LÖVE

I want to make a 2d top-down shooter and I've chosen Love2D to do this with, but I can't find any nice looking examples of a top down shooter that inspire me.

Would Love2D be capable of something looking as nice as Outpost:Haven? http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/586969

I know it's probably a stupid question but I'm having trouble deciding if I should be using Love2D for a project like this or just to dive into SDL/C++

Z0MBiE wrote:Would Love2D be capable of something looking as nice as

Yes.

The real question is: would you?

I don't know you or how experienced you are, but I'm guessing not very. If so, you won't be able to make something very nice right away. It takes practice. But if you are willing to practice, LÖVE will take you there much faster than plain SDL in C++ will, because it abstracts away a lot of boring but complicated stuff.

I"d say stick with LÖVE, at least for a while. In the future, you might want to expand your horizons, but in the meanwhile LÖVE is perfect for a gamedev in training.

The easiest thing to do is experiment. Don't even make any graphics until you have something workable. Use rectangles, circles and polygons for prototype stages to represent things. Then when you have something working well enough, then make graphics. Don't try to jump right into the final product right off the bat. Start small.

Thanks guys, I think I'm probably just getting ahead of myself as usual. Really enjoying learning the LÖVE engine at the moment.

Let me tell you a secret...

I have never finished a project.

Either I get too over excited about making something great that I get worn out when I hit a wall, or I decide I want to tackle another genre and put the current one on hold, then when I come back I want to recode it again using the techniques I learned because my previous code was relatively messy in comparison.

One day I will finish something. Then maybe another something. And another.

Start small. Always start small. Don't try to make a huge game with dozens of enemies and a hundred levels as your first game. Make a small game, and try to finish it. You learn more that way.

PS: LÖVE is great for small games

It's also great for big games. But you will fail if you set out to create the next big thing and just jump into it. So yes, start very small. Then grow from there.

You could use commitment to force you to finnish your games. I work with a sound and a graphic designer. As I ask them lot of work, I can't let myself go slower or even abandon the project. Team work is a good way to either re-motivate yourself, or force you to work when you go lazy.

Think positive that's all..