Crank & Watch: Octopus (Playdate)
A downloadable game
GEAR UP AND DIVE!
Guide divers through deep waters and bring home the booty, in this Playdate remake of the 1981 classic Game & Watch: Octopus.
But careful! A giant octopus lurks by the shipwreck and guards the treasure chest. How much treasures can you get back to the boat before getting caught in its tentacles?
TREASURES AWAIT!
Reach for the high score by collecting as much treasure as you can. Return to the boat for bonus points but be sure to not go back empty handed!
GAMEPLAY
GAME A
Move right to get a diver in the water.
Move left and right to evade the moving tentacles.
At the treasure chest, collect treasures each time you move right.
Collecting one treasure equals 1 point. Reach the boat and earn a 3 points bonus.
The player cannot return to the boat if the diver has not picked up any treasures.
Lose a life if one of the octopus’ tentacles touches the diver.
The player will reset back to the boat after getting captured.
The game ends when all three divers are gone.
When a score of 200 or 500 points is reached, lost divers are replaced in the boat.
The tentacles move at increasing speed as the player progresses in the game, then return to original speed every 100 points.
GAME B
Tentacles move faster and less predictably than in GAME A.
GAME B is otherwise the same as GAME A.
CONTROLS
D-pad (Up / Left): Return
D-pad (Down / Right) and A Button: Advance/Pick up
B Button: Start a new game after the game is over or when the clock is running.
The Crank can also be used to advance, pick up, and return.
Use the 🟡 Menu Button to start a new GAME A or GAME B, or enter the Clock display.
CLOCK
As the name implies, you can use your Playdate as a clock!
Watch the diver playfully get captured by the octopus while collecting treasures.
Hours of fun! Playdate Stereo Dock ready!
INSTALLATION
The game can be played on a Playdate device. You can sideload the game by following Panic's official instructions here.
Download
Comments
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Nice!
Can you please attempt to port Tronica's Space Adventure to playdate?
The detailing on the sprites and using dithering for background details looks great. Hoping for more Game & Watch titles with this level of graphics! Chef, Fire, and Manhole seem like obvious choices
congrats!!! This is amazing . Nice tribute
This is a brilliant homage to video game history. The experience is as good as owning the OG hardware, well done! Please make more if you have it in you!
friggin amazing!
If I use this as a clock will it drain the battery any faster than the standard built in Playdate clock?
Also please pleas please do more of these!
I know there’s no chance of them coming to the Catalog but I’ll gladly make a donation as they come!
Absolutely awesome stuff! Hope you make more, cause these are just gold.
these are amazing!! Please make
Man hole
:)
Manhole may or may not be planned… 🕳️
This is fantastic! Looks and plays really good on the Playdate.
Please make more!
Keep a close eye in the next few days... 🤹♂️
So cool! 🐙
as I mentioned on Reddit: Just got my PlayDate and love this game! Wish there is a way to donate a few bucks. Also, I want to make a game and watch game myself as you have me some inspiration. Just need to find the time to do so 😅
One thing I noticed about the clock is that there is no way to change it to a 24 hour mode.
Correct. The menu is limited to three items max (currently Game A, Game B, and Clock), so there was no available way for me to offer this as an option.
I think I have access to a variable that lets me know if the user set 12 or 24 hour on the Playdate itself, so I could in theory read this to adapt to the same setting.
I chose to stay true to the original G&W device that was using AM/PM with a 12-hour display.
understood. Thank you for the info and the reply!
hi any chance for man hole in the near future ? These are awesome …
This game looks so good on the Playdate! Fantastic work, I hope to see more Crank & Watch games in the future
Thanks!
There may or may not be something else coming… as long as I don’t drop the ball. 🤹
You've done a incredible job. But there is some key differences that i don't know if you are aware of in relation with the original.
1. The original had "weight". Everytime you pick a treasure, the diver moves slowly. Everytime you go to the boat, it gives you a 3 times multiplier for each treasure you have, maxing out in 10 treasures inside your bag. It's a key element because it's a risk-reward mechanic that makes it more strategic.
2. You have forgotten 2 posible positions for the 2nd and 3rd tentacle.
But, great work.
You may be thinking of the 'modern' gameplay from G&W Gallery on GB. This version intends to replicate the gameplay and behavior of the classic version from 1981 where there was no movement speed affected by weight / # of treasures collected. I believe the additional tentacle positions are also related to the same Modern version.
Thanks for the feedback!
I used to play this game all the time on my old Gameboy when I had copy of Game and Watch Gallery. I love this so much and having on playdate has given me a sense of nostalgia! Thank you so much dude
Right back at ya! Thanks for the feedback and for playing!
instant download
instant thanks!
This is brilliant — and exactly the kind of experience I wanted when I purchased the Playdate. I remember the original, and I stink at this version as much as the original, but love every moment of it. The attention to detail is superb and the nostalgia factor is off-the-chart. Please consider making more Game and Watch ports! You have a gift!
Thanks! It means a lot!
Octopus always had a special place in my heart ever since I played it on G&W Gallery on Game Boy. I'm happy to see that it still can be experienced in a different way.
Excellently done! 🐙
Excellently appreciated!