Developing a D-20 Watch for Tabletop Roleplaying Games | Hacker News Reader

Developing a D-20 Watch for Tabletop Roleplaying Games

timestoptech.com

73 pointsTimothee22 comments

How much does it cost to create a custom LCD? Sensor Watch [1] has created a replacement Casio watch LCD for his replacement Casio module, and I can't wait to get mine. The fact that he's done several iterations of LCD prototypes means that it can't be that out of reach, and yet I somehow doubt the price for qty 5 is going to be that attractive.

[1]: https://www.crowdsupply.com/oddly-specific-objects/sensor-wa...

EEVblog had a couple of videos on this in 2018. $100 for 5 displays!

https://youtu.be/ZYvxgl-9tNM

you could nearly have a bright full color LCD for that price https://www.waveshare.com/1.28inch-lcd-module.htm

Also the sensorwatch has a random number watchface using the very capable embedded RNG in the microcontroller

Pretty neat! I like the idea of an electronic device for tabletop dice rolling that isn't a smartphone, something with more 'tactile feedback' so to speak- more built-for-purpose and less of a distraction. Obviously you can just roll dice, but having the system-specific math automatically calculated based on the rolls can save so much time and keep the game moving. That's partly why we've largely moved to VTTs (Foundry is excellent)

I'm not sure about the wristwatch form factor though, most dice rolls in TTRPGs are visible to everybody as they're made, so I would've expected a device you can place in the center of the table so everyone can see the rolls (the exception being private DM rolls of course). Being system agnostic or programmable would also be really cool, but I can understand why a hobby project would just focus on the game the creators (and 99% of the TTRPG market) are playing.

Handy for those secret DM rolls though.

Nah, secret GM rolls are best done behind a screen to increase the dramatic tension for the players.

Maybe this is what you are looking for? https://github.com/GhostWrench/ttrpg9000. Full disclosure: this is my design and I do sell it on Etsy (Unfortunately I am currently out of stock and won't be back in until I make some BOM simplifications for production). But if you want to make your own, you can get the parts for ~$80 USD for small runs, assuming you can solder 0805 SMD parts.

This looks like such a fun product. Similar to another commenter, I don't think it's all that useful, since the tactility of the physical dice roll is such a big part of tabletop gaming (for many people at least). But to me, watch complications are not so much about utility as they are about being cool for its own sake.

I would love to see something like this made into a mechanical watch complication.

That thing is screaming for an accelerometer or something so you can shake your wrist to roll. Very cool.

And while you're shaking your wrist, the die keeps rolling, and it only settles a half second after you stop.

The same way people will roll a die for a while in their hands, especially if they really want a good roll, even though after the first two shakes it's making no difference. You should be able to really keep shaking your wrist for a while if you want.

Technically don't even need an accelerometer, just go with the cheap "spring switch" (vibration switch? https://www.amazon.com/HiLetgo-Vibration-Switch-Shock-Sensor... ) that you'll find in the bouncy LED balls.

This isn't quite as purpose-built, but if you want dice on your wrist this WearOS project deserves to be shared:

https://github.com/A31Nesta/OptiDice

This is really cool. I am curious though, did using the PineTime from Pine64 cross your mind as a way to handle the hardware? If so, what was the reasoning for not going that route?

Buttons. Buttons. Buttons. Buttons. Buttons. And Battery Life. I just got a Garmin Fenix 7, and _finally_, a smart-watch with buttons that are reasonably well-thought out (and a battery that lasts longer than one week).

But seriously: the interface design that goes into "up, down, ok, back, start" and the gestures of "press, hold, hold2" necessitate (and enable) a whole different UX than smearing react javascript components onto a 30mm touch screen with a (checks specs) 1 week battery life.

There are _real_ advantages to designing a stateful / navigable interface, and years-long battery life makes it Not a Toy.

I have been wanting to create my own watch, too. I've never made a physical product (as a SWE by profession). Any more detailed blogs that detail such processes?

I was really hoping this would be a mechanical complication when I clicked the link.

disappointed because there's no information on the hardware (what kind of microcontroller is it using ?) or the software (is it custom ? is it using an OS ? is it written in C ?)

I will be purchasing soon!

$$$TAKE MY MONEY$$$

Cute idea.

Not a single photo of this from any other angle than straight-on, so I presume it's very thick and that such off-angle/oblique photos would be unflattering to the product.

There's a video on the product page here, plus dimensions.

https://timestoptech.com/products/d-20-steel

Case Width: 37 mm Thickness: 10 mm Lug-to-Lug: 41 mm Lug Width: 20 mm Weight: 48 g

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