Lua is simple and powerful programming language, if you already know another programming language as Java, C# or Javascript then do not worry, you will learn Lua in just a few days or a week.
In my opinion Lua is one of the easiest and powerfull programming language. Take a look to the official Lua web
For instance the following source code displays a PNG image at the position (100, 100)
local bmp = Bitmap.new(Texture.new("ball.png",true))bmp:setPosition(100,100)stage:addChild(bmp)
Quite simple, isn't it?
Furthermore you can read the Gideros LUA API reference to know Lua modules and Enhancements provided by Gideros Studio.
The above example uses two classes, Bitmap and Texture to display image to screen.
The Texture class loads PNG image to memory and Bitmap displays the PNG to screen,write only 3 lines of code to display image to screen.
Gideros Studio IDE
Gideros Studio includes a code editor with project files manager, Lua syntax checking and find/replace tools to build your game without another external editor.
Create main.lua file as the starting point of your next indie game.
When finally you were ready to publish then Gideros Studio also allows you to export it to several platforms with no additional effort.
I've just developed my own Arkamania Brick Breaker game in just one month, published for Android and iOS.
Gideros Player
For testing purposes you will use Gideros Player with Hot Reloading feature which speeds up game development.
Change your Lua code in Gideros Studio, save and test your game instantly in Gideros Player. Repeat, repeat and repeat this process and finish your game without realizing it.
This is how looks my Flappy Creature game in Gideros Player:
Extending with Plugins
This is really useful when you need to integrate third-party libraries (Google Play Services, Facebook, In-app billing, Ads…) to your game.
Many plugins are already developed and available from Gideros Labs, but you can develop your own in case you need it. Usually Plugins are developed in C/C++ for all platforms, Java/Kotlin for Android and Swift/Objective-C for iOS.