Short description
EGSL and Pulsar2D are LUA script interpreters to develop games in an easy, quick and convenient way.
EGSL: Showcase and Basic Data
Developer granted permission to use these screenshots.
- Project name: Easy Game Scripting with LUA
- Author: Cybermonkey
- Latest version: 1.6.0
- Release date: 30/12/2012
- Compiler: >= FPC 2.6.0
- SDL Version: SDL 1.2
- Further libraries: Vampyre Imaging Library / Lua 5.1 / Lua 5.2
- License: zlib
- Open source: yes
- Official website: http://www.egsl.retrogamecoding.org
Pulsar2D: Showcase and Basic Data
Developer granted permission to use these screenshots.
- Project name: Pulsar2d
- Author: Cybermonkey
- Latest version: 0.6.2
- Release date: 31/12/2015
- Compiler: FPC 3.0.0
- SDL Version: SDL2
- Further libraries: Lua 5.2
- License: zlib
- Open source: yes
- Official website: http://pulsar2d.org
Interview with Cybermonkey
Could you please give a short description of EGSL and Pulsard2D for those who have never heard of it?
Cybermonkey: EGSL (Easy Game Scripting with Lua) is a Lua interpreter which allows one to code 2D games in a simple way. I could say in a “classical way” because EGSL is inspired by old BASIC dialects. The main difference between EGSL and Pulsar2D is that Pulsar2D uses now the newer SDL2 libraries (which gives us the possibility to use multiple windows). It’s as easy as that: write 10 lines of Lua code and start the script and you’ll have already a small sprite moving example. Of course it is possible to use the framework with FreePascal. Apart from that I recently ported the Pulsar2D framework to FreeBASIC. So one can code Pulsar2D games/demos whatsoever in Lua, FreePascal or FreeBASIC.
Why did you decide to choose Pascal as a programming language and SDL/SDL2 as a library for these projects?
Cybermonkey: I started programming back in the 1980s with the Commodore 64 and BASIC. I learned Turbo Pascal in school and started programming with FreePascal a few years ago. It’s the language I have the most experience with. Not to mention that the FreePascal compiler is well maintained. I chose SDL/SDL2 because of its cross platform capabilities.
What do you think is the most interesting Pascal/SDL/SDL2 project out there (besides of your own, of course :-D)?
Cybermonkey: Actually I don’t know of any other … But of course the most impressive Pascal project is Lazarus for me.
Are there any further steps for EGSL and/or Pulsar2D or any new projects planned? What will they be?
Cybermonkey: EGSL will not be developed any further. Pulsar2D wil be improved from time to time. My plans are to implement Box2D physics and easy handling of tiled based maps made with the Tiled editor. But this has no priority so it can take a long time…
At the moment I am developing a little BASIC interpreter called “AllegroBASIC”. It’s a C project, though. (The editor, however, is made with Lazarus…) Since I am using Allegro4 libs which are obsolete now, I am porting at the same time the project to SDL2 which will be named “RETROBASIC”. If there are people interested in AllegroBASIC, have a look at allegrobasic.pulsar2d.org.