Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter
10
Moai
In this chapter, we consider another framework: Moai. Among the options for developing cross-platform
mobile applications, Moai is the tool for professional game developers. It is an open source
platform that provides C++ classes wrapped in Lua. These allow for development of basic 2D
and 3D games for a variety of platforms: iOS, Android, Windows, Mac OS X, and Chrome. Moai
is available as the free-to-use Moai SDK, which requires a “Made with Moai” splash screen or a
mention in the game's credits. Moai also offers a paid service, Moai Cloud Services, which can be
integrated in apps built with or without Moai.
What Is Moai?
The idea of Moai stemmed from its developers, who were veterans in the gaming industry. It's not
for hobbyists wanting to make a quick app; the learning curve on Moai can be a bit steep. This little
hurdle can be overcome somewhat by RapaNui, an open source layer that offers Moai via some
high-level APIs (discussed in Chapter 13). A few commercially available apps have been made with
Moai, and more are in the works. Nearly all of them have the A-level excellence expected from large
studios, and most have a large number of downloads. At the core of Moai are the C++ libraries that
help you write cross-platform applications for mobile, browsers, and the desktop. However, the Lua
interface takes away the need to deal with these complex libraries. These C++ libraries wrapped in
Lua also allow for access to many low-level functions. Once you have learned the basics of app
development, specifically gaming, Moai is a logical choice as a professional tool set.
Obtaining Moai
Your first step is to create an account with Moai and then download the SDK. You can choose from
the following:
SDK release version 1.3 (build 98)
SDK developer build 1.3 (build 102)
Moai source code
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