A downloadable Playdate Game for Windows

Get this Playdate Game and 3 more for $15.00 USD
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Shining Gadget is a passive creature collecting idle game that transforms your Playdate into an online-enabled specter catcher! Hunt by yourself or collect all 140+ ghosts using the Ghostnet online trading platform!

Over 30 new ghosts have been added to Shining Gadget, along with a new catch rating system and Miracle Swap crafting system. Gen2 is out now! For free!

Strangest.io is releasing a physical edition of Shadow Gadget and Shining Gadget together! What you see here is no mere game, it is the future of paranormal science. The Shining / Shadow Gadget Physical Edition is guaranteed to rid your home of ghosts, ghouls, and demons; all while providing countless hours of handheld entertainment. Each copy of this blessed bundle has been thoroughly exorcized by ordained priests, and includes a poster and ghost stickers that ward off evil spirits. 

LIMITED TO 50 COPIES! GRAB ONE QUICK BEFORE THEY ARE ALL GONE!


Spooky ghosts have crossed over from the shadow dimension and into YOUR HOME! Harness the power of your Playdate console to spot ghosts of all kinds, and contain them for further study! Shining Gadget is the ultimate on-the-go companion for avid ghost hunters and collectors alike!





Brimming with over 140 ghosts, Shining Gadget has a specter for every collector! Gather all kinds of spirits that are sure to haunt, confuse, and amuse your sixth sense! From demonic clowns to adorable spectral kittens, you never know what will float by next! Compare and trade your library with other users, and amass the ghastliest collection possible! Each ghost is based off of entities our team has encountered in real life to ensure consistent quality and spookiness. 

Take your Playdate with you to abandoned buildings, historical sites, and cemeteries; or just kick back at home until you feel a shiver down your spine! Leave the device on or close the game and check back later to see if any ghosts have floated nearby!


Take aim at ghosts and suck them into your Playdate using the built-in crank! Keep your tractor beam on target to weaken it and crank for maximum pull! Your precision and reflexes will be put to the ultimate test as you collect ancient and powerful spirits! After you've caught a new ghost, be sure to visit the gallery to read up on its demented history and admire your collection! Recommended by some of the world's most qualified paranormal investigators, Shining Gadget is the antidote to all things that go bump in the night!

  • Engage in a battle of wills with ghosts from across reality!
  • Tremble in fear at over 140 unique ghost designs!
  • Amass a collection so great and terrible that you lose your sanity!
  • Feel the power of your state-of-the-art Phantomizer as it whirs and spits pure energy!
  • Protect your home from ghosts and other malevolent entities. 
  • Swap ghosts with friends and rivals using the Ghostnet companion app for windows!



Missing a ghost? Tired of looking at your least favorite? Shining Gadget features patented Spirit Swap technology that allows you to trade for your favorite ghosts using the included Windows companion app: Ghostnet! Complete your collection with friends or blaze your own path, the road to becoming the ultimate ghost hunter is full of possibility! 

Trading ghosts is as simple as connecting your playdate to your PC and launching the companion application for Windows! Once there you can trade ghosts, view leaderboards, and download limited-time event ghosts to complete your library! Please refer to the included instruction manual about the steps required to connect, as well as important safety precautions when utilizing this online service. 

Which side are you on?

Shining Gadget too radiant for you? Try Shadow Gadget!



Strangest.io’s prime directive is to empower outsider artists to tell interactive, subversive and powerful stories. We partner with independent artists on all of our projects. We believe that the best stories and ideas come from the fringes of our society. We are not here to make things that have been done before. We are here to break the mold, leave a mark, and feel good about the work we do.

Any support you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Submit feedback for Strangest.io games here.

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Interactive Services, LLC.
StatusReleased
PlatformsWindows
Publisher
Release date Oct 06, 2022
Rating
Rated 4.9 out of 5 stars
(8 total ratings)
AuthorStrangest.io
GenreSimulation
Made withPlaydate, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe After Effects, Unity
TagsArcade, collection, Cute, Dark, Ghosts, Horror, Idle, passive, Pixel Art, Playdate
Average sessionA few minutes
LanguagesEnglish
InputsKeyboard, Mouse, Accelerometer, Joy-Con
AccessibilityColor-blind friendly, High-contrast
MultiplayerServer-based networked multiplayer
LinksCommunity, Twitter/X, Instagram, Website, Patreon, Support Us

Purchase

Get this Playdate Game and 3 more for $15.00 USD
View bundle
Buy Now
On Sale!
40% Off
$13.00 $7.80 USD or more

In order to download this Playdate Game you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $7.80 USD. You will get access to the following files:

Ghostnet For Playdate (Windows Application) 27 MB
Shining Gadget (Playdate Application) 12 MB
Shining Gadget + Ghostnet Manual 1.6 MB

Development log

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Comments

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Seems that you've pulled a Pokemon.

(1 edit)

Ghostnet seems to be dead currently, just an fyi for people wanting to purchase this game looking to trade.

Ghostnet is working again!

It doesn't seem to be working for me. Any tips on what I might be doing wrong?

https://itch.io/jam/itchio-indie-gala-2023-bundle-submissions-

(3 edits)

i really love the game! i always enjoyed these types of games,  so it's a no brainer if you're a pokemon fan!

if it's possible though, would you be able to allow compatibility to ghostnet for those who downloaded the game directly from the playdate? i have no idea how to side load this one without having to pay for a second copy.

edit: found out my answer is as simple as moving files to where you keep the side loaded stuff. handy for ghostnet!

edit 2: nevermind, i found myself with a fatal error.

it reads "global user id was null or set to -1"

edit 3: SOMEBODY HELP, IT'S PERMANENTLY STUCK ON GHOSTNET AND I BOUGHT THE GAME TWICE

I have the same error, I never bought on the catalog, only itch. For being permanently stuck, I uninstalled the game (I recommend backing up first, either way, DO NOT DELETE YOUR GAME DATA, do the uninstall). Then just reinstall. My game worked again after that and I didn't lose any data (caught ghosts were still there), but if you do you have the backup just in case.

