We don’t really get to write about Playdate, that bespoke games console with a built in crank, here on RPS very much because it is very much not a computer (though former EIC Katharine did review it back when it launched). Well, not in the way we need it to be for our purposes. But I have an excuse to do so today! Over the weekend at the PC Gaming Show, a trailer for the Panic-published, faux-streaming service Blippo+ was shown off, one that captured my attention quite quickly.
You see, Blippo+ is technically already available as part of Playdate Season 2, releasing 1-bit dithered versions of fictitious TV episodes one week at a time, just like in the good old days. The version of Blippo+ shown over the weekend however, is a full-scale FMV game that recreates the feeling of channel surfing through off-cable TV, filled with budget productions featuring all sorts of shows like the news, sitcoms, and the weather.
Watch on YouTube
It’s all made with actual vintage analog broadcasting equipment, which is right up my alley. I’ll let you in on an odd pet peeve of mine: I hate it when films and TV just slap on a fake VHS filter or something of that sort and call it a day. You can always tell it’s filmed on a modern camera, and it bothers me to no end, so I really appreciate the effort put into Blippo+.
There’s some kind of “time-hopping” mechanic that lets you go back and forth between weeks worth of television, slowly uncovering the strange lore of this world that’s like ours, but… different. It’s been an eon (translation: actually only about 5 years or so) since I last did any channel hopping of any kind, time travel or not, so I’m quite curious to dive into this one.
It’s also being written by Claire L. Evans and directed by Jona Bechtolt, as in the duo that make-up the musical act YACHT. Not a creative team I would have expected, but Imagine Dragons are making that not Team Fortress 2 shooter Last Flag that got revealed at Geoff’s Two Hours of Video Games Show, so, anything’s possible I guess.
Blippo+ doesn’t have an exact release date just yet, but it is expected to launch sometime this coming fall/ autumn, and you can wishlist it on Steam here.