In my years of game development, I never wished for a tool (IDE) to create games without any programming. But I recently found one.

Maybe I never thought it would be possible. Maybe I never thought the games would be good. Maybe because I knew how to code, I didn’t care. The Stencyl Toolset from Stencyl, Inc. is surprising in both its ease of use and its flexibility to create a variety of games.

But can it replace traditional game-programming? Well, let’s take a look.

Pros of Stencyl (Paraphrased from Stencyl.com);

• Game Studio In A Box – Stencyl is a gorgeous, intuitive toolset that accelerates your workflow and then gets out of the way. In addition to the core tools, there is an included image editor called Pencyl and tile creation and editing tools for tile-based games (i.e. PacMan).
• Show and Tell – Use StencylForge the community-based toolbox of sprites and game logic to power your projects and share your knowledge.
• Design In A “Snap” – Drag-n-drop code like Lego-blocks. If you are a coder, I know this sounds SCARY. Check it out.
• Test it Fast – Run quickly using onscreen emulators for rapid code-test-code cycles. TBD on my opinion of the debugging features.
• Play It Everywhere – Publish to iOS, Flash, Windows, Mac & the Chrome Web Store. (Android / HTML5 Coming Soon)
• Make Money – Well, monetizing games is not unique to Stencyl of course, Stencyl has monetization features but there are many Pros of using one code-base for multiple platforms.

When and where it is manageable, I am a huge fan of using  and reusing the same project for multiple platforms. Stencyl 2.1 (current release) exports to Flash (Desktop/Browser) and Mobile (iOS). Future releases will publish to Android and HTML5.

Checkout the screenshots;

1. Create your game assets (backgrounds and sprites) using your favorite drawing programs or download them from StencylForge.
2. Setup your game sprites. These ‘Actors’ as they are called can be animated and controlled by the computer AI or by the user.
3. Setup your game logic. Stencyl’s most controversial feature is the logic system which requires NO PROGRAMMING. There is comprehensive documentation to help. Check it out.
4. Design your levels. You can drag and drop assets into a grid system or free-form layout. Whatever you like!*

* The potential to use Stencyl JUST for level creation on non-Stencyl projects has me very excited. I haven’t tried that yet, nor know if its possible. Post below if you have some ideas.

Create Assets or Use StencylForge	Setup Game Sprites
Setup Game Logic	Design Levels

Stencyl 2.x maintains separate engines for our Flash and iOS exporters. Something that the team admits has been a challenge to maintain. Stencyl 3.0 (release date TBD 2012) will use a single engine and language that exports native apps to Flash, iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, Linux and HTML5.

Getting Started

If you have setup a programming environment before (Flash, Flex, Java, HTML5), then you should find Stencyl VERY easy to setup and use. Its slick and mainstream in its ease of use from initial install through project building. If you have never used multimedia tools, it may be a bit challenging, but know that you are in good hands. Stencyl’s has some user experience (UX) hiccups, but it is, overall, very impressive.

Here are the links and tips;

1. Download The IDE – Stencyl and install it.
2. Go Through the Crash Course – After downloading Stencyl, I strongly recommend going through the Crash Course. If you’re launching Stencyl for the first time, you’ll be automatically asked to go through the Crash Course. If not, click on the Help Center button to find it.
3. Read Stencylpedia– After you’ve made your first game using the Crash Course, we highly recommend reading through the first few chapters of Stencylpedia (up to the end of Chapter 4).Stencylpedia will teach you the fundamentals of game creation through Stencyl, in a way that poring over many example games won’t do.
4. Inspect Free Games – You can learn a lot as a beginner by looking at the included games and free games on StencylForge. Exame the scenes, actors, and behaviors.
5. Watch My HD Screencast Video – Watch me talk you through as I create a complete game from start through finish. (See ‘Member Resources’ below)

Making ‘FlyerGame’

To learn Stencyl, I followed my own ‘Getting Started’ steps above and then created my own complete game. I used assets and game logic from “FlyerGame”, a game that I have recoded many, many times using game frameworks. The HD Video Screencast and source assets are available (See ‘Member Resources’ below).

Optimizations

With my simple tests, Stencyl games appear to run smoothly. It’s likely that performance problems are run-time performance problems (i.e. Flash or iOS) and not necessarily Stencyl performance problems.

