A downloadable Playdate Game

Buy Now$5.00 USD or more

Lillybug for Playdate

While browsing the list of achievements in the backyard of the Generations house, have you ever thought to yourself "I wonder what it would be like to play a game as one of those fireflies ..."?

Well, wonder no more! Lillybug is exactly that. In Lillybug, you play as a little firefly who is the only thing standing in the way of an army of termites that want nothing more than to make a meal of her home.

Dash back and forth across the tree, killing termites and collecting the whirlygigs the tree drops to heal the damage that termites have done, all the while avoiding a hungry spider who will happily make a meal of you (and the termites). The faster you help the tree regain its resilience, the better.

The Tree is counting on you - don't let it down!

The main menu screen.
The main menu screen.

Our Cast of Characters

The Firefly Lillybug, the protagonist and hero of our short story. You control the Firefly and with your help our little friend can save her home.
The Termite The Termite and his army of pals are bent on making a meal of the tree.
The Spider The Spider doesn't care about the tree; she's just hungry. Her favorite dish is Termites, but she won't pass up a Firefly.

How to Play

Lillybug is a fast paced action/arcade game that takes a few minutes to play. Your final score is how quickly you're able to save the Tree, if you save it at all. It's a challenging and fun experience, and you'll need to make very efficient moves in order to succeed in your mission.

Here's a strategy thread on Twitter to help get you started.

The main game screen.
The main game screen.

The primary objective of the game is to prevent your beloved home, the Tree, from dying. This is accomplished by killing the Termites that are crawling across the trunk and damaging it. To kill a Termite, simply fly over top of it by moving the aiming reticule up or down so that your flight path will cross over it from your current position.

Each time a Termite damages part of the Tree, the overall health of the Tree will decrease. The tree’s health is indicated by the meter at the top of the screen.

When you’ve killed a Termite, the tree will drop a Whirlygig. Collecting these is crucial as you are not able to Heal the Tree without them. Just like killing a Termite, you can collect the Whirlygigs by flying over them.

The number of Whirlygigs you have in your possession is in the bottom right corner of the screen. When you fly across an infected section of the tree when you have Whirlygigs, you’ll emit a sparkly, healing trail and cure any part of the tree you pass over. Your Whirlygig count will drop by one. Remember! If you don’t have Whirlygigs, you cannot heal the tree! Keep killing Termites to get more Whirlygigs!

The tree’s health will increase based on how many infected sections of the tree you’ve healed.

At the bottom of the screen is a meter representing the Tree’s overall resilience. Each time you collect a Whirlygig, this meter will increase its value. For every 25% that the meter is filled, parts of the tree will become immune to the termites. Once this bar has filled all the way up, the tree will be completely resistant to the termites and you’ll win the battle!

Avoid the Spider at all costs! Getting caught by the Spider will cost you a life, any Whirlygigs you've collected, as well as precious time.

A diagram of everything in the game.
A diagram of everything in the game.

Controls

The A Button

Pressing the A Button will send the Firefly across the tree to the other side of the screen, to land where the Target is located.

The B Button performs the same function as the A Button if that's more comfortable for you.
The D-Pad

Hold the Up and Down buttons on the D-Pad to move the target to where you want the Firely to land.

The crank

You can also use The Crank to move the target. You'll find an option in the System Menu to reverse the Crank Direction if you prefer it the other way around.

Lillybug in action.
Lillybug in action.

Game Over

The game can end in one of three ways.

Use all three lives. If the Spider catches you, you will lose a life. When you've lost all three lives, the game will end.

The Tree's health reaches zero. The termites are constantly damaging the tree as they move across it. You must collect Whirlygigs to be able to heal the damage they've done. If the health of the tree drops below 50%, you'll hear a warning tone. Make efficient moves with Whirlygigs in your possession to keep the tree healthy!

Victory. If you are successful in raising the Tree's resilience all the way up to 100%, all of the termites will die and the game will end. Each Whirlygig you collect goes toward this goal. The time it took you to achieve victory is your score. The quicker you do it, the better!

Game over!
Game over!

How to Install the Game

Not sure how to sideload games onto your Playdate? Panic has you covered with easy to follow instructions. Or check out this great how-to video that @Ledbetter created.

Questions? Comments?

Leave a comment here, or contact us at scenicroutegames@gmail.com

Our Other Playdate Titles

StatusReleased
Rating
Rated 5.0 out of 5 stars
(3 total ratings)
AuthorScenic Route Software
GenreAction
TagsPlaydate
Average sessionA few seconds
LanguagesEnglish, French

Purchase

Buy Now$5.00 USD or more

In order to download this Playdate Game you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $5 USD. You will get access to the following files:

Lillybug v2.0.0 1 MB

Development log

Comments

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Great game, with a great design.... A must for PlayDate owners..... Very easy to learn.... very hard to master.... A*

So stoked that you’re enjoying it! If you could drop a rating on the game when you have a chance I’d really appreciate it!

Another game!! I absolutely love Shift and Generations so this is a no-brainer for me to try out, super excited!

I hope you have fun with it! Do let me know of any feedback you have.