Started development on my playdate farming sim

This is the first devlog for a farming sim for the playdate I’m working on. I started out with a simple prototype of the game in pulp, the web based game editor for the playdate. While I did have a lot of fun making the prototype, I also quickly realized that pulp doesn’t offer the flexibility I need to make my game. That’s why I decided to switch to the Playdate SDK, which is a lot more complicated, but also more flexible and allows me to make more detailed art and game mechanics. For anyone interested, the pulp prototype is still available for download here on itch.io, along with the json project file.

RECENT PROGRESS

Tiles and Character art and animations:

This was pretty much the first thing I started working on. I always find it helpful to decide on an art style early on, because it helps me visualize what the game is going to be like. Also, I just don’t like working with placeholder art, theprocess just isn’t as fun to me.

Implementing player action

Next, I implemented a system that allowed the player to switch between different tools and actions using the crank. There is also an icon in the bottom left corner of the screen that pops out when the crank is undocked and shows which tool is selected. I can now till the soil, plant seeds and water the ground. I also added a selection box that shows which tile the action will be performed on.

Timer system and plant growth

Since a farming game is not really a farming game if the planted seeds just sit there indefinitely, I started writing the scripts that allow the plants to grow over time. I implemented a timer script that keeps track on the date and time and also added a small UI element that displays the time in the top right corner of the screen. Plants can now grow a little bit every day, but only do so if they have been watered.

Next steps

Right now I am working on an inventory system that will allow me to select Items and place them in one of the quickslots I implemented for player actions and tools. I’m also working on new art for the game, as many of the UI elements are still only placeholders, and it bothers be every time I test the game.

Anyways, thank you for reading and I hope you like my little project. I’m making this game mostly because it’s the kind of game I’d love to play on the Playdate, and I didn’t find anything similar. If you would be interested in this kind of game, please let me know what you think of it! 💛