Recommendations;

• Limit number of on screen actors – That’s the fundamental optimization. When not possible use ‘recycling’ (VERY IMPORTANT) which is Stencyl’s version of object pooling.
• Limit number of collisions – Stencyl uses Box2D for its physics engine, and the more Stencyl makes use of Box2D, the more calculations it’s performing in a given frame. Since collisions means the physics engine is working, more collisions means potential slowdown.
• Limit use of effects and transparency
• Limit overlapping actors (i.e. actors on top of actors)

Conclusion

I like Stencyl. I applaud what they are trying to do; create a simple tool to allow newbies to create games and veterans to create more games, more easily. I think many veterans will be turned off by Stencyl as a ‘toy’, and many newbies may be too shy to give it a try. I encourage both groups to give it an honest try. Above all I’m excited for the future of gaming.

Tools like [Stencyl] are yet another sign that game development can be both a great hobby to some and lucrative profession to others. – Me.

There are some other game studios I have yet to fully review such as GameSalad and GameMaker. Stay tuned. I may review them in the future.

Wait, No programming?

I make a few mentions here that Stencyl requires no programming. Really, to be more accurate you ARE coding, you ARE programming and quite deliberately. You have to understand all of the common game logic concepts. What are are NOT doing is typing. Instead you use drop-down menus – part of a layout which Stencyl calls the “block-snapping interface”. Very pretty, helpful, & intuitive. For advanced users there is indeed a code view and programming API (both currently AS3-only). Looking at the code is not only optional, it is not encouraged.

I have some strong opinions by code-generation tools (i.e. Adobe’s Dreamweaver), but I think there is indeed a large audience that can be served well by Stencyl’s ease of use. I am impressed with its power and flexibility. While not the creators intention, I also see Stencyl as a great tool for complete game developer beginners to learn all the fundamentals and then perhaps move on to a more traditional programming environment in the near future or distant future if they have the interest. Academically, Stencyl has fascinating potential too providing a language-agnostic approach to gaming for first year students, before they have the programming skills to power their creative ideas.

In short, after testing Stencyl, my opinion of it changed from just a ‘pretty toy’ to a ‘fun and powerful tool’. The roadmap provided on the Stencyl website looks fantastic too, rounding out more publishing options and hinting at a more robust tool too. Give Stencyl 3-4 hours of your attention over a weekend. It may very well change your mind for the better too!

The license pricing;

• 1. Stencyl 2.x – Publish Flash Games – Free!
• 2. Also Publish Desktop Games – $79 per year
• 3. Also Publish iOS Games – $149 per year
• Combo of 1,2,3 – $199 per year

Developer Q&A

Since I am new to Stencyl and Stencyl is so very different then other game development tools, I met with some Stencyl developers (newbies and veterans) to understand the PROs, CONs, and any gotchas that could help newbies learn from their mistakes.

PROs

• No coding needed (unless you want it) 
• Helpful community
• Cross-platform

CONs

• “Newbies must choose between limited ‘Free’ version and expensive ‘Pro’ version” – Game Developer, Urie Wilson 
•  The learning-curve on more complicated parts (lists, global attributes, collision shapes) can be intimidating

Gotchas

•  “Always save your project. [Stencyl may crash]” – Game developer, Ridhwaan Patel

Misc / Advice

• Stencyl works well with Pencyl (image editor)
• “Start Small. Reconstruct retro projects like Tic-Tac-Toe, Pong, Pac-Man, & Space Invaders. These simple, familiar games offer many challenges to newbies.” – Game Developer, Djamel Berkaoui (aka Satyre)

Next Steps

After ‘Getting Started’ and following my HD Video Tutorials, here are more resources to fuel your Stencyl savvy.

• VIDEO: Welcome To Stencyl – Watch the HD Screencast Video Tutorial*
• VIDEO: Flyer Game With Stencyl – Watch the HD Screencast Video Tutorial*
• Start with the Stencylpedia – Online. Its the instructions manual. Also checkout the blog and the product roadmap.
• Find common answers – The forums are best when you’ve got a specific question to ask.
• Ask a new question – The Chat Room is great for seeking real-time help.

*See ‘Member Resources’ below.

