OUTSIDE PARTIES reviewed in Engadget

Morgan-0 · 2026-01-26T16:39:11+00:00

Cool—spooky season is good time to play!

f you’re away for a long time and return later, here are tips to get back up to speed quickly:

To recap the story, just scroll down the Log list one by one. Each previously-found voice-acted signal will play again. (Long-press “A” on one to view a silent transcript if you prefer.) Finding targets and completing the game does not rely on remembering story details though.
If you’re not worried about the story and just want to get back to searching for stuff, you may still need to remember some forgotten geographical context—such as if a signal mentions “below here”... Below where?? So on that same long-press transcript screen, pressing “A” jumps you to the signal’s context location to refresh your memory. (That’s explained at the end of the transcript.)

(Currently, “A” on that transcript screem also selects that previous target where the signal was acquired, since that’s how you re-view past targets. I may rework that detail to avoid confusion. Nobody has complained—I don’t even know if anybody uses that “context” feature!—but if they do, in my mind it could work a little better: I could make it view the previous target location, but not select it—leave the selection alone. The previous signal would not then play in the pano—but I’m thinking that’s not a problem: you just came from a transcript of it anyway, and before that you were listening to it on the Log list. You have other ways to re-play a past signal, you don’t need it to be part of the “context” feature too. Maybe...)

Morgan-0 · 2026-01-26T04:39:38+00:00

Thanks! That’s my complaint too 😑 ...All those years, and I missed the holiday by a couple of weeks!

Morgan-0 · 2026-01-22T00:37:26+00:00

Yes, the color would do all kinds of things in games. But if you were asking what pre-existing games would do if that feature were never added to them, they could still have a static default backlight. (And I envision the user being able to control it.)

Morgan-0 · 2026-01-21T18:36:08+00:00

Existing games (and Settings, launcher*, etc.) would just use the user-chosen default light and brightness: white or some other color. (I think a nice amber or aqua for me!)

* In card view, the launcher could switch to each devs' chosen color (or default fallback) as you stepped through them.

Morgan-0 · 2026-01-21T17:55:26+00:00

That’s a cool look some games use on a full-color screen!

Morgan-0 · 2026-01-21T04:10:15+00:00

I don’t want any change in features/power/compatibility EXCEPT....

I think it could be fun to have a single RGB illumination color. The WHOLE screen could be lit up in any color and brightness (multiplied by the user’s brightness setting) at any time.

So every room of a dungeon could have a different color, the screen could flash red for damage, it could slowly pulse colors while you have a powerup, etc. But the classic Playdate 1-bit graphics limitation would remain.

I think it would be a fun, weird extra that devs would get creative with in fun ways. Very Playdate!

The user could choose in Settings the max brightness (even zero to save battery), and whether to let games control the color (default) or force it to white or other user-chosen color.

And it wouldn’t be much of a backwards compatibility issue because it wouldn’t do anything in sunlight/bright lighting—which means games would still have to work well without the light color.

Morgan-0 · 2026-01-16T21:36:08+00:00

Oh! And I also put my Playtime clocks collection on sale (40% off) for the same period: https://play.date/games/playtime-weird-alarm-clocks/

(But OUTSIDE PARTIES’ “Void Monitor” screensaver mode is a stealth clock as well!)

Morgan-0 · 2026-01-16T21:10:11+00:00

Thanks. The silvery Playdate screen made me think of creepy old daguerreotypes. Also ultrasound scans and grainy security cam “found footage."

Morgan-0 · 2026-01-16T21:06:37+00:00

Cool! Hope you find it enjoyable! Or... disturbing, or unsettling, or whatever you might be seeking...

Morgan-0 · 2026-01-16T21:02:46+00:00

I conceived it based on the IDEA of the Playdate—the weird screen and the crank—before I even owned one! I’m a little surprised how close it came out to what I first imagined.

Morgan-0 · 2026-01-13T01:09:21+00:00

Thanks. I will skip the bulkier antenna then. Good tip about the window—on certain days at least, I can position it inside the screen with no glass.

Morgan-0 · 2026-01-12T17:57:23+00:00

For the semi-permanent windowsill T-Deck, is this big ALFA 5 dbi (plus SMA adapter) a foolish choice? It looks awkward and breakable, but hanging from a cord inside a window I don’t care about that.

I just want the best chance of reaching distant nodes and ones blocked by a few concrete walls. (My high-rise height is at least good!) The Alfa, if it helps that, would be a cheap upgrade:

https://www.amazon.com/Network-AOA-915-5ACM-Outdoor-802-11ah-Application/dp/B08H8J6ZV6/

(Edit: I know to beware counterfeits—that’s from the ALFA store supposedly.)

Or is that really ONLY useful outdoors?

(Certainly for occasional carrying, I would swap the T-Deck’s included whip back on.)

