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pddx - Playdate Developer Experience

A toolkit for developing Playdate games, for those who prefer the Node.js ecosystem

Quick Start

pddx is included with the Playdate project template on npm. To create a new project, run:

npm create playdate

...and follow the command line instructions.

Installation (for existing projects)

npm install pddx

Requirements

pddx assumes that you've already set the PLAYDATE_SDK_PATH environment variable, and added the SDK's bin directory to your PATH environment variable. If you need help with that, Panic has instructions in their SDK documentation.

Usage

Commands:

If you're developing on Windows, you also have access to these commands:

pd build

Alias: pd

Generates a pdxinfo file in your source directory (default: "source"), then uses the Playdate compiler (pdc) to build a {name}-dev.pdx in your output directory (default: "dist").

When NODE_ENV=production, the Playdate compiler will have verbose output, and the output file will be named {name}-{version}.pdx.

Notes

{name} and {version} are derived from your package.json file.

Generated assets shoud not be commited to your repository. It is suggested that the following lines are added to your .gitignore:

pdxinfo
*.pdx

pd simulate

Opens your built {name}-dev.pdx file with the Playdate Simulator.

When NODE_ENV=production, {name}-{version}.pdx will be opened instead.

pd dev

Runs the build and simulate tasks in sequence, then watches your source directory, running those tasks again whenever files change.

pd clean

Removes all files & directories created during the build process (your output directory and the pdxinfo file in your source directory).

pd install

Installs your built {name}-dev.pdx to your connected Playdate. (Windows-only)

When NODE_ENV=production, {name}-{version}.pdx will be installed instead.

pd launch

Launches the {name}-dev.pdx file on your connected Playdate, if it was previously installed with pd install. (Windows-only)

When NODE_ENV=production, {name}-{version}.pdx will be run instead.

pd install-and-launch

Installs your built {name}-dev.pdx to your connected Playdate, then launches it. (Windows-only)

When NODE_ENV=production, {name}-{version}.pdx will be installed and launched instead.

pd dev-with-device

Runs your project's build and install-and-launch tasks in sequence, then watches your source directory, running those tasks again whenever files change. (Windows-only)

Configuration

Configuration options can be set by either creating a playdate.json file in the root of your project, or by adding a "playdate" property to your package.json.

Example

This playdate.json file will define the name of the game for the pdxinfo file, and specify that the game's output directory is called games (instead of dist):

{
	"pdxinfo": {
		"name": "My Playdate Game"
	},
	"outputDir": "games"
}

Options

sourceDir

Name of the directory under your project root where your game's source is kept. Default: "source".

outputDir

Name of the directory under your project root where .pdx builds will be created. Default: "dist".

pdxinfo

An object containing options used during the creation of the pdxinfo file in your source directory. Options are descibed in the next section. Default: {}.

pdxinfo options

Unless specified, all values are strings. All are optional.

name

A name for your game. Default: package.json's name field.

description

A description for your game. Default: package.json's description field.

author

The author of your game. Either a name, or a name parsed from a person string (matching the {name} <{email}> pattern) or a person object (with name and email properties). Default: First name encountered in package.json's maintainers[0], conributors[0], or author fields.

bundleID

Your game's unique bundleID, in reverse DNS notation. Default:

  1. If a person (see author, above) is found in package.json:

    • "{niamod}.{name}", where {niamod} is the reversed domain of their email address if they have one, or
    • "com.{author}.{name}", where {author} is a lower-case concatenation of their name.

  2. Otherwise: "com.example.{name}"

In both cases, {name} is derived from your package.json file.

imagePath

The relative path of a directory under your source directory that will contain files used by the launcher (see pdxinfo > imagePath in the [SDK documentation]https://sdk.play.date/inside-playdate/#pdxinfo) for content requirements). You may optionally specify an object with a "default" key for releases of your game, and other keys that denote pre-releases. Default: None.

e.g. Use launcher/beta directory for beta pre-releases; use launcher directory for other releases.

{
	"default": "launcher",
	"beta": "launcher/beta"
}

launchSoundPath

The relative path of a short audio file under your source directory, to be played as the game launch animation is taking place. Like imagePath, you can optionally specify an object to define different audio files for different kinds of release. Default: None.

contentWarning

A content warning that displays when the user launches your game for the first time. The user will have the option of backing out and not launching your game if they choose. Default: None.

contentWarning2

A second content warning that displays on a second screen when the user launches your game for the first time. The user will have the option of backing out and not launching your game if they choose. Note: contentWarning2 will only display if a contentWarning is also specified. Default: None.

Suggested package.json scripts:

{
	"start": "pd dev",
	"build": "pd",
	"build:release": "NODE_ENV=production pd",
	"simulate": "pd simulate",
	"simulate:release": "NODE_ENV=production pd simulate"
}