NOTE: All Member Resources are coming soon. Videos and code downloads are NOT yet available.

Member Resources

[private_Free member]Enjoy this members-only content!

NOTE: All Member resources are coming soon. Videos and code downloads are NOT yet available.

Source Code

• None yet

HD Screencast Videos

• None yet.

[/private_Free member]

Developing iOS apps using CocoaTouch and XCode is great. Creating games however is a challenge.The tools are just geared to app development I think.

Developing Java-based Android games seems pretty horrible all around. Java is great (powerful but not easy), but the code-test-code development cycle leaves much to be desired.

Luckily there are 3rd party SDKs that create native iOS and also native Android projects geared for gaming. One of those is the Corona SDK from AnscaMobile.

Benefits of Corona SDKfor iOS/Android Development (In AnscaMobile’s words);

• Build Apps 10x faster – Corona’s framework dramatically increase productivity. Tasks like animating objects in OpenGL or creating user-interface widgets take only one line of code, and changes are instantly viewable in the Corona Simulator. You can rapidly test without lengthy build times.
• Same code, multiple stores – Corona is the only complete solution for developing across platforms, OS versions, and screen sizes. You can write once and build to iOS, Android, Kindle Fire or Nook Color at the touch of a button — Corona will automatically scale your content across devices from phones to tablets.
• Simple, powerful APIs – Make use of advanced features using just a few lines of human-friendly code. For instance, you can implement realistic physics in your game with just five lines! Corona’s ease of use is what allows developers from indies to major studios to create #1 chart-topping apps, games, and eBooks.
• Create engaging experiences – Say goodbye to cookie-cutter apps. Whether you’re creating branded apps, graphically rich games, or interactive eBooks, Corona gives you everything you need to go beyond the ordinary. It’s easy to make your apps behave and look exactly how you want them to.
• Cut costs. Monetize faster – Corona enables you to produce top titles without big studio budgets. And thanks to Corona’s integrated support for in-app purchases, banner ads, and offer-based virtual currency, you can monetize faster and easier than ever before.
• Join developers like you – Corona boasts a very generous and knowledgeable community, a plethora of 3rd party tools, as well as a shared code repository where users can download and share helpful libraries and snippets with one another. We also have 347 Corona SDK studios across 47 countries worldwide

Pro’s and Con’s of Corona (In my words)

I have used Corona SDK for about 5 hours. I’m new.

• Lua is very very fast.
• The code-test-code cycle is the best setup I’ve ever seen. Its so fast, just save your latest lua file and *poof* the project compiles and growl (on Mac) shows an error or not and your project is already running with debug output. (Now if I can just get the LDT IDE to handle debugging. I can, soon!)
• Lua is not OOP. Corona is not component based. Without built-in OOP or built-in component based gaming (like Unity for example), development with Corona leaves much to be desired.
• Its 2D only (good or bad, depending on your preference)
• No great IDE yet.
• Graphics are raster-based – So its a fast, but not easily reusable graphics pipeline.
• Compared to HTML5 it has good multimedia capabilities. Compared to Flash it has horrible multimedia capabilities

Getting Setup

The steps to get started are to download the Corona SDK, choose your favorite text editor (I’m using Lua Development Toolkit), and run Corona’s Simulator on one of the sample projects to prove you’ve got it all setup properly.

We’ll show the provided ‘Bridge’ project which is a physics demo of some circles falling on a monkey-bridge.

Here are the links to get setup and publish a sample project;

1. Download the free, unlimited-use Corona ‘Trial’ From AnscaMobile.
2. Download the free, standalone Lua Development Toolkit (LDT) IDE from Koneki.
3. Run LDT. You use LDT to setup the project and edit the code, but NOT for Corona code completion, NOT to compile and NOT to debug. I’m confident that all of that is possible, but I’m not yet sure how.
4. Right-Click the ‘Script Explorer’ and choose ‘New Lua Project’
5. Name it ‘Bridge’, choose ‘Create Project…’ and point to local url on your machine for ‘CoronaSDK/SampleCode/Physics/Bridge/’ where you installed the SDK.
6. Open ‘CoronaSDK/SampleCode/Physics/Bridge/main.lua’, by clicking it in the ‘Script Explorer’. Don’t edit it. Just look at it.
7. Run the ‘CoronaSDK/CoronaTerminal.app’ (on Mac). It will open terminal and also the Corona Simulator.
8. In the Corona Simulator choose ‘File -> Open…’ and choose ‘CoronaSDK/SampleCode/Physics/Bridge/’. This will run the Bridge project in the Corona Simulator (an onscreen iPad emulator) and show any debugging output in the terminal.
9. Done.
10. Now without closing the Corona Simulator or the Corona Terminal, edit the ‘CoronaSDK/SampleCode/Physics/Bridge/main.lua’ file. Add the line ‘print (“hello”);’  without outer quotes and save the file. Upon save the Corona Simulator and Corona Terminal will automatically re-run the project. Nice!

