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.

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Corona SDK Mobile Game Development: Beginner's Guide
Apr, 2012 | 408 pages
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Table of Contents (18 chapters)
Corona SDK Mobile Game Development Beginner's Guide
Corona SDK Mobile Game Development Beginner's Guide
Credits
Credits
About the Author
About the Author
About the Reviewers
About the Reviewers
www.PacktPub.com
www.PacktPub.com
Preface
Preface
Free Chapter
1
Getting Started With Corona SDK
Getting Started With Corona SDK
Downloading and installing Corona
Time for action – setting up and activating Corona on Mac OS X
Time for action – setting up and activating Corona on Windows
Using the simulator on Mac and Windows
Time for action – viewing a sample project in the simulator
Choosing a text editor
Developing on devices
Time for action – downloading and installing Xcode
Time for action – creating a Hello World application in two lines of code
Time for action – modifying our application
Time for action – applying a new font name to your application
Testing our application on an iOS device
Time for action – obtaining the iOS developer certificate
Time for action – adding/registering your iOS device
Time for action – creating an App ID
Time for action – creating a Provisioning Profile
Creating the Hello World build for iOS
Time for action – creating an iOS build
Time for action – loading an app on your iOS device
Testing our application on an Android device
Creating the Hello World build for Android
Time for action – creating an Android build
Time for action – loading an app on your Android device
Summary
2
Lua Crash Course and the Corona Framework
Lua Crash Course and the Corona Framework
Lua to the rescue
Valuable variables
Types of values
Time for action – printing values using blocks
Expressions
Strings
Time for action – getting our hands full of strings
Tables
Objects
Images
Time for action – placing images on screen
Runtime configuration
Time for action – scaling display objects on multiple devices
Time for some shapes
Functions
Optimizing your workflow
Summary
3
Building our First Game: Breakout
Building our First Game: Breakout
Breakout—bringing back old-school gaming
Understanding Corona physics API
Configuring the application
Time for action – adding build.settings file
Time for action – adding config.lua file
Building the application
Time for action – creating variables for the game
Understanding events and listeners
Transitions
Creating menu screens
Time for action – adding the main menu screen
Creating the gameplay scene
Time for action – adding game objects
Time for action – building bricks
Red alert!
Time for action – displaying game messages
Summary
4
Game Controls
Game Controls
Moving in the up direction
Let's get even more physical
Time for action – starting physics for the paddle and ball
Paddle movement
Time for action – dragging the paddle in the simulator
Time for action – moving the paddle with accelerometer
Ball collision with paddle
Time for action – making the ball bounce against the paddle
Removing objects from the scene
Brick by brick
Time for action – removing the bricks
Directional changes
Time for action – updating the ball
Transitioning levels
Time for action – resetting and changing levels
You win some, you lose some
Time for action – making win and lose conditions
Activating event listeners
Time for action – adding game listeners
The results are in!
Summary
5
Animating our Game
Animating our Game
Panda star catcher
Let's get everything moving
The value of timed functions
Movieclips or sprite sheets. What's the difference?
Movieclips
It's sprite mania!
Game time!
Time for action – setting up the variables
Let's start the round
Time for action – starting the game
Poof begone!
Time for action – reloading the panda on the stage
Earn some points
Time for action – tracking the score
When the game ends
Time for action – displaying the game over screen
Background display
Time for action – adding the background elements
Heads up!
Time for action – displaying the timer and score
Time after time
Time for action – setting up the timer
It's so glowy
Time for action – making the power shot
Pandas!
Time for action – creating the panda character
Starry skies
Time for action – creating star collisions
Screen touches
Time for action – launching the panda
Organizing display objects
Time for action – reordering layers
Create stars
Time for action – creating stars in the level
Starting the game
Time for action – initializing the game
