Love2D Library Collection

A comprehensive collection of Lua libraries designed to streamline and enhance Love2D game development. This project aims to provide high-quality, reusable components that address common game development challenges, making it easier to create complex and feature-rich games.

Project Overview

This is an ongoing, long-term project focused on developing complete, production-ready libraries for the Love2D framework. The goal is to create a robust ecosystem of tools that handle the repetitive and complex aspects of game development, allowing developers to focus on creating unique gameplay experiences.

Philosophy

• Modularity: Each library is self-contained and can be used independently
• Extensibility: Libraries are designed to be easily extended and customized
• Performance: Optimized for Love2D's Lua environment
• Documentation: Comprehensive documentation for all features
• Love2D Integration: Seamless integration with Love2D's callback system

Current Libraries

SceneManager (lib/SceneManager.lua)

A powerful scene management system that handles multiple game states, transitions, and event forwarding.

Features:

• Scene registration and switching
• Scene stacking (push/pop functionality)
• Smooth transitions between scenes
• Automatic Love2D event forwarding
• Scene lifecycle management (load/unload)

Use Cases:

• Main menu ↔ Game level switching
• Pause menu overlays
• Level transitions
• Dialog systems

ClassManager (lib/classManager.lua)

An object-oriented programming system for Lua with Love2D integration.

Features:

• Class creation with inheritance
• Love2D-specific class templates
• Mixin support for composition
• Automatic constructor chaining
• Class registration and management

Use Cases:

• Game entities (players, enemies, items)
• UI components
• Game systems (physics, AI, rendering)
• Data structures with behavior

CollisionManager (lib/CollisionManager.lua)

A comprehensive collision detection system with Unity-style collision state tracking.

Features:

• Rectangle and circle collider types
• Efficient collision detection algorithms
• Unity-style collision states (enter, stay, exit)
• Point containment checking
• Debug visualization
• Support for mixed collider types

Use Cases:

• Player-enemy collision detection
• Platformer collision systems
• UI element interaction detection
• Physics-based game mechanics
• Real-time collision response

TimerManager (lib/TimerManager.lua)

A FPS management system for controlling and monitoring frame rates in Love2D applications.

Features:

• Target FPS setting and enforcement
• Real-time FPS monitoring
• Frame time calculation
• Automatic frame rate limiting
• Integration with Love2D's update loop

Use Cases:

• Maintaining consistent game speed across different hardware
• Power management and battery life optimization
• Performance testing and benchmarking
• Synchronizing animations and effects

Documentation

Comprehensive documentation is available in the docs/ directory:

• docs/class.md - Complete ClassManager documentation
• docs/scene.md - Complete SceneManager documentation
• docs/collision.md - Complete CollisionManager documentation
• docs/timer.md - Complete TimerManager documentation

Each documentation file includes:

• Detailed API reference
• Usage examples
• Best practices
• Performance considerations
• Advanced techniques

Getting Started

1. Clone or download the library files to your Love2D project

2. Require the libraries in your code:

   local SceneManager = require("lib.SceneManager")
   local classManager = require("lib.classManager")

3. Follow the documentation for implementation details

4. Check the examples in the example/ folder:

   • example/scene/ - Complete scene management demo with multiple scenes
   • example/class/ - Advanced class system demo with inheritance and game objects
   • example/collider/ - Interactive collision detection demo with Unity-style states

   Each example folder contains its own lib/ copy and can be run independently with Love2D.

Project Structure

love lib/
├── README.md            # Project documentation
├── main.lua             # TimerManager demonstration
├── lib/
│   ├── SceneManager.lua     # Scene management system
│   ├── classManager.lua     # OOP class system
│   ├── CollisionManager.lua # Collision detection system
│   └── TimerManager.lua     # FPS management system
├── docs/
│   ├── class.md             # ClassManager documentation
│   ├── scene.md             # SceneManager documentation
│   ├── collision.md         # CollisionManager documentation
│   └── timer.md             # TimerManager documentation
└── example/
    ├── scene/
    │   ├── lib/         # Copy of libraries for standalone execution
    │   ├── main.lua     # Complete scene management demo
    │   └── scene.lua    # Scene definitions
    ├── class/
    │   ├── lib/         # Copy of libraries for standalone execution
    │   ├── main.lua     # Complete class system demo
    │   └── player.lua   # Advanced class examples
    └── collider/
        ├── lib/         # Copy of libraries for standalone execution
        └── main.lua     # Interactive collision detection demo

Examples

Basic Scene Management

local SceneManager = require("lib.SceneManager")

-- Create scenes
local menuScene = SceneManager:createScene("menu")
function menuScene:draw()
    love.graphics.print("Press SPACE to play", 10, 10)
end

local gameScene = SceneManager:createScene("game")
function gameScene:update(dt)
    -- Game logic here
end

-- Register and set scenes
SceneManager:addScene("menu", menuScene)
SceneManager:addScene("game", gameScene)
SceneManager:setScene("menu")

Class-Based Game Objects

local classManager = require("lib.classManager")

local Player = classManager.createLove2DClass("Player")

function Player:init(x, y)
    self.x, self.y = x, y
    self.speed = 200
end

function Player:update(dt)
    if love.keyboard.isDown("right") then
        self.x = self.x + self.speed * dt
    end
end

local player = Player:new(100, 100)

Basic Collision Detection

local CollisionManager = require("lib.CollisionManager")

local playerRect = CollisionManager.RectCollider:new(100, 100, 32, 32)
local enemyCircle = CollisionManager.CircleCollider:new(200, 150, 20)

function love.update(dt)
    -- Move player
    if love.keyboard.isDown("d") then
        playerRect.x = playerRect.x + 200 * dt
    end

    -- Check collision
    if CollisionManager.checkCollision(playerRect, enemyCircle) then
        print("Collision detected!")
    end
end

function love.draw()
    playerRect:draw({0, 1, 0})  -- Green rectangle
    enemyCircle:draw({1, 0, 0}) -- Red circle
end

Contributing

This is a personal project, but suggestions and feedback are welcome. If you have ideas for new libraries or improvements to existing ones, please create an issue or submit a pull request.

Development Guidelines

• Follow Lua best practices
• Include comprehensive documentation
• Provide usage examples
• Ensure Love2D compatibility
• Test across different platforms when possible

Requirements

• Love2D: Version 11.0 or later
• Lua: 5.1+ (included with Love2D)

License

This project is released under the MIT License. Feel free to use, modify, and distribute the code for both personal and commercial projects.

Support

• Documentation: Check the docs/ folder for detailed guides
• Examples: Check the example/ folder for complete working demos:
  • example/scene/ - Scene management demo
  • example/class/ - Class system demo
  • example/collider/ - Collision detection demo
• Love2D Wiki: Official Love2D documentation for framework-specific questions

Acknowledgments

• Built for the Love2D framework
• Inspired by common game development patterns
• Designed to complement Love2D's philosophy of simplicity and flexibility

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Note: This is an active development project. Libraries may be updated with new features, bug fixes, and improvements. Check the documentation for the latest information on each library's capabilities.