Omikuji — A quiet Japanese fortune ritual on playdate

SDK Development Discussion
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omikuji_teaser
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Hello everyone.

I'm a developer from Japan, and I work as a game director.

I've been a longtime fan of games since the days when the Famicom (NES) first appeared. However, this is my first time releasing a personal project.

Right now, I'm developing a playdate game inspired by omikuji, the traditional fortune slips found at Japanese shrines. Through this experience, players receive guidance for the day.

Using the playdate crank, you shake a wooden omikuji box to draw a stick.
Then you slowly unroll the paper to reveal the message for that day.

In addition to the overall fortune, the game also provides several kinds of advice, including work, study, love, money, travel, and a lucky color.

After drawing your omikuji, the result is saved in a calendar for 90 days, so you can look back and reflect on past days later.

This is not a large-scale game. Rather, it is something like a daily ritual.

I hope it can become a quiet and gentle moment in someone's day.

The character in this game is inspired by a shrine maiden called a miko, a woman who serves at Japanese shrines.

I designed her as an original character specifically for this project.

Through this game, I hope you can enjoy a little of the aesthetics and culture of Japan.

The project is still in development, but I’m very happy to finally share this teaser.

I'll continue posting updates as development progresses.

Nice to meet you all, and I'm glad to be part of this community.

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I'll also share a short video showing the crank interaction soon.

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:astonished_face: I love it and am excited to have it in my hands some day

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Thank you so much! That really means a lot to me.

The crank interaction is something I've put a lot of thought into — I want it to feel like a real ritual, not just a button press. I hope you'll enjoy the experience when it's ready!

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I love the idea of using the crank and the calendar functionality! And the screenshots look great. Fingers crossed with the development!

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Thank you! The crank felt like the most natural fit for this kind of ritual — you turn it to shake the box, make your wish, then crank it the other way to release the stick. I'm glad that came through in the screenshots!

The calendar is one of my favorite parts too. Looking back on past fortunes feels like keeping a little diary. Hope you'll enjoy it when it's ready!

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Small update!

Work in progress, but I wanted to share this part early.

This is the result screen for my omikuji game.
I've been focusing on making the animation and presentation feel satisfying.

The main "garagara" (fortune-drawing) part is still in progress,
so the full experience isn't ready yet — coming soon!

The visuals, overall feel, and the softness of the scroll animation are still being refined.

Would love to hear your thoughts :slight_smile:

result_260318

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It's very pretty! I love it!

What does No 001 means? Is it the number of time you pulled for luck?
There seems to be a rating of 7 stars for 大吉, does this mean that there is an even better result?

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Thank you so much! I'm really glad you like it :blush:

The number is based on the traditional Japanese omikuji system.
Along with the star element, we’re planning to add something unique to the experience. :sparkles:

Stay tuned.

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Hi everyone!

I wanted to share a preview of the Omikuji box animation.

This is the moment where the box shakes and a fortune stick slides out before the result appears.
It connects directly to the fortune paper screen I shared earlier, so together they form one continuous sequence.

There’s still some room for adjustment - especially around the scaling and timing of the animation - but the overall flow is starting to come together.

I hope this helps give a clearer idea of how the Omikuji moment will feel in the game.
Thanks for taking a look!

garagara

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I love the art and the whole idea, great project! First time I see a playdate in cute Manga style, great cover art!

I have only a small suggestion: avoid using all caps words, I think “push A” feels more calm than “PUSH A”. Also, did you know that playdate fonts have a special character for the buttons? Perhaps it is :a_button_blood_type:, but you should be able to find it in the Designing for Playdate documentation

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Thanks so much, I really appreciate it!

And that's a great point about the all caps — you're right, "Push A" definitely feels calmer and fits the tone better.

I didn't realize there were built-in button glyphs in the Playdate fonts, that's super helpful. I'll look into using those instead of plain text.

Thanks again for taking the time to check it out!

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