the big pond
A downloadable game
the big pond is a chill game for Panic's Playdate console. Sail a small sailboat around the course and try for the best time.
The way the sailboat moves is physically simulating to how a real sailboat would sail! Control the angle of the sail and be aware of the direction of where the wind is coming from to sail as quickly as possible.
How to play
Follow the course checkpoints in the order as it is drawn on the map.
Controls
- D-pad controls the sailboat's direction
- the crank controls the trim of the sail (crank forward to bring the sail in and backward to loosen it)
- Ⓑ brings up the map
How to install
- sideload it on your Playdate device at https://play.date/account/sideload
- play it in the Playdate simulator if you don't have a real device, you can download it at https://play.date/dev/
🪚 The game is still in development, the current version in in beta. Most everything is in place, but needs more polish and testing. Feedback welcome!
(psst, press Ⓑ 3 times on the start screen if you want to see the nerdy behind the scenes aerodynamic forces being applied)
Roadmap:
improve performanceadd more courses- overall polish
Download
Install instructions
the big pond is a game for the Playdate, so you'll either need a Playdate and install it on there, or use a Playdate simulator:
- sideload it on your Playdate device at https://play.date/account/sideload
- play it in the Playdate simulator if you don't have a real device, you can download it at https://play.date/dev/
Comments
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.
Hi okacat! Just want to say I really like this game and I think it has potential. It's crashing fairly often for me, but when it works, it's really fun and I like that it is accurate to how sailboats really work. Most sailing in games are not like that. I hope you continue to work on it.
Hi, thanks for saying that! :) Really appreciate the feedback. I took a bit of a break during summer, but I am hoping I can release it sometime in the following months. I’ll post an updated version soon!
Hello! I just downloaded this as Im super excited to try some sailing game with the Playdate, the crank really will work well for rudder and handle the winsch for different sail!!
Howerver when I try to start the game it say that its not supported on the playdate latest version
Hi! Thanks for letting me know, I’ve uploaded a new version now that should work on the latest Playdate.
Thx for the update! This is exactly the game I wanted fo the playdate! :)
Are you still working on it? Or taking this sailing idea any further?
If I can give some feedback.
I would like to see that the pressing the D-pad it should only give you access to different aspects of the boat,
example, if I hold down on the D-pad I get access to controll the rudder with the crank.
If I hold left on d-pad I get access to controll the Jib,
If i hold right I get access to controll the mainsail.
In that way it gets more of a realistic feeling that you are alone in the little boat and use your two hands to do different manouvers. :)
Also, is there any more courses? I only have the triangle?
Thanks for the feedback, those are good ideas, would make for a fun game!
My current plan though is to keep the controls as is and optimize the performance a bit, as it’s running slow, and also add more courses. So far triangle is the only one yeah.