Relax Industry

Welcome to the Playdate assembly plant. A game, or rather, a relaxing experience, where you assemble different parts of the console.

Controls:

D-pad to move the cursor during the grab phases

A to validate and grab or ungrab items

B for certain feedback

  Crank for the screwing phases

    Accelerometer for the flip phases (but currently too sensitive, I think)

The Jam:

This is my presentation at Uncrank'd Pre Summer Jam 2025. I received my Playdate a week and a half before starting this game jam with no real knowledge of coding. I used the GitHub copilot in Visual Studio Code to translate my idea into code, and throughout the entire eight days of the jam, I struggled with it. Not without problems, of course, with a good number of bugs as I fixed or added things (whether functionalities or aesthetic issues). I realized shortly before submitting this project that it had performance issues (particularly loading between the menu and game mode).

In any case, I'm proud to have worked on it; it was a huge emotional lift.

As for the game itself, as mentioned above, it's more of an experience that's meant to incorporate the console's features. I initially struggled with the proposed themes, but I gravitated toward the Relaxation theme.

I had a lot of ideas beyond what we can currently see, like adding an Endless mode, for example. This will no doubt be done post-Jam, when I've recovered from my week.

What's Next? For the future :

I'd like to revise the code, especially for its performance issues, add other phases to the assembly loop, and add an Endless mode, which would replicate the mechanics of JamMode but with time, scores, QTEs, assembly bonuses, etc. I think there are still many possibilities, at least if I manage to integrate them. I'm also thinking about localizing the game for its small narrative portion, because this game also has a message for the industry.

Why Relax Industry?

I worked for 15 years in the automotive industry, which opened my eyes to ways of doing things that are always focused on profits, often at the expense of quality and the people who work there. This little game finally marks my transition to becoming a freelancer. After four years of conversion.

I used a Playdate assembly line as a medium because it was consistent with the console on which the Jam was ported, but this is in no way directed at Panic or their subcontractor for console production, but rather at the industry in general. It was important to emphasize this, at least for me.

Software used and design:

I mainly used Aseprite (for the pixel art) and Visual Code Studio combined with Copilot GitHub. Also used Playdate Caps for font creation (I made two fonts that I think I will released later, when I will complete every letters I plan to add.

For the sfx, I turned to ChipTone.

I produced my assets on the second day, when I was sure of my game idea. I also used rotoscoping for the flip phases of the IG console.

A big thank you to my friend @xOOma who unlocked my potential and supported me at the beginning of the Jam. I would have loved to do the whole jam with him ^^