CranKlown

Crank the seesaw. Catch the clown. Pop the rows.

CranKlown is a crank-powered balloon popper built for Playdate. Two clowns take turns in the air: slide the seesaw under the falling one, catch him on the raised end, and the plank flips to catapult his partner up into three rows of balloons. How far out on the end you catch him decides how high his partner flies -- only a catch right on the tip reaches the top row, where the balloons are worth the most. Clear a row and a fresh one drops instantly; clear the top row and you earn another clown. Miss the plank and the band strikes up a funeral march.

Features

• The crank is the seesaw -- one revolution sweeps the whole tent, 1:1, the way the 1977 cabinet was played with its spinner knob
• Aim with the lever arm -- catch him on the tip for height, near the pivot for a low skimming shot, and steer the launch with the plank's own movement
• Flip the plank in mid-air -- the B button swaps which end is raised, the one thing the Atari version added that the arcade never had
• Three rows, three values -- 20, 50 and 100 a balloon bottom to top, with a row bonus worth ten times the balloon, straight from the arcade's own scoring table
• Earn more clowns -- clearing the top row wins another one, every time you manage it
• Sixteen waves and beyond -- each one runs the whole show faster rather than merely scrolling the balloons harder, so the pressure is always on your reactions
• High score tracking -- your best run is saved between sessions
• Clean 1-bit aesthetic designed for Playdate's crisp black-and-white screen

Controls

• Crank: Slide the seesaw
• D-pad Left/Right: Slide the seesaw (works alongside the crank)
• A button: Call the next clown / start / play again
• B button: Flip the plank while a clown is in the air

Credits

CranKlown is an original Playdate game, made as an homage to Edward Valeau and Howell Ivey's arcade classic Circus (Exidy, 1977) -- a game played with an analog spinner on a black-and-white monitor, which is to say a game already written for the Playdate's crank and screen. Designed from public documentation; all code and art original.

How to Install on Playdate

1. Download the .pdx.zip file from this page
2. Go to play.date/account/sideload in your browser
3. Sign in with your Playdate account
4. Upload the .pdx.zip file
5. The game will appear on your Playdate!

Requires a Playdate console to play.