a big splash in indie gaming. It can do the same in your classroom!

• Easy to create games for, whether students can program or not
• Learning-by-doing at its very best
• For elementary to grad school students
A Yellow Playdate with "Playdate for education" written on the screen. The background is grey.
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Reposted by Synaptic Sugar
kenney.nl
Kenney @kenney.nl · Sep 8
You can now pin posts & save them for later, so save this post for later and look at it every once in a while:

You matter. What you do and make has meaning, the games you create and the comments you give. You touch lives in ways you may not even see. You help make the world a little bit brighter ✨
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Reposted by Synaptic Sugar
synapticsugar.games
Synaptic Sugar @synapticsugar.games · Sep 7
We call #AgentsOfGroove a story-driven rhythm game, and conversations are an important part of the experience. Here's another example of how the art for these evolved during development, comparing the current state against the earliest prototype.

#gamedev #indiedev #playdate #ScreenshotSaturday
Screenshot of the current state of the art. A conversation is happening over a background image of a folder that comes from a set of confidential files, stamped with the words "Top Secret" and complete with a paper clip over the top and a round stain from a coffee mug. In the foreground the portrait of the speaking character, in this case a smiling woman wearing stylish glasses and round earrings, sits on the right side. The name tag "Melody Handler" is visible underneath the portrait. A box with rounder corners enclosing the text "*sighs* Nevermind all that, he does it all the time." is on the left side, and below it sits an icon representing the A button on the Playdate. Screenshot from the earliest prototype. The background here is nothing more than solid white color, a similar portrait of a smiling woman is on the right side, but the art is simpler and much less refined. A text box saying "Let me tell you more about this!" is on the left side, above a smaller and rougher icon representing the A button. There is no name tag, unlike in the other screenshot.
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synapticsugar.games
Synaptic Sugar @synapticsugar.games · Sep 7
Still too soon to say!
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synapticsugar.games
Synaptic Sugar @synapticsugar.games · Sep 7
We call #AgentsOfGroove a story-driven rhythm game, and conversations are an important part of the experience. Here's another example of how the art for these evolved during development, comparing the current state against the earliest prototype.

#gamedev #indiedev #playdate #ScreenshotSaturday
Screenshot of the current state of the art. A conversation is happening over a background image of a folder that comes from a set of confidential files, stamped with the words "Top Secret" and complete with a paper clip over the top and a round stain from a coffee mug. In the foreground the portrait of the speaking character, in this case a smiling woman wearing stylish glasses and round earrings, sits on the right side. The name tag "Melody Handler" is visible underneath the portrait. A box with rounder corners enclosing the text "*sighs* Nevermind all that, he does it all the time." is on the left side, and below it sits an icon representing the A button on the Playdate. Screenshot from the earliest prototype. The background here is nothing more than solid white color, a similar portrait of a smiling woman is on the right side, but the art is simpler and much less refined. A text box saying "Let me tell you more about this!" is on the left side, above a smaller and rougher icon representing the A button. There is no name tag, unlike in the other screenshot.
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Reposted by Synaptic Sugar
synapticsugar.games
Synaptic Sugar @synapticsugar.games · Sep 6
Thank you Debug Magazine for including our #playdate story-driven rhythm game #AgentsOfGroove in the Magnify feature, alongside so many cool games!

Check it out at www.teamdebug.com/magnify
debugmag.com
Debug Magazine @debugmag.com · Sep 5
Our Magnify feature for #screenshotsaturday is now fully mobile friendly!
A grid of game screenshots on the Debug website
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synapticsugar.games
Synaptic Sugar @synapticsugar.games · Sep 6
Thank you Debug Magazine for including our #playdate story-driven rhythm game #AgentsOfGroove in the Magnify feature, alongside so many cool games!

Check it out at www.teamdebug.com/magnify
debugmag.com
Debug Magazine @debugmag.com · Sep 5
Our Magnify feature for #screenshotsaturday is now fully mobile friendly!
A grid of game screenshots on the Debug website
3 6
Reposted by Synaptic Sugar
uncrankdpd.bsky.social
UncrankdPD @uncrankdpd.bsky.social · Sep 5
Calling all @play.date creators!
The #Playdate Community Direct: Autumn Edition - cool air, warm vibes, and dev magic ahead!
Submit your trailers & surprises by October 7th. forms.gle/1LGaTVp1Mw3R...
📺 Premieres on YT on Nov.1st, Start time TBA.
Tag a dev, tell a friend!
#supportplayadatedevs
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synapticsugar.games
Synaptic Sugar @synapticsugar.games · Sep 4
The more the merrier!
Reposted by Synaptic Sugar
synapticsugar.games
Synaptic Sugar @synapticsugar.games · Aug 29
Continuing the series on the evolution of #AgentsOfGroove: the club level art as well as the button matching gameplay UI both changed a lot over two years. This was the first level we prototyped when we started experimenting on the #playdate!

