Welcome to the Playdate Developer Community!
Thanks for joining! This community is for everyone interested in making something for Playdate. It doesn't matter if you're brand new to game development or have made many games already; everyone is welcome here.
How to join the developer forum
First, you'll need to create an account on devforum.play.date. Note: this is a separate account from the play.date account.
As a new user, you'll have some limitations on what you can do on the forum. After enough browsing and reading other posts, your account will automatically level up to where you can create your own threads. Learn more here.
Read the Community Guidelines to learn more about Playdate Dev Forum's basic rules.
How to get started on developing for Playdate
Playdate Pulp
Playdate Pulp is a web-based game maker for Playdate. It's a click-and-place game studio with all the tools you need to build your first game—or your twentieth experiment—in a quirky little environment. With Pulp, you'll be able to create your art and music; use our scripting language, PulpScript; and preview your game, all in the browser. It's not meant to be as full-featured as our SDK, but it's a one-stop editor you can use without installing anything.
You can try Playdate Pulp here.
How do I get started on Playdate Pulp?
-
You can find all the information you need to know about Pulp in this How to get started with Playdate Pulp post.
-
If you have more questions on using Pulp, head over to the Pulp category.
Where do I report bugs on Playdate Pulp?
- Click here to file any bugs you find in Pulp.
Playdate SDK
The Playdate SDK is the best way for experienced developers to use every capability of the Playdate. It includes a rich set of APIs, a compiler, and documentation. You can write your games using Lua, for ease of development; or C, for games that need extra performance; or, combine both languages in the same project. Typical SDK features are included: graphics, sound, inputs, text, collisions, etc.
Where can I download the SDK?
- Head to the Playdate Developer page to download the latest SDK. You can find the changelogs here.
Where do I go if I have questions about the SDK?
-
You can find the SDK documentation for Lua here and C here. If you're interested in seeing the Playdate SDK in action, check out our Twitch stream. For tips on designing for Playdate, click here.
-
Searching in the Get Help and Development Discussion on our Developer Forum to find solutions will also be a good place to look at. If you still need help, the best way to get help from either the community or Panic is to post in that same Get Help category.
Where do I report bugs or issues relating to the SDK?
- Head to the Bug Reports category and check the Bug Report category info for information on how to post a bug report. One of us at Panic will take a look at it!
And what if I have feature requests?
- To share your ideas, suggestions, and requests relating to Playdate, head to the Feature Request category and check the Feature Request category info before posting your feature request.
List of Helpful Libraries and Code
- The Playdate Developer page has a good list of links to check out: Playdate SDK - Useful Links. For more resources, head to the Development Discussion category.
Other questions
I've made a Playdate game, now what?
- With the ability to side-load any game on to Playdate, you will be able to distribute your game on your own or on stores such as itch.io.
- You can also submit your finished Playdate game to Catalog, our curated selection of games. Catalog is available to all Playdate owners right on their devices, as well as on our website.
How do I stay up-to-date on the latest Playdate development info?
- We post regularly in Announcement with any updates we have relating to developing for Playdate. You can also subscribe to our Developer mailing list
at the bottom of the Playdate Dev page if you would like to receive emails on updates as well!
I'd like to participate in the OS beta
- You can visit our application form if you're interested in testing the OS before it releases.
