= LÖVE for Newbies

A book about LÖVE, Games and Lua. image:https://badges.gitter.im/Join%20Chat.svg[link="https://gitter.im/love2d-community/love2d-book"] + View the rendered book with examples at https://love2d-community.github.io/love2d-book[love2d-community.github.io/love2d-book].

The collaborative book will be divided into three main units:

1. A walkthrough to building a small prototype and introducing the user to the LÖVE framework,
2. A more realistic revamp of the built prototype to create a "full" game, and lastly
3. An area of examples and snippets containing best and known practices in game development.

The book s written using a generator called Asciidoctor. + Quick Reference: http://asciidoctor.org/docs/asciidoc-syntax-quick-reference/

We have extended the AsciiDoctor syntax with livecode blocks and block macros. There also are some other additions, you can use them like this:

[source,asciidoc]

livecode::test[] // <1>

livecode::test[name=test2] // <2>

[livecode,example] // <3> ++++ function love.draw() love.graphics.setColor( 255, 255, 0, 255 ) love.graphics.rectangle( "fill", 10, 10, 100, 100 ) end ++++

code_example::world1/05_better-steering/rotation[] // <4> code_example::world1/05_better-steering/rotation[exclude="lib/,maps/",include="*/.lua,*/.txt"] // <5>

wiki:love.graphics.setColor[] // <6> wiki:love.graphics[the graphics module] // <7>

<1> loads love2D-book-code/test directory <2> load love2D-book/code/test directory. It's name is test2 so it doesn't conflict with the first. <3> runs the code below it; has the name of "example" <4> shows all `.lua` files from the specified directory, except those in `lib/` <5> shows all `.lua` and `.txt` files from the specified directory, except those in `lib/` and `maps/` <6> links to the wiki page for `love.graphics.setColor` and formats the link accordingly <7> links to the wiki page for `love.graphics` using the text `the graphics` == Contributions === Prerequisites You will need `ruby` and `bundler` to be installed for rendering the book. With `ruby` set up, you can install bundler like so: [source,bash] $ gem install bundle then install the dependencies: [source,bash] $ bundle install === Rendering To render the ebook and pdf you can run `render.sh`: [source,bash] $ ./render.sh but the preferred way to work on the project is by running *Guard*: [source,bash] $ bundle exec guard this will automatically render the HTML ebook as you change the files. You can use any LiveReload extension in a browser to have it automaically refresh as you modify the book. === Committing Whenever a significant portion of the book has changed and is ready for release, stage the files on `master` and run `release.sh`. Make sure that `book/code` is at the correct revision and staged before releasing. === Style Guidelines * The three chapters are called __World__s and each section is a _Level_ * At the end of every _Level_, remind the reader about what he has learned in this chapter * Use examples and concrete language wherever possible. * Programming is all about abstraction, and examples help make this a lighter and more enjoyable read * Make everything interesting to read about and motivate the reader to keep on learning * Be clear and direct when talking something new. Keep it simple, stupid! * Every Level ends with additional exercises that the reader can choose to try * Give “Pro Tips” and “Watch out!”-notices where fitting (Admonitions) * Use informal language and short text to show new content * Keep lines shorter than 125 characters (soft rule, better have a slightly longer line than wrap two words) * One sentence per line * If sentences need to be wrapped due to length, try to wrap at a comma to keep the source readable * Use the code repository for examples that readers may want to try out or modify, use inline livecode for minor changes and demos * Style lists with `*`, don't end items with `.` * Use wiki block macros when discussing LÖVE functions and concepts (`+wiki:love.graphics.print[print]+` -> wiki:love.graphics.print[print]) * Use backticks when mentioning Lua values (``"string"`` -> `"string"`) * Link to sections you reference (`+<>+` -> <>) * Show relevant portions of source code before livecode displays, use callouts (`<1>`) to discuss source code Thank you for helping create this :)