lua-users home
lua-l archive

[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next] [Date Index] [Thread Index]


On 8/9/2010 6:55 PM, Peter Miller wrote:

Former programmer here and I'm interested in game design now.  It seems that knowledge of LUA/Python are both highly desireable in the field of game design. 

Lua by itself isn't typically used to create games; it's used with a library, or as a plug-in to another game. So the best thing for you to do would be to learn how to use it in that context.

You could pick up Love2d and look at the samples: http://love2d.org/  You would learn general Lua principles from that, as well as seeing how (2d) games are written from the ground up, but if you haven't coded in a while, the learning curve might be steep.

Probably the best thing to do would be to find a game where you could code mods in Lua. WoW uses Lua, and allows end users to write scripts: http://www.wowwiki.com/Lua -- and I know there are many other similar options.

But the most important thing to do in learning a language is to just sit down and use it. If you don't even know where to start, find sample code and work from the other end: Figure out what every bit of it means and does. The closer the sample to the code you want to be able to write, the better.

There really is no other way to learn a language than just using it. If you get stuck, then forums related to the specific library/game mod community you're using would be the best place to look for help--that's where people will know the most about whatever game or library you're trying to use.

Good luck,

Tim