Although Panic halted development of its official Playdate charging dock, an enterprising character artist jumped in with an open source kit (through Gizmodo) that transforms the device into an interactive robot pet.
PlayBot is Guillaume Loquin's name of the nice plugin that anyone with the right knowledge can create. (For those uninformed, don't be surprised if you eventually see others selling versions on platforms like Etsy.) Made with two wheels, a motor, a microcontroller and a 3D printed case, it takes advantage of Playdate's integrated system. in accelerometer, microphone and sensors to turn the standalone game console into a charming desktop companion.
Loquin, whose day job is as a character artist at Ubisoft, put those skills to use to bring the device to life. Although he won't do anything crazy like chatting, popping wheelies, or playing fetch, the video of Loquin below shows him reacting to a touch to wake up, turning a corner, and getting dizzy after turning the Playdate crank. You can also slide around your desk, avoiding obstacles and avoiding plummeting from the edge.
The developer estimates 45 minutes of gameplay per charge. When you are not playing with the device (in the form of a game console or robot), the robo-dock charges the console.
Loquin provides the 3D printing instructions, companion app code, and firmware for its Teensy 4.1 microcontroller at GitHub.
