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Scenic Route Software

@scenicroutesoftware.com

380 followers 82 following 160 posts

We believe in making games that challenge you in the most pleasant way possible. https://scenicroutesoftware.com

scenicroutesoftware.com

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Scenic Route Software @scenicroutesoftware.com · Sep 16

Cheese ‘n Crackers for #playdate is out!

play.date/games/cheese...

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Scenic Route Software @scenicroutesoftware.com · 5d

Raised and recessed the gray tiles so they stand out more and give the grid more texture, tweaked the counter view design, gave SAM-Y a thicker border and reinstalled the logic board a bit more expertly. #playdate

A screenshot of an upcoming game for the Playdate titled "Four Corners: Square Off" showing a robot with a logic board taped haphazardly to his face.

Scenic Route Software @scenicroutesoftware.com · 8d

SAM-Y Pro Max Plus is an exceptional opponent thanks to the expertly installed Dynamo Defense Systems L19 logic board upgrade.

#playdate

Scenic Route Software @scenicroutesoftware.com · 15d

Added a parallax layer to make things feel less static, and it speeds up briefly when you or SAM-Y make a clear above a certain size. #playdate

Reposted by Scenic Route Software

Playdate @play.date · 15d

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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Scenic Route Software @scenicroutesoftware.com · 17d

My daughter sent me this doodle she made of me while taking notes (being bored?) in class. Coffee and a #Playdate - pretty spot on.

A doodle in red ink on lined notebook paper of a stick figure with a beard and glasses holding a cup of coffee and a Playdate.

Scenic Route Software @scenicroutesoftware.com · 19d

This was just supposed to be a video of SAM-Y getting mad about having tiles stolen, but it turned into a video of SAM-Y doing the same thing to me but four times worse. #playdate

Scenic Route Software @scenicroutesoftware.com · 26d

I'm curious if folks that were put off by the time pressure in the original game will feel more at home here. This is way more of a strategy game, though SAM-Y still manages to out-strategize me most of the time. #playdate

A screenshot of an upcoming game for the Playdate titled "Four Corner: Square Off", a sequel to the original game that is turned based rather than time based. The image shows a 10x10 grid of tiles on the left side of the screen, a droid named SAM-Y and two counters made up of a 4x4 grid on the left labeled "Human" and "SAM-Y"

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Scenic Route Software @scenicroutesoftware.com · Sep 17

“But who uses iPhones anymore?", you say. "What if I want to play this game on my #Playdate, and what if instead of a generic CPU it was against SAM-Y from Shift?”

I hear you. "Four Corners: Square Up" - coming at some point.

(This is SAM-Y playing, not me.)

Reposted by Scenic Route Software

Playdate @play.date · Sep 16

① Cheese 'n Crackers is a strategy game where your job is to re-arrange toppings on a cutting board to combine them into the most delicious snacks possible!

🧀 play.date/games/cheese-n-crackers/

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Scenic Route Software @scenicroutesoftware.com · Sep 16

Cheese ‘n Crackers for #playdate is out!

play.date/games/cheese...

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Scenic Route Software @scenicroutesoftware.com · Sep 12

I’ve made it smarter than “pick biggest rectangle” by weighting bonus tiles and having it favor those in its matches, and now it’s too good at the game.

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Scenic Route Software @scenicroutesoftware.com · Sep 9

I wrote a hint routine for the iOS rewrite of Four Corners and realized I could make the game play itself. I've turned that into a mode where you fill up the entire counter before a CPU opponent can.

I need to make it smarter than "pick biggest rectangle", but it's already pretty challenging.

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Reposted by Scenic Route Software

Swift Language @swift.org · Sep 3

Writing Swift for tiny devices: an article on Playdate game Four Corners, recently rewritten in Swift for faster performance news.play.date/news/four-co...
TL;DR "Any game that is particularly demanding that you would typically want to write in C could probably be achieved with Swift."

Four Corners: the first game in Catalog written in Swift - Playdate News

Official news about Playdate, the yellow handheld video game system with a crank.

news.play.date

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Scenic Route Software @scenicroutesoftware.com · Aug 27

What would a Playdate to iOS port be without a #playdate themed Easter egg? Illegal, I think.

Scenic Route Software @scenicroutesoftware.com · Aug 21

Things in the iOS version of Four Corners that are different from the #playdate version:

- There are specials that become the color you started on.
- There are specials that reduce the board to two colors.
- After level 10, a fourth color is introduced.
- You can choose which color to bomb.

Scenic Route Software @scenicroutesoftware.com · Aug 18

Fun with color tweens.

Scenic Route Software @scenicroutesoftware.com · Aug 11

The Swift re-write was for Four Corners and it’s now live on Catalog!

And, since a lot of the models weren’t #Playdate specific I figured I’d resurrect the iOS version of the game, too. It’s not done yet, but it’s getting there!

A photograph showing the puzzle game Four Corners running on an iPhone and a Playdate.

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Scenic Route Software @scenicroutesoftware.com · Aug 7

But I do think the language features of Swift and the performance of the compiled binary outweigh the inconveniences.

Scenic Route Software @scenicroutesoftware.com · Aug 7

That said, it hasn't been easy or all that friendly. I couldn't get the build script to work in Xcode, and I'm not sure if break points are even possible. If there is a run-time issue, the simulator crashes without a stack trace making debugging very, very hard.

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Scenic Route Software @scenicroutesoftware.com · Aug 7

I'd say this has been a very worthwhile exercise, and now that I've worked out the gotchas and filled in the C API's gaps, I think any new project for #playdate will be done with Swift.

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Scenic Route Software @scenicroutesoftware.com · Aug 7

The older #playdate project is now 100% converted to Swift, and after spending the morning making some optimizations, it runs at 48-50fps (The Lua version can barely eek out 30) and the worst drop I saw was to 43 for a single frame on a particularly heavy operation.

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Reposted by Scenic Route Software

scraecrow @rae.wtf · Aug 1

the second installment of the playdate community sale, augustravaganza 2025, is here!! over 60 titles, on sale all week!

head to play.date/games/tags/o... to see what's on sale — something from your wishlist? something you've never even heard of? — and pick up some new games to ring out the summer!

Flat, bubbly promotional poster with a yellow background and green accents. "2025 Playdate Community Augustravaganza! Over 60 games on sale, across all genres and styles! Runs from August 1st to August 7th, pacific time." There's a link to the catalog sale page, and a variety of Playdate game thumbnails lining the bottom of the frame.

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Reposted by Scenic Route Software

weenus @weenus.fun · Jul 30

@toopoo2002.bsky.social made sure to capture some of our process while making PURPLE NURPLE! vimeo.com/1104900514?s...

Please check out our game at studioweenus.itch.io/purplenurple

#playdate #gamedev #indiedev

the making of PURPLE NURPLE

Play PURPLE NURPLE on the Playdate!

vimeo.com

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Reposted by Scenic Route Software

scraecrow @rae.wtf · Jul 30

happy birthday, HEXA! this game released one year ago on july 30th, and to celebrate...there's a new update out in #playdate catalog (hopefully) later today!

• achievements!
• custom missions!
• a new-and-improved hard mode!
• bunches of bug fixes

read the patch notes: rae.wtf/blog/hexa-ma...

Bold text reading "HEXA", laid on a metallic background with a hexagonal panel.

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Reposted by Scenic Route Software

Playdate @play.date · Jul 28

☘️ Coming soon: Playdate system update 3.0. Folders, Game Library, and it's optimized for enormous game collections.

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