SCP-D38813
A downloadable game
SCP-D38813 is a creepy-pasta narrative game for the Playdate console in which you play an SCP Foundation researcher attempting to unravel the mystery of an anomalous Playdate. The device has enciphered classic articles from the SCP wiki, and you'll have to crank to crack the cryptograms and solve the mystery.
Long time fans of the SCP Foundation as well as new folks looking for a creepy thrill can enjoy dozens of tales on their possessed handheld, as it cosplays a text mode terminal, complete with satisfying retro computer bloops and keyboard clacks.
Just, you know... go outside and touch grass every now and again. Director Prescott is a little worried that you're getting obsessed with this thing, and doc Prasad has been making concerned notes about your mental state. I would say it's not the end of the world but I won't, because everything we do here is actually the end of the world; still, take it easy champ, we still need you in one piece to save the universe.
Sideloading and the Playdate
New to purchasing Playdate games on itch? Loading a game onto your Playdate is as easy as dragging and dropping it onto the Playdate website. For detailed information, see the Sideloading article over at Panic!
SCP-D38813 is now also available in Catalog. I'll keep both versions up to date, please feel free to purchase it wherever you prefer!
Licensing
Content relating to the SCP Foundation, including the SCP Foundation logo, is licensed under Creative Commons Sharealike 3.0 and all concepts originate from https://scpwiki.com/ and its authors. The novel content of SCP-D38813, being derived from this content, is hereby also released under Creative Commons Sharealike 3.0.
Purchase
In order to download this game you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $4 USD. You will get access to the following files:
Development log
- Finally, that new feature! Bug Fixes! And a few tweaks.May 06, 2024
- Catalog Release!Apr 23, 2024
- New Feature! SCP-D38813 Auxiliary Document ProtocolApr 23, 2024
- Help, I'm stuck! <spoilers!>Jan 08, 2024
- Launched! Welcome to the creepy world of SCP-D38813Jan 03, 2024
Comments
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I was stuck on the second document for ages, read through it three times. then I took the version from the wiki and printed the letter frequency. there is a single q in subsequently
even with my glasses on the letters are difficult to make out, any chance of an option to double the font size?
thanks for making the game!
I hear ya! I have trouble with small things on the Playdate too! I’m afraid the font is as large as I can make it without redrawing a new font, and I won’t have the time to do so any time soon. I tried to find a compromise between having enough text on screen to see context clues and a large enough font to be comfortable, but I understand it can be tricky.
As a workaround for now, could you perhaps play it on Mirror?
I have some posts below mentioning bugs/personal issues with this game, but I want to be clear that those were made for the previous version. On the current update, this is one of my favorite games for Playdate :)
Hi there! I bought the game but it doesn't seem to show up on my Playdate? I've tried to refresh it a few times and reupload
Hi! Did you manage to get it working? Are you using the side loading method where you upload it to the Panic website?
Hi there!
I was side loading it, I've tried side loading it both from my PC and phone. I've also refreshed the 'games' tab on my actual Playdate multiple times and it still hasn't worked :(
Is it possible to refund it here and buy it via the Playdate store instead?
I hope so! I’ve never done it before, and it also doesn’t seem like I have any control over the process, but it does seem like you can get a refund if you contact Itch support via https://itch.io/support
Apologies for the difficulties, I hope you can get it worked out!
Found a lead: games built with newer OS versions may just not appear at all on devices still running older versions of the OS. You can check to see if this is the case by going to your Settings on the Playdate, then System -> System Update. If your device is behind, that should start the update!
Also note: some of the updates are applied in sequence, i.e. it needs to download and apply them one by one. Even if you do get an update, once it restarts go and check again, it might need another turn!
no running on simulator :( it makes me sad I guess i will have to buy a playdate on my birthday
Ah, I apologize, but I can’t maintain all the required binaries to make the game compatible with every platform the simulator runs on.
I hope you do get, and greatly enjoy, a Playdate eventually!
Just finished my first puzzle with a bit of help from here, and also discovered there’s a bug being fixed!(found more bugs too I think!) Just curious about the timeline on that, don’t wanna binge to then get stuck :)
edit - now done about a dozen of them, the loop of receiving stories as a reward is really keeping me invested!
edit 2 - I had done ten, number 11 is broken and 9-12 are mislabeled! SCP-1473 is a printer, not a hole. What should be 1437-3 (1473-3 as labeled) will not clear for me. I’ve now compared my decoded version on the console letter for letter to the wiki page and it’s 100% correct, but the level will not complete despite multiple restarts.
addendum - level 11 is NOT broken, but boy I would never think to change the b inside of a measurement to an x. B could be “by”?? The 1437 series is still mislabeled at this time as 1473 however!
