First Steps

Eager to dive into game development with Codea Lua? Forget the boring stuff for now—most beginners can't wait to see action on the screen! In this tutorial, we'll guide you through creating a simple sprite that moves side to side …let’s get started!

Step 1: Setting Up Your Project

First up, launch the Codea app on your iPad and create a new project. You can name it something straightforward like "MyFirstSprite."

Step 2: Preparing the Environment

When you're inside your project, you'll notice some pre-generated code (I usually like to do in fullscreen mode as well to see full display without side bar). Our primary focus will be the draw() function, but first, let's declare some variables within the setup() function to initialize our sprite's properties.

-- Initialize sprite properties

function setup()

viewer.mode = FULLSCREEN

x = WIDTH / 2

y = HEIGHT / 2

speed = 5

end

Step 3: Drawing the Sprite

Inside the draw() function, we'll insert code to display our sprite. We'll use a circle as a sprite for this example.

-- Draw sprite as a circle

function draw()

background(0)

fill(255)

ellipse(x, y, 50)

end

```

Step 4: Making It Move

Time for the exciting part! We'll update our sprite's x coordinate within the draw() function to make it move side to side.

-- Update sprite position

function draw()

background(0)

fill(255)

x = x + speed

if x > WIDTH or x < 0 then

speed = -speed

end

ellipse(x, y, 50)

end

```

The Complete Code Listing

Here's the complete, ready-to-run code for your first moving sprite in full-screen mode.

-- Initialize sprite properties

function setup()

viewer.mode = FULLSCREEN

x = WIDTH / 2

y = HEIGHT / 2

speed = 5

end

-- Draw sprite as a circle and move it side to side

function draw()

background(0)

fill(255)

x = x + speed

if x > WIDTH or x < 0 then

speed = -speed

end

ellipse(x, y, 50)

end

```

Run the project, and voila! You should see a circle moving horizontally across your iPad's full screen. Congratulations, you've just taken another significant step in your Codea Lua game development journey!

Conclusion

Creating a moving sprite, especially one that takes up the whole screen, is one of those foundational 'Aha!' moments for any budding developer. It may seem rudimentary, but it’s a significant first step. The sky's the limit from here—you can start adding more sprites, interactions, collision detections, and so much more. For now, though, savor this small victory; you've made a sprite move!