~Introduction~

Hello guys!

My name is Misuto, and today, now I know that title may seem like some kind ehm, website advertisement, BUT IM SERIOUS!

I am going to teach you how to make your own game using a program called LUA, and an engine called Love2D! Love2D, is a free open source (meaning you can make moneh off of dis) game engine , on mac, windows, AND linux, it's super amazing, and it's a great gateway to programming, if you haven't programmed ever before, it's a great way to start, and if you have! it's a great game engine to just use. SO before we get started, i have to say that, alot of the things i say in these tutorials may not make sense, until later on in the tutorial, but I promise by the end of them, everything will make sense, and you will be an experienced programmer in LUA/Love2D.

Now lemme tell you, if you're experienced in another
language (language of coding), then it's gonna be really easy to learn another language, like let's say, you have mastered LUA/Love2D, then it will probably be easy to learn flash, or java or C++.

Is LÖVE Bulletproof?

LOVE is mainly used for 2D games, 3D games CAN be made, it's not impossible, but you're gonna need to make a 2D illusion of 3D, instead of complete 3D, but a 3D love2D is in the makings!

LÖVE in Action 

Games built in LOVE are usually made by indie developers, so you won't be finding any ubisoft people with this software, but it's really good to start off with, since it's really easy to learn.
If you want to see LOVE in action, these are 3 great games made in LOVE

Mari0 is a pretty impressive game, it's pretty much a mario, BUT WITH PORTALS! it's a hybrid of portal, and mario, who does not want that!

Snayke is pretty much snake (the old mobile game) on steroids, with flashy backgrounds.

Mr. Rescue is an awesome game, about fire fighting! LOOKS LEGIT TOO!

Installing LÖVE

Now the thing is, you can't go straight into Love2D, first of all you need the correct software to actually start programming, you can't actually just go on notepad, and start typing stuff, the computer wont be able to read it, therefore, you need the correct software.

SO! let's get to it. First of all, we're gonna need a text editor, now you may think "OMG, we can just use notepad", well it's not really a neat way to code and program, so we're gonna use something MADE for programming, and text editor is...... NOTEPAD!, well notepad++ anyways,so you're gonna want to go on this website, and click download , then just install the program.

NEXT you're gonna want to download the Love2D engine! first you're gonna want to go to love2d.org, you're gonna find a box saying download, and there will be a bunch of links, saying
"-Love *version* for windows - installer 32-bit/64-bit Zipped 32-bit/64-bit
-Love *version* for Mac OS X - Zipped universal build" please pick whichever one works for you.


if you are windows and have a 32 bit computer, pick installer 32 bit, then vice versa, and if you have mac, the zip is universal, I don't really know how the mac works, so i won't be talking about macs.

You will also see the forums button, and it's a really good place to post your games, and/or post problems, but please post them on the right forum. You will also see a wiki button, which you will use once my tutorials are done (or if they discontinue).


SO once you have downloaded the file, just click it and it will start installing the love2D framework. Once you have done that, you're gonna want to go into C:\Program Files (x86)\LOVE or C:\Program Files\LOVE, if you are 32 bit, it will go into x86 and if you are 64 bit it will go into program files without the x86. Please remember this or paste them into a stickynote for these will be useful later on in the series.

Now, finally we are here, the last piece of software you will need, now this part, is optional, you don't need it, but it will really help you in your programing days, this is called the syntax plug in for notepad++, pretty much it will just make the code clearer, and it will also add defenitions, so it can autocorrect you. The download link is this, click the google drive link, and download.

Once it is downloaded, you will see it is in fact an xml file. Now you're gonna want to go into your directory and find a folder called Notepad++, it will be somewhere in the prgogram files/program files (x86) folder. Once you've found it you're gonna want to go in the plugins folder, then API's then drag in your downloaded xml file into it.

So now you have everything you need to start your programming journey in love2D, thank you guys for reading, please diamond, and subscribe for further tutorials for love2D, there will be a lil over 8 parts or something, and I hope you guys liked it, constructive criticism in the comment section is of course welcome. Next tutorial will be all about the actual coding, SO make sure you subscrub.