iPhone and Android: Developing for Mobile Platforms with Corona and SpriteDeck
If you’re a developer or game designer looking to develop 2D games for the iPhone or iPad on the Windows platform, the options are a bit restrictive. Most development pipelines that support iPhone application development are native to the Mac. However, there are some innovative iPhone app game engines that are Windows compatible. For 2D game development, one of the best is the Corona SDK.
Corona SDK from Ansca Mobile allows you to develop 2D games and then port your code over to a Mac to create a build for the iOS operating system and submission to the app store. So while not a complete solution from concept to submission, it does allow for development and testing of games via a simulator.
Find a buddy with a Mac or pick up a cheap one on eBay and you’re in business. It also provides the capability to develop a single application that can be deployed to both the iOS platform and the Android with a single code base and image set.
The platform makes use of Lua for coding with a set of APIs that dramatically simplify game code. What might take dozens of lines of C++ or Objective-C code is often a one-liner in Corona. The platform also makes use of openGL for graphics and openAL as an audio engine, providing top notch performance.
Corona offers Sprite sheet-based animation, Facebook integration, leaderboard socializing through OpenFeint and the ability to instantly preview your code in action. With over 500 APIs supporting everything from arrays to in-App purchase, Corona offers a robust set of features.
In addition to its native functionality, there are a number of 3rd party tools that dramatically simplify game development. One of the best is SpriteDeck. This visual game designer for the Corona SDK allows game developers to build 2D game environments using a simple drag-and-drop interface.
SpriteDeck enables developers to create animated backgrounds for the iPhone, iPad, Android and other mobile devices through an ultra-simple but powerful interface. It uses image layering in a way that’s similar to Adobe Photoshop minus the complexity.
While Corona SDK on its own might present a learning curve too steep for a novice game maker, combining Corona SDK and with SpriteDeck allows the budding game developer to create vibrant game environments. Just drag and drop some visual elements in the SpriteDeck designer and it will export Corona-ready code.
Corona SDK is subscription based and costs $199/year for the version that allows you to submit your game to the app store. However, they have an unlimited trial version that is absolutely free. This means that you can develop your game for free and purchase the license to submit to the application store when you are ready.
SpriteDeck is just $49, and also offers a trial version which does not allow you to save projects but is otherwise fully-functional. Corona SDK and SpriteDeck can be combined to produce exceptional 2D mobile applications.
For those looking to create iPhone games, I highly recommend SpriteDeck, a visual game designer for mobile apps that’s really easy to use and can drastically reduce development time. If you want to learn more about it and watch videos of the SpiteDeck game editor in action, check out their website at SpriteDeck.com.
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