Interesting to note that the “shades of grey” are made using dithering black and white. Just like the classic Macintosh.
The logo uses horizontal lines for the grey “date” half.
Screen technology looks to be Sharp Transflective Memory LCD, which is LCD with some properties of eink. In that each pixel can remember its colour (black/white) without needing to be refreshed. And it is “Viewable in any light, from edge-of-vision darkness to brightest sunlight” with 170 degree viewing angle
https://www.sharpsma.com/sharp-memory-lcd-technology
Size comparisons (AR models at https://play.date/media )
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I love it! The more I learn the more I want it. 12 included games also sounds it could make for a fair price at $150, especially considering you get them weekly.
I’m assuming they’re going to be quality bite sized experiences.
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Thanks for posting them - only just managed to get to my laptop.
I’m really impressed with the screen. The crank looks like a great analogue input device - though it’s a shame nothing of substance has been shown from the game yet.
I’m totally on board and will be getting one as soon as it is available. Love Panic’s stuff and my experience with them has been positive.
So I can talk about this now.
I have had the development kit for a long while, and a developer preview (not final) device for a short while.
I’ve been producing many prototypes alongside the “main” game I’m working on.
And I can talk freely about my games and how I am going about it with regards to the hardware, but specifics of the device and development kit… not so much.
Here are some GIFs!
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Completely forgot about this thing. How is the dev kit? Easy to get things up and going?
Cool gifs!! Excited to hear about the game you’re working on.
Looking forward to getting one 
Yes, it’s very easy to get going. Despite everything still being very early access and still changing. There’s a simulator that makes the back-and-forth of testing much quicker.
In terms of code you can use Lua or C. I’m using Lua because it’s easier and things are similar to the existing framework Love2D.
There are performance bottlenecks to watch out for. It’s quite a capable little thing and feels fun.
The most performant code would be C, and you could throw in Lua for less critical logic. That’s how most modern games on existing platforms work.
I use Lua for Pico-8 so I was kinda hoping I could lift and shift (mostly) some of my projects if they approve my request to get the software. Could be fun to tinker with.
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You can move over a bunch of stuff, with minimal reflow due to Pico8’s additions to Lua. But I’ve found that Pico8’s limitations result in code with a different structure to code that you might write outside. For example Lua is OOP-style and my Pico8 code generally just crams things in.
Ack, I’m so jealous. I signed up for the dev preview, but didn’t win the lottery. Thanks for sharing and good luck on your projects.
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I believe the SDK will still get a public release ahead of the device.
I didn’t get in on the lottery, a friend sorted this out for me. Eternally grateful!
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Thanks for sharing! I really like the physics in the driving game and the Nintendo Chiritori game!
But most importantly, these gifs really show potential of the 1 bit display. There’s minimalist beauty in all four games.
The Chiritori game is me riffing off circle MaBoShi enemy types. I draw all the graphics with geometrical shapes just for kicks - no images are used. That approach isn’t too fast on the device, but should be enough for a game. I plan to add obstacles. It feels good but it’s not fun right now. The desire to change it into an Every Extend style game, or Gomola Speed, or Paradroid is strong. But I want to keep it original.
The first car GIF - the one with the circuit - uses mostly the same control as the Chiritori. Felt OK, but not really convincing hence me doing new, more realistic, car physics. These feel amazing. You know you’re onto a winner when the controls alone feel sublime. I want to make some “driving test” style stages asap, with traffic cones and stopping areas.
I was getting some great Death Rally vibes from that one.
Amazing stuff!
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How does the crank feel? Is it smooth? I’ll be upset if no one makes a non-psychedelic Tempest clone.
I understand that the crank mechanism has become smoother over the development of the device.
A Tempest-alike would be good.
Is it capable of online play? I imagine just a simple online version of pong using the crank to control the paddle could be pretty fun.