2525.68 seconds on that level because of that randomization/choice, maybe this level should be changed slightly if there isn’t randomization? 10x my usual solve time and a comment on the faq make me think this puzzle needs a tweak if it can have one, if it’s random then beware of measurements!!
So, given the nature of the game and how it and the subject matter tends to play with the fourth wall, I have to ask...if one of the files consistently crashes my Playdate, is that...expected?
Would it happen to be a particularly testy file? If so, no actually! Unfortunately there is a bug right at the end of the game that I’m patching as we speak, hope to get it out ASAP.
I will say though, that if that’s the one you’re talking about, then you’ve already discovered all the pieces of the story. All that’s left to do is forget about it.
Yes, that would be the one! I'm glad you've already found it! Thank you and I love the game
Man, I'm really bad at this game :(
Oh no! That sad face makes me sad too :(
Have you taken a peek at the tips in this post? They might help you get over the hump. Once you get past the middle point of a document, I find everything sorta slides into place!
Yes! But I think it's a little harder when you don't know the stories. Anyway, I'll keep trying! :)
One of my favorite games on the Playdate! Such a great game to pick up and play while waiting on food to cook or when you just want to kill 5 minutes. Great selection of SCP stories so far and the GUI is so cute! Are there any plans to add more stories or is there any way to do it ourselves? I'm almost dreading reaching the end of all the articles because it's so much fun lol
Oooh, thank you! Very kind of you to say, super glad you’re enjoying it.
No plans for an expansion yet, but bring-your-own-content? Well, let me think about that.
One of my favorite Playdate games so far! Up there with Bloom, Saturday Edition, and Quantum Phantom Basketball. Incredibly immersive (love the sound effects), excellent UI/UX, and I'm loving the meta narrative that's revealing as I unlock articles. I cannot stop playing.
As I've been playing I've noticed two small issues:
- The progress in an article sometimes doesn't save. I've exited and entered an article after halfway completing and some of my letter choices are different. (edit) I just noticed in your spoilers post that this may be intentional, but I think it may not be the best user experience.
- Secondly, scrolling in a completed article isn't 1:1 with the crank. It seems the crank's dead zone is a bit high, so if I spin the crank very slowly and the article will not scroll. Perhaps intentional?
Thank you for such a wonderful experience! I can't wait to decrypt more.
Many thanks for the comment, Logan! Delighted that you’re having a good time.
Yeah, D38813 may be a little harsh messing with you when you reload. I’ll have a think about that. It’s worth noting that it won’t do that if you just sleep the device. Also, the game doesn’t save unless you change something, so there’s a soft limit to its malfeasance.
You know, I’ve noticed the dead zone thing too. Not super certain what that’s about. I tried to counteract that a bit by adding a little curve to the crank so that smaller cranks scroll less, letting you crank farther to get more precision, before ramping up to much faster when you, err, crank it. Going to have to experiment over time to find the best feeling response. Thanks for the input! Always great to have more insight.
Hello again! So stoked to see a Catalog release. Just purchased. Curious if any changes other than the custom document feature made it into this version?
Thanks!
No other changes as yet. I did experiment a bit with alternative cranking speeds/responses after your last comment, but I’m afraid I couldn’t find any other version I liked better, apologies.
Stumbled across this game over on the Playdate Squad Discord and I'm glad I gave it a chance. Simple concept that's executed well and elegantly displayed with super cool transitions. It can feel daunting at first, especially if you're not as familiar with cryptograms like I was, but the latest dev log did an excellent job helping guide new players that may feel lost at first. Now that I've gotten the hang of it, this game has easily become one of my favorite games to play on the Playdate.
Aww thanks, Tonus_ very kind of you to come here and leave a review. Much appreciated! Glad you’re having a good time with your Playdate 💛
One of my favorite concepts for the Playdate so far. Now, it could be due to my very limited experience with cryptograms, but I am so far finding it very difficult and would appreciate any hints/advice. I really want to figure it out. Part of the difficulty comes from the random letters being placed so unless I write it down, it's hard to keep track of which letters I placed myself. Maybe that is intentional though to make it more difficult, but I have enough trouble just figuring out the cryptogram itself. Thanks for the neat game.
Hey friend, thanks for playing!
I’ve collected a few FAQs and tips for making it through SCP-D38813’s defenses in a new blog post. I hope they help!
This looks like such a good idea, is the game accessible to everyone? Definitely gonna check it out regardless, but was just curious if theres like a certain amount of skill needed
It’s a relatively simple concept: the articles are ciphered and you have to rotate the letters to decode them. It takes a little lateral reasoning to figure out, but if you like word games, I hope you’ll enjoy the process!