Email the Author
You can use this page to email Brett Chalupa about Make Games for Playdate with Lua.
About the Book
Have fun learning how to program games from scratch for Playdate!
Written in a fun and accessible style, Make Games for Playdate with Lua is a great way to get started learning game programming. The book is perfect for beginners. And if you've already made some games before, you'll feel right at home as you go through the chapters.
You'll code a bunch of small games from scratch to learn everything to need to bring your game ideas to reality.
One of the joys of making games for Playdate is how simple it is and how quickly you can test your game on your game console. Playdate's limitations in resolution, input, and color make it perfect for someone just getting started making games.
Make Games for Playdate with Lua is actively being written. The earlier you buy it, the cheaper it will be. As the content of the book expands, the price will increase. You'll get updates for the book as they're released.
No worries if you don't have a Playdate yet! You can make games for Playdate without having the console on hand. The Playdate SDK is free and available to download for all major operating systems.
What you'll learn
- Programming basics with Lua—variables, functions, tables, conditionals and more
- Game programming concepts
- Handling user input
- How to build and test your Playdate game
- The most essential Playdate APIs
- How to publish your Playdate game online
Table of contents
What's written:
- Introduction — get yourself and your computer prepared for for making games for Playdate
- Hello, Playdate! — display text and move it around the screen
- Tennis — code a single-player Pong clone
- Clock — make a simple clock using a custom font
- Snake — learn about saving and loading data from Playdate, loops, and adding a menu option
- Soaring — code scene switching and break up your source into multiple files
Ideas for what I'd like to add:
- Action roguelite inspired by Vampire Survivors
- Sokoban puzzle game
- A simple turn-based RPG
Bonus reference chapters are also included to quickly look up examples of how to use Lua and the Playdate SDK.
Based on how the book is received, I'd like to continue to expand the content and explore recording video versions of the chapters.
Book Updates
A changelog and notes on how progress is going.
- Feb 18, 2025 [new version]: Started Mini Survivors chapter, added Playdate by Example chapter, started adding content to the cheatsheets, added a Style Guide chapter
- Jan 25, 2025 [personal note]: I am still working on the book but had to take a break due to starting a new job and getting acclimated. I'm hoping to get back to focusing on the book in February. Thank you for your patience.
About the Author
Brett fell in love with writing code as a teenager and has been doing it in the decades since. He enjoys writing, reading, and dabbling in a wide range of creative hobbies. He lives in Pennsylvania with his family.