Book Image

Corona SDK Mobile Game Development: Beginner's Guide

Book Image

Corona SDK Mobile Game Development: Beginner's Guide

Overview of this book

Corona SDK is the fastest and easiest way to create commercially successful cross platform mobile games. Just ask Robert Nay, a 14 year old who created Bubble Ball - downloaded three million times, famously knocking Angry Birds off the top spot. You don't need to be a programming veteran to create games using Corona. Corona SDK is the number one tool for creating fun, simple blockbuster games. Assuming no experience at all with programming or game development you will learn the basic foundations of Lua and Corona right through to creating several monetized games deployable to Android and Apple stores. You will begin with a crash course in Lua, the programming language underpinning the Corona SDK tool. After downloading and installing Corona and writing some simple code you will dive straight into game development. You will start by creating a simple breakout game with controls optimized for mobile. You will build on this by creating two more games incorporating different features such as falling physics. The book ends with a tutorial on social network integration, implementing in app purchase and most important of all monetizing and shipping your game to the Android and App stores.
Table of Contents (18 chapters)
Corona SDK Mobile Game Development Beginner's Guide
Credits
About the Author
About the Reviewers
www.PacktPub.com
Preface

Using the simulator on Mac and Windows


On Mac OS X, launch Corona SDK by either selecting Corona Terminal or Corona Simulator from the Applications Directory. Both selections will access the SDK. The Corona Simulator will only open the simulator. The Corona Terminal will open both the simulator and terminal window. The terminal is helpful for debugging your programs and displays simulator errors/warnings and print() messages.

On Microsoft Windows, select the Corona SDK folder and click on Corona Simulator from the list of Programs in your Start menu or double-click the Corona icon on the desktop. (The simulator and terminal are always opened together if you are using Windows).

Let's go over the useful contents contained in the Corona SDK folder (located in Applications/Corona SDK on Mac and Start/All Programs/Corona SDK on Windows:

  • Debugger (Mac)/Corona Debugger (Windows)—Tool for finding and isolating issues in your code.

  • Corona Simulator—The environment used to launch your application for testing. It simulates the mobile device you're developing on your local computer. (On Windows, it will open both the simulator and terminal).

  • Corona Terminal—Launches the Corona Simulator and opens a Terminal window to display error/warning messages and print() statements. It is very helpful for debugging your code (only on Mac).

  • Simulator—Has the same properties as Corona Terminal, but called from the command line (only on Mac).

  • SampleCode—A set of sample applications to get you started with Corona. Contains code and art assets to work with.

The Corona SDK window opens by default when you launch the simulator. You can open a Corona project in the simulator, create a device build for testing or distribution, and view soe example games and apps to get you familiar with the SDK.