LOVE is an open source, cross-platform and freely distributed 2D game engine, a superb gaming framework written in the versatile Lua scripting language and designed to allow you to create dynamic two-dimensional gaming experiences.
The software makes use of the popular SDL, OpenAL, PhysicsFS and OpenGL libraries to allow a cross-platform implementation of 2D games, on GNU/Linux, Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems.
Supports common image formats and TTF/OTF fonts
The project offers support for common image formats, including PNG, JPG, GIF, TGA and BMP, support for fully anti-aliased OpenType and TrueType fonts, separate audio channels for sound effects and music, fast OpenGL-powered graphics, as well as full support for many audio formats, including Ogg Vorbis, MIDI and MP3.
Getting started with LOVE
To use the LOVE software to create 2D games, you will have to first install it on your GNU/Linux operating system. Fortunately, for your convenience, the application is distributed as native installers for Debian/Ubuntu-based distributions.
It is also available for download as a universal source package for all other Linux kernel-based OSes. To install LOVE using the source package, first download it, save the archive on your Home directory and extract its contents using an archive manager utility.
Open a Terminal app, go to the location where you have extracted the archive file (e.g. cd /home/softpedia/love-0.9.1), run the ‘./configure && make’ command to configure and compile the program, followed by the ‘sudo make install’ command to install it system wide. Usage examples are provided at a glance on the project’s homepage.
Bottom line
In conclusion, if you like Lua and love to create entertaining 2D games, you should give LOVE a try today. Among the most popular games created with this powerful game engine, we can mention Mr. Rescue, Concerned Joe, Snayke, Mari0, Hexapod Defence Force, and Journey to the Center of Hawkthorne.