Hello World Project

Typically a Hello World program illustrates the quickest way to get anything (such as text) onto the screen and publishing (or compiling) without errors.

In this post I have also added a few things. We see classpathing (‘com.rmc….’), a custom super class, and examples of publicity and privacy for class members.

The Project Output

Here is the example running. Corona’s included device emulator (“Simulator”) is in iPad mode. Other modes are available.

Debugging: Corona shows your debugging output too (using Terminal for example on Mac OSX). Simulator & Debug Window

The Project File Structure

Corona has many great demo projects included. Each project sits in its own folder. All files for a project sit within without using subfolders. I read on several blogs that while the Corona simulator allows for subfolders, that iPhone and/or Android does not. There are workarounds.

A development environment that does not allow for folders is ridiculous & irresponsible. – Me.

You’ll see my examples all feature a folder structure. For now, they run in the Simulator and that’s all I care about. I assume full folder support will come at some point in the future. If not, you can remove the subfolders from my demos before you start your final code.

HelloWorldOOP File Structure

Document Class

Lua doesn’t support OOP. Corona doesn’t support OOP. However it is possible to fake it.

I learned a good bit from Ludicroussoftware.com’s post, and JesseWarden’s post. There is more info about scope too.

The document class is the main entry point for your application. By default the builder looks for ‘main.lua’, and runs it. It is a required file and it kicks off the run-time of your project.

The lua file format shown here is my own creation. I use it for the main.lua file and then within any ‘classes’ which I create.

[actionscript3]

————————————–
— Imports
————————————–
local TemplateClass = require ("com.rmc.projects.helloworldoop.TemplateClass");

————————————–
— Metadata
————————————–

————————————–
— Main Entry Point
————————————–
display.setStatusBar( display.HiddenStatusBar )

–CLEAR OUTPUT
print ("");
print ("");
print ("  ——————-  ");
print ("  — HelloWorldOOP —  ");
print ("  ——————-  ");
print ("");

–CREATE
local templateClass = TemplateClass:TemplateClass();
print ("    samplePublicVar    : "..templateClass.samplePublicVar);

–TEST MEMBERS
local samplePublicMethod_str = templateClass:samplePublicMethod();
print ("    samplePublicMethod_str           : " .. samplePublicMethod_str);

[/actionscript3]

1. Imports

There are no true ‘imports’ in Lua, nor in Corona. The ‘require’ statement fetches a separate lua file and includes it in the current lua file. In my usage this essentially ‘imports’ the custom ‘class’ of ‘TemplateClass’.

2. Metadata

While not shown here in main.lua, within some classes there are ‘module’ statements (and others?) that help Corona/Lua know how to treat the current file. I call this ‘metadata’.

[actionscript3]

————————————–
— Imports
————————————–

————————————–
— Metadata
————————————–
module (…, package.seeall)

————————————–
— Class Methods
————————————–
— PUBLIC STATIC
–[[
This method is designed to…
–]]

————————————–
— Class Properties
————————————–
— PUBLIC STATIC
–[[
This property is designed to…
–]]

————————————–
— Class
————————————–
–[[
This class is designed to…
–]]
function TemplateClass()

————————————–
— Properties
————————————–

— INSTANCE
–[[
This is a self-reference required by OOP structure
–]]
local me = {}

— PUBLIC
–[[
This property is designed to…
–]]
me.samplePublicVar = "samplePublicVar";

— PRIVATE
–[[
This property is designed to…
–]]
local _samplePrivateVar = "samplePrivateVar";

