Is LOVE good enough?

[Somni]

Hi, I am an illustrator, concept designer, and an aspiring game artist. For a long time, I have had an idea that I would love to bring to fruition. However, I am no programmer, nor do I have a clue how to start, or what to use. To see what I want to develop look below:


This is how I want the game to look like. Very atmospheric, very mystical and textured. The game will be an rpg game similar to the playing-style of the Pokemon games. You capture creatures, fight with them, and level them up.

I initially began using RPGmaker VX/XP to create this project, but a friend who was working with me suggested the LOVE engine. LOVE seems like a really promising engine, but I am a very visual person; I can't imagine how the program looks like because I have not really seen any finished games for it or how it works. I remember playing with the demos last year, but I'll have to try it again to see.

Anyways, I have developed several assets and environments for my game project, but I am not sure if they will work in the LOVE engine, because I do not know the full capacity of the engine. I see that it uses vector images, but what about non-vector images like pngs and jpgs? What about transparency within images? Basically, the game I want to develop requires a lot of custom scripting and programming which I have no skill in. All the maps will be custom made in Photoshop.

So, for all you LOVE developers and enthusiasts out there, do you guys think it is possible and efficient to make this kind of game with LOVE? Any tips and suggestions for how to start this game off?

You might ask: what kind of actions and programs will be going on in this game?

-walk up, down, left, right
-walk into doors and entrances
-there will be exterior and interior maps
-overlapping trees, buildings, objects; they overlap the character.
-battle screen mode with multiple buttons and options
-a crafting screen mode
-a leveling up screen with ability chart and skills
-a party screen mode that shows your party's stats
-dialogue clouds that float above characters
-animations for world-map characters and environments (such as walking, weather, doors opening, etc) and animations for battle mode (such as attack/power particles, etc)
-cinematics for story-telling aspects which might have animated objects or characters specific to the cinematic.

I might be expecting too much and expecting to accomplish way too many features for a small game, but I want to know how far I can push this, and what my limits are. Then, I can reduce things, simplify them, and work from there.

Thanks,

Sean Cruz
http://arobotstale.blogspot.com/
Somnixer2@gmail.com

[thelinx]

I see that it uses vector images, but what about non-vector images like pngs and jpgs?

I don't know where you see that LÖVE supports vector images, because it doesn't. It does support PNG and JPG though.

What about transparency within images?

Transparency in GIFs and PNGs is properly retained. You don't need to worry about it.

Basically, the game I want to develop requires a lot of custom scripting and programming which I have no skill in.

This could become an issue. LÖVE does not hold your hand in the programming part. There's no way to make a game using it unless you write code.
If you don't want to learn yourself, maybe you should hire/contract/ask a programmer to assist you.

[coffee]

I'm in a similar situation like you. Also a designer, having game-making dreams, doing a RPG now and wanting to do more of that type later, not an expert in coding. Yes your rpg dream can come true in LOVE. Lua is very practical, intuitive, versatile and so good for handling data and specially all RPG info. All you describe can be done well and without problems (only is need time to work and learn) with Lua/Love. Issues of Love? Probably none if your game is intended to be open source or free.
Welcome. Your art is amazing and I'm already loving that unborn project.

[pk]

Yes, but in the same way that your graphics are simple but competent, the code must be handled in a simple but competent manner.

With your minimal coding experience, don't expect to be able to make a game with the same amount of polish as your art. You can, however, make a very effective demo. Character walking around, clouds/mist floating thru the scenery, music, sound effects, all these things should be fairly straightforward using LOVE.

You have to have real manly-man skills to pull something off that looks this good in Photoshop, regardless of how powerful a tool it is. This is way beyond programmer art. In the same vein, you have to have real manly-man programming skills to pull off a full-fledged professional game in LOVE.

So, if you are going for a simple demo/conceptual piece, I'd say go for it. If you're actually looking to make a real game, I'd say find a programmer who has as much passion as you and use whatever he decides on.

[Tesselode]

From what I can tell, Love can do whatever you need it to. I could give you some programming help maybe.

[TechnoCat]

Sorry to jump in and not answer anything.
But, your art is very beautiful.

[MarekkPie]

With only five months of real programming experience, I found Lua extremely easy to learn and understand. It seems to be designed in a way to be very literal, where what you type is what you actually want to have happen, as opposed to obfuscating your real meaning behind odd syntax. For example, a typical "Hello, world!" program in my three main languages.

Code: Select all

// In C++
#include <iostream>

int main()
{
    std::cout << "Hello, world!" << std::endl;
    return 0;
}

Code: Select all

// In C#
class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        System.Console.WriteLine("Hello, world!");
    }
}

Code: Select all

-- In Lua
print "Hello, world!"

[Jasoco]

Well technically in Löve it would be at the very least:

Code: Select all

function love.draw()
  love.graphics.print("Hello World!", 0, 0)
end

If you want it to work the way Löve is meant to.

[coffee]

Well technically in Löve it would be at the very least:

Code: Select all

function love.draw()
  love.graphics.print("Hello World!", 0, 0)
end

If you want it to work the way Löve is meant to.

MarekkPie just omitted some stuff! ;D

Code: Select all

function print(txt)
love.graphics.print(txt, 0, 0)
end

function love.draw()
print ("Hello World!")
end

[miko]

So, for all you LOVE developers and enthusiasts out there, do you guys think it is possible and efficient to make this kind of game with LOVE? Any tips and suggestions for how to start this game off?

I would say everything you need is there, and even more! Check out some examples (both the look and the source code):
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=888 (seems similar to what you are doing)
https://love2d.org/wiki/Category:Games
https://love2d.org/wiki/Category:Tutorials

I think there are many developers without any graphical skills (me included) glad to help you make this project finished.
I would start with creating a demo based on tile-based scrolling using your assets. If you make this open-source and put it on github, it would be easier for others to contribute. Alternatively, you can post your milestones as a *.love files attached here, and we will help solve your issues.