Lua is a fascinating programming language that’s used for all sorts of cool things. You can create games in Roblox, program robots, and even develop mods for Minecraft with it. It’s also used in some advanced computer programs. Despite being simple, Lua is quite powerful. To explore its capabilities, I decided to make a small game using Lua and a tool called Love2D.
First, I got permission from my parents and went online to download Love2D. After a brief distraction with a giraffe game, I focused and successfully installed Love2D. Seeing a specific screen confirmed the installation was successful. Then, I opened Sublime Text, a text editor, and started coding by displaying “Hello World” on the screen. It worked perfectly!
When thinking about what game to create, I decided on a cat-themed version of Pong. Cats and Pong seemed like a fun combination because cats love to bat things around, just like in Pong. I began by setting up the game window and added code to move a paddle up and down. This was the start of my game.
Next, I created a ball for the game. It was a bit slow initially, but I adjusted its speed. I also added another paddle on the right side by copying and pasting the code. Now, you could play Pong solo, which was fun but not very unique.
To make the game more interesting, I added some unique features. I changed the background to pink, which I thought looked nice. Then, I created a pause menu, although I wasn’t sure why I needed it. I thought it would be fun to have cat paws hitting the ball instead of paddles. I made the game vertical and designed it so each paw could only move a certain distance, adding a strategic element.
With the basic game mechanics in place, I moved on to creating the artwork. I started with a checkered background and drew some cute cat paws. I adjusted the view to make it look like you were seeing the paws from above. I also designed a ball and added it to the game, along with a border to give it a Polaroid feel.
After importing the cat artwork, I polished the game by adjusting the movement to include acceleration and friction. I sped up the ball to make the game more exciting. I found some sound effects for the game, including a meow sound, which added to the fun.
I implemented a scoring system where points increase each time you hit the ball. I also added a simple high score system that saves your best score. When you beat your high score, you hear a special meow sound to celebrate.
The final touch was reaching out to a friend to create a music track for the game. He quickly sent me a beautiful track that fit perfectly. I named the game “Ponglike” because I couldn’t resist the pun.
Although I couldn’t add everything I wanted, like multiplayer or varied cat arms, I made the ball speed up over time to increase the challenge. Simple games like this can be surprisingly addictive. I enjoy playing it, listening to the music, and relaxing.
Overall, Lua is a powerful, simple, and lightweight language that’s easy to use. Love2D was one of the easiest frameworks I’ve worked with, and I highly recommend it for anyone starting with programming.
If you’re interested in learning programming, check out Brilliant. They offer thousands of lessons on topics from basic math to advanced subjects like AI. Their interactive lessons are more effective than passive learning. One course I recommend is Computer Science Fundamentals, which is great for learning decision-making, programming, and algorithms.
To explore Brilliant, visit their website. The first 200 viewers can get 20% off their annual premium subscription. Thanks to Brilliant for supporting my game development journey.
For the latest news and updates, check out my website. If you’d like to play the game, let me know—it might be available on my site!
Begin by getting permission from your parents and downloading Love2D. Follow the installation instructions carefully. Once installed, open the program and confirm that it runs correctly by displaying a simple “Hello World” message on the screen. This will help you get familiar with the environment and ensure everything is set up correctly.
Using Sublime Text or another text editor, start coding a basic Pong game. Begin by setting up the game window and adding code to move a paddle up and down. Experiment with different speeds and controls to see how they affect gameplay. This will give you hands-on experience with game mechanics and Lua programming.
Think of creative ways to make your Pong game unique. You could change the background color, add a pause menu, or replace paddles with something fun like cat paws. Implement these features and test how they change the dynamics of the game. This activity encourages creativity and problem-solving.
Use a drawing program to create custom artwork for your game, such as backgrounds, paddles, or balls. Import these designs into your game and adjust the layout to fit your vision. This will help you understand the importance of aesthetics in game design and how to integrate art with code.
Add a scoring system to your game that tracks points each time the ball is hit. Include sound effects for actions like scoring or hitting the ball. You can even create a simple high score system. This will teach you about game logic and how to enhance player engagement through audio feedback.
Here’s a sanitized version of the provided YouTube transcript:
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Lua is an interesting language; it’s used to create games in Roblox, program robots, and develop mods for Minecraft. It’s even utilized in sophisticated malware for cyber espionage. This embeddable scripting language is more powerful than you might think. To test it out, and with February being the month of love, I thought it would be fitting to create a small game in Lua using Love2D.
I got my parents’ permission, logged online, and went to Love2D. I got temporarily distracted by a giraffe game but then focused and downloaded and installed Love2D. If you see a certain screen, it means you’ve successfully installed it. After that, I jumped into Sublime Text and started by trying to draw “Hello World.” Just ignore any errors at the bottom; everything was fine. There we go—”Hello World!” Beautiful.