————————————–
— Constructor
————————————–
–[[
This is the constructor…
–]]
function me:constructor()

–TRACE
print ("TemplateClass:constructor()");

–METHODS
me:initialize();

–RETURN
return me;
end

————————————–
— Methods
————————————–

— PUBLIC
–[[
This is the initialize.
–]]
function me:initialize()

–TRACE
print ("TemplateClass:initialize()");

–DRAW

end

–[[
This method is designed to…
–]]
function me:samplePublicMethod()

–Test Private — It Works!
local _samplePrivateMethod_str = _samplePrivateMethod();
print (" _samplePrivateMethod_str : " .. _samplePrivateMethod_str);

return "samplePublicMethod";
end

— PRIVATE
–[[
This method is designed to…
–]]
function _samplePrivateMethod()
return "_samplePrivateMethod & ".._samplePrivateVar;
end

————————————–
— Events
————————————–

— PRIVATE
–[[
This event handler is designed to…
–]]
function _onSampleEvent()
return "_onSampleEvent";
end

— RETURN INSTANCE VIA CONSTRUCTOR

return me:constructor();
end
[/actionscript3]

1. Class Definition

In my solution I place the ‘TemplateClass’ class in its own ‘TemplateClass.lua’ file and treat it like a Lua ‘module’. You can see in ‘main.lua’ how I import and create an instance of ‘TemplateClass’.

2. Static vs Instance Members

The instance members in this demo work great. I had static methods and static vars working too, but broke them somehow. I have removed them from this demo. I’m confident is possible.

3. Publicity / Privacy

The instance members in the demo feature full, working publicity and privacy. Nice.

4. Inheritance

I have not included inheritance in this demo, but it is possible. I’m working on a simple game that I will post soon. I have 3 generations of inheritance going on and it works FAIRLY well. For my onscreen objects I extend using ‘display.newGroup()’ as a base. It is a bit ugly how to override methods (See the Ludicroussoftware.com link above), but it works. I’ll post that in the future.

The Output

[actionscript3]
Copyright (C) 2009-2011  A n s c a ,  I n c .
Version: 2.0.0
Build: 2011.704
The file sandbox for this project is located at the following folder:
(/Users/srivello/Library/Application Support/Corona Simulator/HelloWorldOOP-27E895459A9154336232E091AB34F950)

——————-
— HelloWorldOOP —
——————-

TemplateClass:constructor()
TemplateClass:initialize()
samplePublicVar : samplePublicVar
_samplePrivateMethod_str : _samplePrivateMethod & samplePrivateVar
samplePublicMethod_str   : samplePublicMethod

[/actionscript3]

1. Output Tool

By default the output comes through your Terminal (on mac). There is setup to get the output to come through Lua Development Tools (or other Eclipse based editor with the Lua Plugin). Once you build once, you leave the terminal and emulator open and just edit and save your code as you like. With each save, the simulator AUTOMATICALLY reruns the app and the terminal shows the output. The ‘build time’ is 100 Milliseconds or so. The speedy iterative development is great.

2. The Output

You can see in the output example above, the first few lines are outputted by Corona itself, then your custom

Conclusion

I created this demo as part of my evaluation of various mobile programming languages (Lua) and development environments (Corona SDK and Lua Development Tools). Coming from a (objectively speaking) really really spoiled development environment of Flash game development, I have the same basic gripes with Corona as I do with HTML5 gaming. The language (lua) is not fit for OOP. It is not intended to do so. Lua and Corona are indeed LIGHTNING FAST both at compile-time and at run-time. That is fantastic and cannot be under-stated.

The Corona SDK community is growing and offering some add-ons;

• Lime – Tilebased gaming
• PubNub – Multiplayer Gaming API
• More community projects…

And now a few tangents…

Do I Need OOP?

No. But for me an implied architecture (implied within the built-in language features) of OOP or component-based development greatly speeds up development for me. I’m able to get more feedback from the IDE and reuse code more effectively. Many developers prefer procedural programming. I’m not sure why. If you have an opinion please post below. We will see TONS more gaming built upon the horrible limitations of JavaScript. If you love JavaScript, that is great. For me its not the right tool for game development.

