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L÷VE for Lua Game Programming
L÷VE for Lua Game Programming

L÷VE for Lua Game Programming: If you want to create 2D games for Windows, Linux, and OS X, this guide to the L?ñVE framework is a must. Written for hobbyists and professionals, it will help you leverage Lua for fast and easy game development.

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Profile Icon AKINLAJA DAMILARE JOSHUA
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Full star icon Full star icon Half star icon Empty star icon Empty star icon 2.7 (11 Ratings)
Paperback Sep 2013 106 pages 1st Edition
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Paperback Sep 2013 106 pages 1st Edition
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L÷VE for Lua Game Programming

Chapter 2. LÖving Up!

Now, let's have fun with LÖve. We'll do the following in this chapter:

  • Draw objects

  • Move them around

  • Animate characters

  • Discuss sprites

Drawing 2D objects


LÖve's love.graphics module already has in-built functions for drawing specific shapes such as a circle, arc, and rectangle. So let's draw all these shapes in a single game. Create a new game folder, rename it as shapes, open a new main.lua file in this directory, and edit it by adding the following code:

function love.load() –--loads all we need in game

--- set color for our shapes RGB

   love.graphics.setColor(0, 0, 0, 225)

--- set the background color RGB

   love.graphics.setBackgroundColor(225, 153, 0)

end

function love.draw() –--function to display/draw content to screen

---draw circle with parameters(mode, x-pos, y-pos, radius, segments)

   love.graphics.circle("fill", 200, 300, 50, 50)

---draw rectangle with parameters(mode, x-pos, y-pos, width, height)

   love.graphics.rectangle("fill", 300, 300, 100, 100)

---draw an arc with parameters(mode,x-pos,y-pos,radius,angle1,angle2)

   love.graphics.arc("fill", 450, 300, 100, math.pi/5, math.pi/2)


end

By following...

Moving objects


In our game we would want objects to move, rotate, or just change position. That's the essence of a 2D game. So we are going to move an object across the screen and also are going to rotate it.

Rotating objects

We will create a 10 x 10 square and specify the rotation angle as 0 using the love.graphics.rotate() function; what the code will do is make the object rotate with keyboard actions. The Boolean love.keyboard.isDown() function is used to make keyboard inputs do certain things. Just to cause the object to rotate, we will make the rotation angle increase or decrease in delta time. math.pi is the angular speed, which means that the object will rotate at an angular speed of 180 degrees. Replace the previous code with the next code snippet.

First of all, we can define our variables for the angle, width, and height. A variable is a name or an identifier for a place in the computer's memory where dynamic content is stored; variables store information that will be used later in...

Sprites


Let's briefly discuss sprites. In gaming, sprites are usually used for animation sequences; a sprite is a single image in which individual frames of a character animation are stored. We are going use sprites in our animations.

If you already have knowledge of graphics design, it's good for you because it is an edge for you to define how you want your game to look like and how you want to define animation sequences in sprites. You can try out tools such as Sprite Maker for making your own sprites with ease; you can get a copy of Sprite Maker at http://www.spriteland.com/sprites/sprite-maker.zip.

The following is an sample animation sprite by Marc Russell, which is available for free at http://opengameart.org/content/gfxlib-fuzed you can find other open source sprites at http://opengameart.org/content/platformersidescroller-tiles:

The preceding sprite will play the animation of the character moving to the right. The character sequence is well organized using an invisible grid, as shown...

Animation


The animation algorithm will simply play the sprite like a tape of film; we'll be using a basic technique here as LÖve doesn't have an official module for that. Some members of the LÖve forum have come up with different libraries to ease the way we play animations. The use of animation libraries will come up in later chapters. First of all let us load our file:

function love.load()

   sprite = love.graphics.newImage "sprite.png"

end

Then we create quads for each part of the sprite by using love.graphics.newQuad(x, y, width, height, sw, sh), where x is the top-left position of the quad along the x axis, y is the top-left position of the quad along the y axis, width is the width of the quad, height is the height of the quad, sw is the sprite's width, and sh is the sprite's height:

love.graphics.newQuad(0, 0, 32, 32, 256, 32) --- first quad

   love.graphics.newQuad(32, 0, 32, 32, 256, 32) --- second quad

   love.graphics.newQuad(64, 0, 32, 32, 256, 32) --- Third quad

   love.graphics...