It's working now!

(+1)

I read on some comments that instead of gyro you also added D-Pad support. Did this happen, because I can't seem to find it in options.

Gave it a go and it sure is rad! Love the flavor text and the design of the ghosts. The audio is phenomenal as well!

I think my save might be corrupted, my Playdate crashes everytime I try to boot the game :<

An option to hide the badges and when you caught a ghost would be nice so we can see the artwork uncovered

I tried to do the TYK event that I got from GhostNet and it wouldn't let me load it in the game when I tried to get that event ghost.

(1 edit)

Hi, did you get this working? If so would you be willing to share the event files? No matter what I do I get a fatal error when trying to run ghostnet. Thanks!

Edit: Ghostnet is working now!

(1 edit)

Hello, what are the differences between shadow and shining gadget? (sorry for the bad English btw. I am german)

(+1)

Will the Ghostnet app be coming to mac or the browser? I tried to run it with Wine but sadly it just crashes.

(+1)

Howdy everyone!

Shining Gadget has been updated, more info and patch notes are available here:
https://thestrangest.itch.io/shining-gadget/devlog/441571/shining-gadget-114a-gh...

Hi, somehow downloading events to device messed up and don't appear in game, but they also disappeared from GhostNet. How can I fix that?

(+1)

Hey! Sorry about that, do you mind reviewing the support info in the manual included with the game? 

You will need to send us a summary of the issue, your Playdate serial number and crash + error logs. We can troubleshoot the issue from there! 

Thanks,

(+1)

Patch available here: https://thestrangest.itch.io/shining-gadget/devlog/441571/shining-gadget-114a-gh...

(+2)

Howdy everyone!

Shining Gadget has been updated, more info and patch notes are available here:
https://thestrangest.itch.io/shining-gadget/devlog/439429/shining-gadget-112-gho...

(+1)

I like how these are in pairs reminiscent of old pokemon games

Thank you! :)

(+1)

a really cute idea!!! i love the creatures so far, the game looks beautiful, and the “idle gameplay” system feels perfect for the playdate. but i have a few suggestions:

  1. please consider showing the “pause screen” help to first time users… I lost my first two ghosts and was extremely confused and frustrated…

  2. d-pad mode! (i see you’re working on that) i’m hoping that d-pad mode or changing the sensitivity will make this game easier to play, because the default settings are very hard for me to see the screen while tilting the playdate to extreme angles to align the cursor

  3. high fidelity voice lines seem a bit out of place to me. i’d love it if the voice lines were downsampled to lower quality to give it a more retro vibe (like the SNES Star Fox voice clips, for example)

(+1)

Thank you for the excellent feedback, some of which was implemented in the patch we just released! Check this out - https://thestrangest.itch.io/shining-gadget/devlog/439429/shining-gadget-112-gho...!

(1 edit) (+1)

Hey, just bought Shining Gadget and have a small problem. Any time I have save data it crashes on me when trying to reopen the game. Anyone else running into this issue? I don't want to lose my ghosts :(

Note: this happened with both builds of the game.

Hey Jordan,

Please review the manual that comes with both games for a support email, you can email us your PD serial number, crash and error logs and we will assist.

Also the error you are reporting here sounds very similar to what we discuss in our latest patch: https://thestrangest.itch.io/shadow-gadget/devlog/437727/shadow-gadget-103b-ghostnet-02-patchupdate

Please email us that info as we are aggregating data and trying to get ahold of Panic!

Hoping to resolve this soon and get you back to catching ghosts! :)

Thanks,

(2 edits)

this happened to me too.

UPDATE:  the most recent patch fixed it :)

(+1)

Hey Poodledude,

Sorry this was happening to your device, do you mind checking the newest patch out: https://thestrangest.itch.io/shining-gadget/devlog/439429/shining-gadget-112-gho...

1.12 is available to download through itch.io now!

Hey Jordan,

Can you please check out the most recent patch notes here: https://thestrangest.itch.io/shining-gadget/devlog/439429/shining-gadget-112-gho...

And then give 1.12 a try?

Let us know if that works! Thanks,

So far so good! Can easily relaunch the app when I have saved data and I didn't have to lose my caught monsters! :P Thank you thank you thank you

Howdy everyone!

Shining Gadget + Ghostnet have been updated, more info and patch notes are available here:
https://thestrangest.itch.io/shining-gadget/devlog/437726/shining-gadget-103a-gh...

(+1)

Shining gadget is very buggy. If you lock the screen while on the ghost catcher hud, the mic stops working until you close the game and reopen it. Also, the collection screen will sometimes go haywire thinking the dpad is being mashed when it isnt. The tilt controls are extremely sluggish and require extreme movements. Id much rather use the dpad like in Necrocrisis.

(+1)

Hey MrWubbs, thank you for the feedback! Be on the lookout for a patch!

(+1)

Awesome. Will it have dpad support? Also, is the slow tilt control a hardware limitation? Thanks

Dpad support will be coming down the pipeline shortly. You can now change the tilt sensitivity in the game settings from the main menu! :)

Dpad support has been added: https://thestrangest.itch.io/shining-gadget/devlog/439429/shining-gadget-112-gho...

awesome!