Now, we can’t create a game in Love2D without making it about one of the most universally loved things on the internet: cats. For some reason, the game Pong came to mind when I thought about cats. Something about hitting a ball reminds me of cat behavior. With my vague game idea and theme in hand, I jumped back into programming to start blocking out some movement. I quickly created a window size and avoided one of the most dangerous things in programming: purchasing a license for Sublime Text. After that, I added some movement code, and just like that, we had a paddle that moves up and down.
Next, I created a ball. It was a little slow at first, but I sped it up. Then, I created another paddle on the right side with the same movement by copying and pasting. Now you can play Pong by yourself, which is great, but it’s not very original.
Now that I had the base mechanics down, it was time to create some unique features. I started by making the background pink—I’m not sure why, but I thought it helped. Then, I created a pause menu, although I’m not sure why I included that. It occurred to me that it would be fun to play Pong with cat paws hitting the ball. Instead of being horizontal, I made it vertical because that just worked for me. I realized it would be even more fun to have two paws to play with, so I designed it so that each paw could only move a certain distance, adding a strategic element.
With a rough draft I was happy with, it was time for the fun part: creating the artwork. I started with a checkered background and illustrated some cute cat paws. I realized it looked odd to see the top of the cat’s paw, so I adjusted it to look like you were viewing it from above. Of course, I needed a ball, so I created that as well. I implemented the ball artwork and the new background, adding a border to give it a Polaroid feel.
After that, I imported the cat artwork and polished some things up. I adjusted the movement to include acceleration and friction, and I sped up the ball so it wasn’t too slow. I also went to freesound.org to find some ping-pong sound effects. After filtering through some unusual ones, I found some nice effects, randomized them, and changed their pitch. I updated the background artwork to include a gradient at the bottom to indicate where the scoring area was. I also added a meow sound effect, because why not?
I created a scoring system so points would increase every time you hit the ball, and I added a simple high score system that would save your best score. When you surpassed your best score, you would hear an echoey meow sound to celebrate your achievement.
The last and most important part was reaching out to my friend to create a track for the game. After what felt like five minutes, he sent me a beautiful track. Even though I didn’t create a menu for it, I decided to call the game “Ponglike” just because I couldn’t resist the pun.
As always, I wasn’t able to add everything I wanted. I wanted to add some variation to the cat arms and maybe allow for multiplayer. However, I did make it so the ball gradually increases in speed over time, making the game more challenging as you progress. It’s funny how simple games like this can be extremely addictive. I find myself picking it up, playing, and enjoying the music and ambiance—it’s just a chill time.
Overall, Lua proved to be powerful, simple, lightweight, and easy to use. This was one of the easiest frameworks I’ve worked with, and I highly recommend it for anyone getting started with programming.
If you’re looking to learn programming and don’t know where to start, check out a word from today’s sponsor, Brilliant. Brilliant offers thousands of lessons from foundational math to advanced topics like AI and neural networks, with new lessons added each month. Their interactive lessons are proven to be significantly more effective than passive learning methods. One course I particularly like is Computer Science Fundamentals, which is great for decision-making, writing programs, and algorithms.
To try everything Brilliant has to offer, visit brilliant.org or click the link in the description. The first 200 viewers will get 20% off Brilliant’s annual premium subscription. Thank you to Brilliant for supporting the channel and my game development journey.
Also, check out my website for the latest news and updates. If you’d like to play this game for yourself, let me know—it might just be on my website!
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This version removes any inappropriate or unclear language while maintaining the essence of the original content.
Lua – A lightweight programming language often used for scripting in games and applications. – Many game developers use Lua to create interactive elements in their games.
Coding – The process of writing instructions for a computer to perform specific tasks. – Sarah spent the afternoon coding a new feature for her app.
Game – An interactive digital experience designed for entertainment, often involving challenges or objectives. – The students collaborated to design a new game for their computer science project.
Love2D – An open-source framework used for developing 2D games using the Lua programming language. – Using Love2D, Alex was able to create a simple platformer game in just a few days.
Pong – A classic arcade game that simulates table tennis, often used as a beginner project in programming. – For his first coding project, Jake recreated the classic game Pong using JavaScript.
Artwork – The visual elements or graphics used in a game or application. – The game’s artwork was praised for its vibrant colors and unique style.
Scoring – The system used in games to keep track of points or achievements. – The scoring system in the game encouraged players to beat their previous high scores.
Soundtrack – The background music and sound effects used in a game or application. – The game’s soundtrack added an exciting atmosphere to each level.
Programming – The act of creating software by writing code in various programming languages. – In their programming class, students learned how to build a simple calculator app.
Robots – Machines capable of carrying out complex tasks, often controlled by computer programs. – The robotics club programmed their robots to navigate through an obstacle course.