#gamedev #indiedev #ScreenshotSaturday #pixelart #1bit
A very early screenshot of the Cat and Fox club level from Agents of Groove. The art is still a rough placeholder, but the main elements are there: Daley Bellbottoms on the left side of the rectangular dance floor seen in perspective from an elevated position, another dancer on the right side, the big disco ball spinning on top. A and B button icons are scrolling at the bottom from right to left, and a text label reads "Perfect!" above the lower middle, commenting on player performance with the most recent button press. Another label, right in the middle of the screen, reads "Crank it up!", which was also the working name for Agents of Groove at the time. A third label is in the upper right corner and reads "Score: 5025". Two big speakers are in the back of the scene, at the corners of the dance floor, and the silhouette of a crowd completes the picture in the background. The same scene, but with art that is already a lot closer to its final form. There are now four characters on the dance floor and they're much more defined. Sections of the floor, as well as spotlights above, light up as the player presses the buttons corresponding to the scrolling icons, which are completely redrawn and catch on fire when the player is doing well. The disco ball has much more detail, depicting the small mirror sections, and the crowd in the background is also more recognizable and defined. There's now a placeholder DJ console at the bottom, behind the scrolling icons, with a vinyl record spinning on it, but the art for it is still simple and sparse. A vertical bar is on the left side of the screen, completely full. A text label in the upper right corner reads "14800" Progress is evident in this third shot, with a new disco ball that is more stylized and polished. The background is also more polished, and a whole new DJ console is in the scene, showing a pair of headphones and various knobs, cables, and sliders. The record spinning on it has been redrawn as well. The card in the upper right corner has a smaller size and a border around it, as well as a different font and reads "18825". This screenshot depicts the current state of the art. The characters are more polished, the button prompts are completely different, larger, and use d-pad icons instead of the letters A and B as before. They're highlighted in different ways, including with flashing rings or stars rather than small flames. The vertical bar on the left is slimmer and has a star about 80% of the way up.
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synapticsugar.games
Synaptic Sugar @synapticsugar.games · Aug 30
bsky.app/profile/syna...
synapticsugar.games
Synaptic Sugar @synapticsugar.games · Aug 29
Continuing the series on the evolution of #AgentsOfGroove: the club level art as well as the button matching gameplay UI both changed a lot over two years. This was the first level we prototyped when we started experimenting on the #playdate!

#gamedev #indiedev #ScreenshotSaturday #pixelart #1bit
A very early screenshot of the Cat and Fox club level from Agents of Groove. The art is still a rough placeholder, but the main elements are there: Daley Bellbottoms on the left side of the rectangular dance floor seen in perspective from an elevated position, another dancer on the right side, the big disco ball spinning on top. A and B button icons are scrolling at the bottom from right to left, and a text label reads "Perfect!" above the lower middle, commenting on player performance with the most recent button press. Another label, right in the middle of the screen, reads "Crank it up!", which was also the working name for Agents of Groove at the time. A third label is in the upper right corner and reads "Score: 5025". Two big speakers are in the back of the scene, at the corners of the dance floor, and the silhouette of a crowd completes the picture in the background. The same scene, but with art that is already a lot closer to its final form. There are now four characters on the dance floor and they're much more defined. Sections of the floor, as well as spotlights above, light up as the player presses the buttons corresponding to the scrolling icons, which are completely redrawn and catch on fire when the player is doing well. The disco ball has much more detail, depicting the small mirror sections, and the crowd in the background is also more recognizable and defined. There's now a placeholder DJ console at the bottom, behind the scrolling icons, with a vinyl record spinning on it, but the art for it is still simple and sparse. A vertical bar is on the left side of the screen, completely full. A text label in the upper right corner reads "14800" Progress is evident in this third shot, with a new disco ball that is more stylized and polished. The background is also more polished, and a whole new DJ console is in the scene, showing a pair of headphones and various knobs, cables, and sliders. The record spinning on it has been redrawn as well. The card in the upper right corner has a smaller size and a border around it, as well as a different font and reads "18825". This screenshot depicts the current state of the art. The characters are more polished, the button prompts are completely different, larger, and use d-pad icons instead of the letters A and B as before. They're highlighted in different ways, including with flashing rings or stars rather than small flames. The vertical bar on the left is slimmer and has a star about 80% of the way up.
1