Summary
6
Playing Sounds and Music
Playing Sounds and Music
Corona Audio System
Time to play
Time for action – playing audio
Time to take control
Time for action – controlling audio
Memory management
Alterations to audio
Performance tips
Summary
7
Physics: Falling Objects
Physics: Falling Objects
Creating our new game: Egg Drop
Time for action – setting up the variables
Time for action – moving the character
Time for action – setting the score
Time for action – drawing the background
Time for action – designing the HUD
Time for action – counting the lives
Time for action – creating the character
Time for action – creating the egg collision
Time for action – adding the egg object
Time for action – making the egg drop
Time for action – calling game over
Time for action – activating the game
Summary
8
Operation Storyboard
Operation Storyboard
Continuation of Egg Drop
Data saving
Time for action – saving and loading the high score
Pausing the game
Time for action – pausing the game
Storyboard API
Time for action – altering the game file
Organizing the game
Time for action – adding the new main.lua file
New game transitions
Time for action – changing screens after the game is over
Creating a loading screen
Time for action – adding the loading screen
Creating a main menu
Time for action – adding a main menu
Creating an options menu
Time for action – adding an options menu
Creating a credits screen
Time for action – adding a credits screen
Summary
9
Handling Multiple Devices and Networking your Apps
Handling Multiple Devices and Networking your Apps
Return to configuration
Networking your apps
Time for action – adding Twitter in your apps
Time for action – adding Facebook to your apps
Facebook Connect
Time for action – posting scores using Facebook Connect
The wonders of OpenFeint
OpenFeint in a jiffy
Time for action – setting up OpenFeint leaderboards and achievements in Egg Drop
Summary
10
Optimizing, Testing, and Shipping your Games
Optimizing, Testing, and Shipping your Games
Understanding memory efficiency
Distributing iOS applications
Time for action – setting up your distribution certificate and provisioning profile for the App Store
iTunes Connect
Time for action – managing your application in iTunes Connect
Building an iOS application for distribution in Corona
Time for action – building your application and uploading to Application Loader
The Google Play Store
Time for action – signing your app for the Google Play Store
Time for action – submitting an app to the Google Play Store
Summary
11
Implementing In-App Purchases
Implementing In-App Purchases
The wonders of In-App Purchase
Corona's store module
Create an In-App Purchase
Time for action – creating the In-App Purchase in iTunes Connect
Time for action – using the Corona store module to create an In-App Purchase
Testing In-App Purchases
Time for action – testing the In-App Purchase with the Breakout In-App Purchase demo
Summary
Pop Quiz Answers
Pop Quiz Answers
Chapter 1, Getting Started With Corona SDK
Chapter 2, Lua Crash Course and the Corona Framework
Chapter 3, Building our First Game: Breakout
Chapter 4, Game Controls
Chapter 5, Animating our Game
Chapter 6, Playing Sounds and Music
Chapter 7, Physics: Falling Objects
Chapter 8, Operation Storyboard
Chapter 9, Handling Multiple Devices and Networking your Apps
Chapter 10, Optimizing, Testing, and Shipping your Games
Chapter 11, Implementing In-App Purchases

Time for action – setting up the variables

Let's get started with introducing the variables we'll be using to create our game. There will be a combination of display objects, integers to keep count, and pre-loading the main sound effects during gameplay.

  1. Hide the status bar and add in display.newGroup() called gameGroup.

        display.setStatusBar( display.HiddenStatusBar )
    local gameGroup = display.newGroup()

  2. Include the external modules in the game.

        local sprite = require "sprite"
    local physics = require "physics"
    local ui = require "ui"

  3. Add in the display objects.

        local background
    local ground
    local charObject
    local friedEgg
    local scoreText
    local eggText
    local livesText
    local shade
    local gameOverScreen

  4. Add in the variables.

        local gameIsActive = false
    local startDrop
    local gameLives = 3
    local gameScore = 0
    local eggCount = 0
    local mRand = math.random

  5. Create the egg boundaries and density.

        local eggDensity = 1.0
    local...
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