About 6 weeks ago I started the cs50 game development course on edX. While I haven’t finished the course yet, so far I think the course is highly recommended for anyone that wants to get into game dev.
One of the tools used in the course is the LÖVE framework that is written in Lua. In the past I dabbled a bit with Lua in order to write simple World of Warcraft add-ons. I also worked on (unfinished) games using Apple’s SpriteKit. As such, it was quite easy for me to get into game dev with LÖVE.
Another benefit of LÖVE over SpriteKit is that LÖVE allows one to create games on multiple platforms, not just limited to macOS or iOS.
After completing the first 3 assignments I decided it was time for me to create my own game. By now my game is mostly finished and I expect to release it in the macOS AppStore in the coming week.
My game is based on the classic Macintosh Airborne! game. Airborne! itself was based on Paratrooper. The player controls a gun and a mortar and uses these weapons to destroy waves of enemies. The gun is used against enemies in the sky and the mortar is mainly used to fight enemies on land. The game ends when the player dies. The game doesn’t have a real goal, except for beating the highest score.
For now I decided to name my game Paratrooper. I am not sure if calling my name Airborne! would result in legal problems and since Paratrooper was released such a long while ago, I figure this should be fine.
After Paratrooper is released for macOS I plan to release the game on Windows and perhaps eventually on iOS and Android.
I also plan to build at least 1 more game using the LÖVE framework that will be a bit more ambitious.