Some OOP Solutions for Corona;

• My TemplateClass solution shown in this post. It is not a complete solution, but it shows Lua language-features to mimic OOP.
• LCS (Lua Class System) – I tested it. Works!
• Classes.lua – I haven’t tested it yet.
• OWL (Objects With Lua) – Nice name! I haven’t tested it yet. Here’s a blog about it.
• CooL (Corona Object-Oriented Lua)– I haven’t tested it yet.

Upon a quick look, each appears to be valuable. Not sure which is the most full featured yet. In the future I may create a demo of each for comparison’s sake and blog about it.

Do I need a strong IDE?

Yes. I’m dumbfounded by developers who defend using text-edit as their tool of choice. Sure there is an warm-fuzzy feeling about being so ‘raw’. But an honest appraisal of your productivity will trump that if you are a serious contributor to your industry. Spend a few hundred dollars, spend a few thousand dollars on performant hardware and legally-licensed software designed for your productivity. Be a professional.

Game Development Environment Utopia

In my research in gaming technologies (Many, many HTML5 frameworks, Flash Platform, Unity3D, iOS, Android, Cross-platform iOS/Android), I am evolving an idea for the ideal game development setup. This list will probably change over time. The dream is a setup that works for small game projects and can scale up to large team projects.

• Fast Code-Test-Code Cycles – Under 1 second allows for optimal iterative development
• Fast Run-Time Performance – Stable 30 frames per second or greater across target devices
• Great IDE – Project creation, project compilation, project debugging (breakpoints, stack/heap introspection), intellisense on built-in and custom libraries, etc..
• Strong Typed Language – Implicit intent in your design, IDE-feedback/errors/auto-fixes, generics, deep refactoring, etc…
• Scalable Graphics Pipeline – To facilitate multi-screen development. Vector source with run-time conversion to raster seems to be the best setup yet for 2D. Streaming textures is ideal for 3D.
• Implied Architecture – OOP (ex. Java) and/or component based (ex. Unity3D)

Stay Tuned

• I have created a complete game using Corona. A tutorial, HD Screencast Video, and full source code are coming soon.

Questions for the Readers

• Do you a better OOP setup? Fork my code and push a solution. Great!
• Know how to setup LDT to show debug output and breakpoints? Post a comment below!
• Can you setup LDT to show intellisense (auto complete) for the Corona SDK classes? Post a comment below!

New Corona Book Released!

Packt Publishing has published a new exciting book on Corona SDK – Corona SDK Hotshot!

If you’ve used the Corona Software Development Kit to build your very first new mobile app, you already know how easy it makes developing across all the pieces of this fragmented market. This book upgrades your knowledge of Lua and the Corona API with designs, habits and advanced concepts to speed your development and create more exciting apps.

Corona SDK Hotshot will show you how to combine advanced Lua features such as coroutines and metatables with Corona’s sophisticated tools, including physics and networking, to develop exactly the game or app you or your customers need, quickly and with an eye towards updating your app with improvements in the future.

Corona SDK Hotshot will expand your basic knowledge of Corona with an insight into making the most of its event platform, using physics wisely and easily, and moving on to advanced programming tasks like path-finding.

You will focus heavily on how to keep your programs understandable as they become more complicated, by using modules and events to divide it up. You’ll practice ways to make AI scripts and map files easily understandable to designers and other collaborators, and use networks like GameCenter to publish progress.

The last projects will combine the full range of covered material to illustrate how you can produce sophisticated and exciting apps as a Corona Hotshot!

Using a project based approach you will learn the coolest aspects of Corona SDK development. Each project contains step- by-step explanations, diagrams, screenshots, and downloadable materials.

Get the book here: http://www.packtpub.com/corona-software-development-kit-hotshot/book

Next Steps

• Hello World – Download the full source code*
• Hello World OOP – Download the full source code*
• Hello World OOP – Watch the HD Screencast Video Tutorial*
• Checkout More Tutorials on LearningCorona.com (Fantastic!) and DesignerSandbox.com

*See ‘Member Resources’ below.

Member Resources

[private_Free member]Enjoy this members-only content!

Source Code

• Download the full source code to all projects mentioned in this post.

HD Screencast Videos

[tubepress video=”43251034″ embeddedHeight = “350” embeddedWidth = “550” showInfo = “false”]

[/private_Free member]