Summary


That is all for this chapter. We have learned how to draw 2D objects on the screen and move the objects in four directions. We we delved into the usage of sprites for animations and how to play these animations with code. In the next chapter we will learn what we need to know in making our first game.

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Key benefits

  • Discover the L?ñVE framework and build games easily and efficiently
  • Learn how to utilize the L?ñVE framework's tools to create a 2D game world
  • A step-by-step approach to learning game development

Description

L?ñVE is a game development framework for making 2D games using the Lua programming language. L?ñVE is totally free, and can be used in anything from friendly open-source hobby projects, to closed-source commercial ones. Using the Lua programming framework, one can use L?ñVE2D to make any sort of interesting games. L?ñVE for Lua Game Programming will quickly and efficiently guide you through how to develop a video game from idea to prototype. Even if you are new to game programming, with this book, you will soon be able to create as many game titles as you wish without stress. The L?ñVE framework is the quickest and easiest way to build fully-functional 2D video games. It leverages the Lua programming language, which is known to be one of the easiest game development languages to learn and use. With this book, you will master how to develop multi-platform games for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X. After downloading and installing L?ñVE, you will learn by example how to draw 2D objects, animate characters using sprites, and how to create game physics and game world maps. L?ñVE for Lua Game Programming makes it easier and quicker for you to learn everything you need to know about game programming. If you're interested in game programming, then this book is exactly what you've been looking for.

Who is this book for?

L?ñVE for Lua Game Programming is for anyone who is interested in learning about desktop game development.

What you will learn

  • Create different environments to make your games more interesting
  • Add sound and music to your games
  • Apply game physics and real-time particle collisions
  • Animate game characters using sprites
  • Deploy your games to Windows, Linux, and Mac platforms

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Publication date : Sep 25, 2013
Length: 106 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781782161608
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Product Details

Publication date : Sep 25, 2013
Length: 106 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781782161608
Category :
Languages :

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Table of Contents

8 Chapters
Getting Started with LÖVE Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
LÖving Up! Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Before You Build a Game Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Making Your First Game Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
More About Making the Game Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Meeting the Bad Guy! Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Pickups and Head-Up Display and Sounds Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Packaging and Distributing Your Game Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Customer reviews

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Rating distribution
Full star icon Full star icon Half star icon Empty star icon Empty star icon 2.7
(11 Ratings)
5 star 9.1%
4 star 27.3%
3 star 18.2%
2 star 18.2%
1 star 27.3%
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PAUL Lionel Mar 15, 2020
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
This book motivate the reader to explore the game development with a ease step by step point of view. I recommend this book for those who to learn 2d game development
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Mr Steve M Jarman Nov 21, 2013
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Empty star icon 4
LÖVE is a really fun technology that let's aspiring game developers make a quick start on getting their core skills up to scratch. This book turned out to be a surprisingly good introduction to both LÖVE and Lua, though I'd definitely recommend studying some additional Lua specific material.The author takes us through the process of building a really neat little platform game. It's fun, looks great (as far as textbook "sample projects" go), and contains all of the essential elements that should help a reader to move from this book directly into a project of their own.There's also some good (albiet short) sections on general game design principles. Nice to see this sort of "theory" information included.If you're new to game design and want to dive straight in at a level that's not going to have you tearing your hair out, then LÖVE could be just the right technology for you. This book is short, but in a way, that's exactly what you need - it will get you straight into the action and take you just far enough to show you what you're capable of.Overall - a really good read.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
KK Hoey Jan 22, 2014
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Empty star icon 4
This is a great beginner/advanced book if you want to start programming games using Lua. The book is great at taking you step by step and explaining the process. I think Lua is one of the best languages for beginners because of its great syntax. This book is great if you are an experienced programmer or have done no code before.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
ts71rarrarrar Dec 30, 2013
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Empty star icon 4
This is a great book for learning how to program in Lua and making a game at the same time. It won't take long at all to actually have something moving around your screen that resembles a working game. I thought it was well thought out and really easy to follow, ie. you don't have to be a rocket scientist to program! Starts off with the basics but doesn't dwell on things that won't help you make a cool game. I liked it.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
CPallini Dec 01, 2013
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Empty star icon Empty star icon 3
The title is unfortunate: do not to expect to master LÖVE or Lua reading it.However you will able to follow the development of a complete platform game (another title flawn: strategy games are not covered at all) using Lua and the LÖVE framework.If you need a quick kick start on LÖVE framework and can tolerate some minor pitfalls then consider buying it.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
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