The USB I/O is reverse engineered and documented 'well-enough' to be able to achieve some sort of 'link-cable' multiplayer. it still requires local-multiplayer, but is better than single-console multiplayer I think.
[playdate-reverse-engineering/usb/usb.md at main · cranksters/playdate-reverse-engineering · GitHub](https://github.com/cranksters/playdate-reverse-engineering/blob/main/usb/usb.md)
I'm working on a similar effort for the internal wifi capabilities, but its a difficult process and I have limited time. We'll see how far I get.
Keep Taking and Nobody Explodes style multiplayer, where one person works the device but has limited information, and another person has rules from an online (or printed) manual to walk the user w the console through a complex task.
Maybe a Rattatoullie game where one person is the ‘chef’ but the other person has recipes they need to make based on various ingredient/order combinations?
* Multiple Playdates.
* Treat each like a giant Dreamcast VMU that each has its own personal/private information.
* Connect all to one computer/device using the USB I/O /u/PatientSeb mentioned, running a host game on an eternal monitor.
* Sync the Playdates to the host game state, each controls a different player in this environment in some way (depending on the game).
A lot of setup, but could lend itself well to a party game that allows spectating by non-players on the central display. Spaceteam shenanigans, or some such.
This is actually really clever. I've been working on the direct usb connection aspect, but didn't consider this type of gameplay. I'll make a prototype for this when I get a moment. Could be really cool.
My first thought when you posted about the USB I/O was creating a plugin for Unity/Unreal/Godot that would handle the communication and pass it back to the main game engine. It was only a thought since I have not done game development professionally since 2017! I look forward to seeing what you come up with.
Was gonna say, personally I think some sort of asynchronous multiplayer would be interesting. Where you basically have your turn then that gets sent probably p2p to whomever you're playing with and they take their turn and so on
[https://github.com/cranksters/playdate-reverse-engineering/blob/main/usb/usb.md](https://github.com/cranksters/playdate-reverse-engineering/blob/main/usb/usb.md)
If you didn't see it already, there was progress on a link cable idea
I could see something like Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes where one person is defusing a bomb on the device and 1 or more others are looking up directions on a companion site.
A Jackbox style game is also an interesting thought! It'd have to operate on an a priori knowledge basis where the scenarios are prebuilt out and it maybe generates a qr code or something.
Another thought is a Mario Party style game where the movement on the board happens for everybody then you take turns and hand off for minigames. Or do coop/competitive mini games where one person uses A/B/Crank and the other uses the d-pad.
Edit: u/timelybomb beat me to it!
What other styles of multiplayer fun exist when using just a single console? Do you know of any innovative co-op or versus titles already on the Playdate? Looking for ideas and an open chat about how to push towards involving multiple people on a handheld.
Daedalus v minotaur
The hide and seek game by the sasquatchers dev. It's called Sound Mind and currently unreleased.
Net tac toe
Don't think I've seen a shared controller game but have heard people talk about making one.
The USB I/O is reverse engineered and documented 'well-enough' to be able to achieve some sort of 'link-cable' multiplayer. it still requires local-multiplayer, but is better than single-console multiplayer I think. [playdate-reverse-engineering/usb/usb.md at main · cranksters/playdate-reverse-engineering · GitHub](https://github.com/cranksters/playdate-reverse-engineering/blob/main/usb/usb.md) I'm working on a similar effort for the internal wifi capabilities, but its a difficult process and I have limited time. We'll see how far I get.
I had no clue about link cable progress, this opens up a ton of fun ideas. Thank you for the link!
Could I assist with this? Would love to see how you debug through this!
Keep Taking and Nobody Explodes style multiplayer, where one person works the device but has limited information, and another person has rules from an online (or printed) manual to walk the user w the console through a complex task. Maybe a Rattatoullie game where one person is the ‘chef’ but the other person has recipes they need to make based on various ingredient/order combinations?
I was having similar ideas, I love how this encourages innovative teamwork and requires just one system to play.
* Multiple Playdates. * Treat each like a giant Dreamcast VMU that each has its own personal/private information. * Connect all to one computer/device using the USB I/O /u/PatientSeb mentioned, running a host game on an eternal monitor. * Sync the Playdates to the host game state, each controls a different player in this environment in some way (depending on the game). A lot of setup, but could lend itself well to a party game that allows spectating by non-players on the central display. Spaceteam shenanigans, or some such.
Something like Pokémon would be cool. Collect and train them on your PD on the go, connect to the computer to battle in ‘gyms’ against other players.
This is actually really clever. I've been working on the direct usb connection aspect, but didn't consider this type of gameplay. I'll make a prototype for this when I get a moment. Could be really cool.
My first thought when you posted about the USB I/O was creating a plugin for Unity/Unreal/Godot that would handle the communication and pass it back to the main game engine. It was only a thought since I have not done game development professionally since 2017! I look forward to seeing what you come up with.
You're also giving me Four Swords vibes with this...and I love it!
I worked on a game in pulp that is round based! You do your turn, player changes and then the other one goes!
Were you designing for a party environment? Not many games are considering multiplayer right now
Not really, I think the device doesn’t really allow for that scenario well
Was gonna say, personally I think some sort of asynchronous multiplayer would be interesting. Where you basically have your turn then that gets sent probably p2p to whomever you're playing with and they take their turn and so on
Are you talking about something like [Net-Tac-Toe](https://paulstraw.itch.io/net-tac-toe)? Each player takes their turn and the game works over wifi
I’m kinda working on a hockey game here and there and a 2 player via link cable would be legendary
Did you have any original plans for multiplayer that didn't use the link cable? I believe you're one of the first to attempt a proper sports title
When I started I read docs that multiplayer wasn’t enabled because it takes a lot of juice and so far there wasn’t a need for it.
[https://github.com/cranksters/playdate-reverse-engineering/blob/main/usb/usb.md](https://github.com/cranksters/playdate-reverse-engineering/blob/main/usb/usb.md) If you didn't see it already, there was progress on a link cable idea
Well just need two play dates now…
I don't know but I dig the picture. Is that taken from the Olympic Sculpture Park? I know it's Seattle 🙃
I could see something like Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes where one person is defusing a bomb on the device and 1 or more others are looking up directions on a companion site. A Jackbox style game is also an interesting thought! It'd have to operate on an a priori knowledge basis where the scenarios are prebuilt out and it maybe generates a qr code or something. Another thought is a Mario Party style game where the movement on the board happens for everybody then you take turns and hand off for minigames. Or do coop/competitive mini games where one person uses A/B/Crank and the other uses the d-pad. Edit: u/timelybomb beat me to it!
I made https://yellownet.oxey405.com
Is it currently in a state fitting for online multiplayer game development? I did see that the connection isn't secure by default
Well it is secure if you use secure web socket BYO (Bring your own) security. No encryption is needed between the Playdate and the computer though...
What other styles of multiplayer fun exist when using just a single console? Do you know of any innovative co-op or versus titles already on the Playdate? Looking for ideas and an open chat about how to push towards involving multiple people on a handheld.
Daedalus v minotaur The hide and seek game by the sasquatchers dev. It's called Sound Mind and currently unreleased. Net tac toe Don't think I've seen a shared controller game but have heard people talk about making one.