A LÖVE animation primer
User Libraries
That is how you can create an animation from scratch using LÖVE's built-in tools. But you could also use anim8 [4], a LÖVE library that takes the drudgery out of animating sprites and lets you have the different frames on a grid (as opposed to just on a line) and pick what frames to use in an animation.
Like anim8, there are many other libraries for LÖVE, that apart from making animation easy, cover physics, isometric 3D tiles, collision detection, and much more. Before putting yourself through the hassle of programming a whole super-framework from scratch, check that someone hasn't already done it for you [5] – unless you are doing so to learn the basics. (Also, for a brief word about the editor you use for programming, see the box "Ideal IDE.")
Ideal IDE
Although your regular, favorite text editor will do just fine, there is some merit in going with ZeroBrane Studio [6] (Figure 4). Not only is it an efficient little editor with all the bells and whistles you need for Lua programming (syntax highlighting, text completion, file management, etc.), it also comes with hooks to a bunch of the most popular Lua interpreters, including LÖVE and Moai, another framework for gaming development.
Go to Project | Lua Interpreter in the menu, pick LÖVE from the list, and you'll be able to run and debug your game directly from the IDE.
LÖVE Platforms
Your LÖVE games can be ported to other platforms, including Windows, iOS, and Android (Figure 5), and the LÖVE wiki explains in detail how to do that [7]. However, you can test-run your program on Android before you go to all the trouble of compiling or pushing it through a toolchain to get a native APK.
On your computer, you have to create a file called conf.lua
, like the one in Listing 9.
Listing 9
conf.lua
01 function love.conf(t) 02 t.version = "XX.X" 03 end
"XX.X"
is the version of the LÖVE interpreter on your computer. You can find this out by running the LÖVE interpreter from the command line with love
. The version of LÖVE is shown in the titlebar.
Put conf.lua
in the same directory as your main.lua
file, enter the directory and zip everything up with
zip -9 -r YourGame.love .
You can choose a different name from YourGame
, of course, but your zipped file must have the extension .love
.
On your phone, download the LÖVE interpreter for Android from Google Play [8] and then copy the .love
file from your computer over to your Android device. You'll be able to run it with your newly installed LÖVE interpreter.
Conclusions
We have only touched on one of the many superficial tasks you will have to carry out when creating your own game. However, my hope is to tempt you to get your toes wet and to help you get your head round the most basic principles of programming with LÖVE. As a fan of old-school, casual gaming, I can't wait to see what you do with it.
Infos
- LÖVE game framework: https://love2d.org
- Lua programming language: https://www.lua.org/
- LÖVE wiki: https://love2d.org/wiki/Tutorial:Callback_Functions
- The anim8 library for LÖVE: https://love2d.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=8281
- List of LÖVE libraries: https://www.love2d.org/wiki/Category:Libraries
- ZeroBrane Studio: https://studio.zerobrane.com/
- How to port your games to other platforms: https://love2d.org/wiki/Game_Distribution
- LÖVE interpreter for Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.love2d.android
« Previous 1 2 3
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Direct Download
Read full article as PDF:
Price $2.95
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
News
-
An All-Snap Version of Ubuntu is In The Works
Along with the standard deb version of the open-source operating system, Canonical will release an-all snap version.
-
Mageia 9 Beta 2 Ready for Testing
The latest beta of the popular Mageia distribution now includes the latest kernel and plenty of updated applications.
-
KDE Plasma 6 Looks to Bring Basic HDR Support
The KWin piece of KDE Plasma now has HDR support and color management geared for the 6.0 release.
-
Bodhi Linux 7.0 Beta Ready for Testing
The latest iteration of the Bohdi Linux distribution is now available for those who want to experience what's in store and for testing purposes.
-
Changes Coming to Ubuntu PPA Usage
The way you manage Personal Package Archives will be changing with the release of Ubuntu 23.10.
-
AlmaLinux 9.2 Now Available for Download
AlmaLinux has been released and provides a free alternative to upstream Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
-
An Immutable Version of Fedora Is Under Consideration
For anyone who's a fan of using immutable versions of Linux, the Fedora team is currently considering adding a new spin called Fedora Onyx.
-
New Release of Br OS Includes ChatGPT Integration
Br OS 23.04 is now available and is geared specifically toward web content creation.
-
Command-Line Only Peropesis 2.1 Available Now
The latest iteration of Peropesis has been released with plenty of updates and introduces new software development tools.
-
TUXEDO Computers Announces InfinityBook Pro 14
With the new generation of their popular InfinityBook Pro 14, TUXEDO upgrades its ultra-mobile, powerful business laptop with some impressive specs.