Development Log for Magic Pixel, a game maker using Love2d

[pauljessup]

Awesome! yeah, I've been working on something like this off and on for 20 years now? Ever since I was making C++ and Allegro games, and working on my first RPG, and thinking "Hey. I should make this easier to make RPG's"...

Anyway, I think, after so many attempts, I have the skills now. I decided also to make the IDE in Love2d as well, using Lua's file IO and some other tools to generate, read, and do things in folders outside of the main app folder. I KNOW BLASPHEMY.

But it's cool! Because now you feel like you're making an SNES style RPG (albeit more colors, and no tile or sprite limitations) on an SNES. Of course, not literally. Since it uses the mouse and kbd for ease of use on the PC/Mac. Anyway, it also makes it far easier to make cross platform/etc.

I"ve been hard at work on this...I have the basics going perfectly. You create a game, it copies the JRPG game engine made in Love2d, renames it. Then allows you to basic editing. Next up more detailed editing on party characters, enemies, items, etc. Once I feel like it's in a stable place, I'm putting the source on git. And once I feel like it's stable enough to allow for general use, I'll put it up on itch.io. Though, it will be 100% open source and free of charge. (Editor will be LGPL open source, the engine and the games you distribute will be MIT open source...that's on purpose. The editor is a tool, the engine will be for your games!)

Here's a screenshot of the main screen so far, for loading games/etc. Not a mockup, actual in IDE shot

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[pauljessup]

Just a sneak peek at more of the editor

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[Gunroar:Cannon()]

Nice! Does it have it's own scripting lingo like GM or Godot, is it possible to script in the editor, even in lua?

[pauljessup]

All of the IDE plugins for adding things like different battle systems, etc will be 100% in Lua. The event scripting (for player interactions, opening a treasure chest, cut scenes) will be available in Lua, and will in the future have a visual scripting component, and will hopefully eventually also have support for using Yarn and Inkscript scripts. Those two additional scripting language/library support will be post 1.0 release, and done via a plugin.

[pauljessup]

Ah, wait, I see what you mean- I misunderstood! I thought you meant would it be using lua for scripting (since Lua is a scripting language, really...my first brush with Lua was in the late 90's, pre Love2d, when I created a series of Lua bindings for Allegro in C++)...

Anyway, it won't support Godot style scripting inside the editor. After all, Godot alread exists...as does GDEdit and a ton of other game engines that work in that way. I see this more like RPGMaker or Gameboy Studio- neither of which have direct scripting inside the editor (but instead a kind of clunky visual scripting style, which is something I plan to add in the far future as well as Yarn scripting)

[pauljessup]

It's all coming along pretty nicely.

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[Gunroar:Cannon()]

Okay, so you can't script directly in the studio, but it can still import Lua scripts, nice Good progress there.

[pauljessup]

LOL you said that way more succinctly than I did, hah

And thanks! It's moving along nicely. I'll eventually put it on github, but I want it to be more usable and stable before that. Then, once it's stable enough for a release, putting it on itch and it's own website.

But that will be awhile! I fear having to write all that documentation...

[pauljessup]

Oh, also decided not to used TileD out of the bat for maps. I decided to go the GB Studio method- loading background images (like png's) for maps, that way you can build them in Aseprite's tile editor, or TileD, or even make pre-rendered backgrounds ala FF7/8/9, or use watercolor backgrounds like in Legend of Mana.

There are several layers you can do this with, and each one has it's own scroll speed/etc, so setting up things like fog layers, parallax scrolling, etc, is fairly simple

[Nikki]

Do you remember klik and play ?
I sort of think an 'event editor' / 'excel based programming' kinda solution would be helpful in a thing like this.



its bigger brother MMF


anyway, cool project! will follow your advancements.