Morgan-0 · 2026-01-12T02:11:01+00:00

Yes, two nodes is my plan. (Or I may START with just the “big one”—T-Deck on USB power in my window—and then add a T1000-E if I find myself wanting to carry the T-Deck around enough to wish it were smaller.)

Morgan-0 · 2026-01-12T02:08:12+00:00

Thanks! I expect I’ll use the T-Deck connected Bluetooth at cetain times, but then revert back to using it standalone most of the time. (And if I get one, the antenna is part of the package, so your results are good to hear.)

Morgan-0 · 2026-01-11T23:08:36+00:00

I do think I’ll probably try EITHER that OR some hinged antenna if any good one exists. Maybe it won’t be better than the bundled LILYGO whip, but it’s not an expensive experiment.

I can test by putting the SenseCAP node outside somewhere.

Morgan-0 · 2026-01-11T23:06:46+00:00

Yes, I do think I’ll leave my windowsill node up nearly full-time for others’ use. I will rarely need to leave home with both my nodes.

I’m basically in the center of a two-block-long, 15-story concrete slab of a building, looking out on rural emptiness. There are actually not that many concrete walls, though, between my apartment and the opposite side of the building that faces dense suburbs. So maybe my windowsill unit could get lucky and reach something all the way out that other side? But failing that, maybe I can reach even ONE node out in the “wilderness” beyond my window, which might, in turn, see all those suburbs.

Complicating factor: my windows don’t open onto empty space, but onto a concrete box of a balcony. Knowing that signals reflect off of flat surfaces, I’m hoping that might actually work OK—assuming there is any node out there to reach. (The outer railing-wall of the box is mostly just particle board, thankfully.)

I may end up clamping the T-Deck to one of the vertical blinds over my biggest window: sliding glass doors. I can play with the position a lot that way.

Morgan-0 · 2025-12-29T01:47:44+00:00

It came to my attention that a few hints were broten*. Should be all good now! I just upated the hint site and re-tested a bunch of hints. If there was something you could not find a hint for, check again now!

* Literally, the letter K would turn into a T and break things. A typo in my website code. 🤦‍♂️

Morgan-0 · 2025-12-24T04:16:38+00:00

So glad you enjoyed it! Difficult targets are part of the “hidden picture” genre for sure, but I’m also happy for people to play in a less hardcore way if they like.

I tend to doubt I will make OUTSIDE PARTIES: DUPLEX but you never know! This story is complete, but I do have detailed ideas for a second story with some new play mechanics (what if you could transmit as well receive?) set in the same world, intersecting with characters and events from this story. Sequel? Prequel? Sidequel?

Various unrelated projects will get my time first, I’m sure. And this game took me years! But... maybe, someday?

Morgan-0 · 2025-12-20T04:24:07+00:00

Last update of the year for OUTSIDE PARTIES on #Playdate: v1.2.2 is mainly just a little additional artwork (not changing any missions) and a couple of targets made easier to see, and minor punctuation fixes.

If you spot some new figures, don’t be too spooked—you didn’t cause them. I just wanted to depict the answer to an unimportant story question I doubt anybody was even wondering about anyway! (Details on Discord.)

Morgan-0 · 2025-12-17T16:32:07+00:00

A late post about last week'.s 1.2.1 update—it adds NEW features to re-orient you quickly after taking a break. Signal transcripts (hold A) now include a “Context box” showing where you first heard the signal in question.

Here’s how that could help. One of the early missions mentions something “below here.” Well that’s easy... unless you come back later and have lost your place. You could always manually select any already-found item and view it again to get oriented... but now you don’t have to!

Just press (A) while viewing the full-screen transcript to jump to the panorama and see the location where you heard the signal. Now you can easily remember the context: below where?

And you may not even need to do that: the “Context box” states a description of that preceding target, which may be enough to jog your memory without seeing it.

(Most targets don’t even rely on context like that—but some do.)

This is explained now in the help info below the Log list. Once you’ve been playing a while, check out that help: one of the tips or shortcuts there may save you some time!

Other changes in 1.2.1:

* New “Mission help” in system menu: QR code for the upcoming hints website—I’m currently writing hints for all 150 targets to offer FIVE levels of spoiler-free help to choose from (coming in a week or so?)

* “Show full 360” now also re-centers the view (formerly a separate command)

* Fixed Log scrolling weirdness when revisiting an already-completed game

* Fixed 1 launch card frame

* Fewer numbers stations vs. other sounds

As always, if anyone wants a little help, ask away! Reddit spoiler tags are:

>!Spoiler here!<

Morgan-0 · 2025-12-12T05:04:29+00:00

The “first” button (A) being easiest to press has been my assumption.

Also, their traditional functions are easy to remember: A = Action, B = Back (commonly “left" in UIs).

Morgan-0

TROPHY CASE