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Finger Painting in Corona With Just One Line of Code!

Mar21
2014
4 Comments Written by Jason

   

UPDATE (2/17/2015): The fingerPaint module has been updated to version 1.5, with new features and updated syntax for the fingerPaint.newCanvas() function (though it is backwards-compatible with the older v1.0 syntax). The links on this page will download the updated version.

Click here for details on version 1.5.

In 2012 I programmed a fun little iPad app called Gordon & Li Li: Learn Animals in Mandarin, for which I needed the user to “draw” on the iPad with his or her finger. At the time, there was no clear established method for accomplishing this in Corona SDK (I’m still not sure there is one), and the closest bit of code I could find on the Corona forums didn’t really get the job done to my satisfaction. So I came up with my own solution that worked really well for my needs and shared it with the community on Corona’s Code Exchange. (You can view that original post here.)

Now that I’m posting Corona tutorials here, I thought I’d revisit that code, which at the time existed only as a simple main.lua file and convert it into a Lua module so that it could easily be plugged into any existing Corona project with just a single line of code. I also took it as an opportunity to clean up my code and make sure that it is fully compatible with Corona’s newer Graphics 2.0 APIs. If you need finger painting in your own app, feel free to download the module and plug it in. Or if you want to dig deeper and modify the code to suit your own needs, please do, and share your edits in the comments! I’m making it available under the standard MIT license, so do with it whatever you like.

Let’s Finger Paint!

I’ll dig into the module’s code further down in this post, but for those of you who just want to type in that “one line of code” I promised and get finger painting, here’s how: READ MORE »

Posted in Corona SDK Resources

Game Controllers in the Corona Simulator

Mar11
2014
Leave a Comment Written by Jason

This is a reposting of a blog entry I contributed to the official Corona Labs blog back in November 2013. You can view the original post here.

   

I finally got around to purchasing an OUYA last week, thrilled by the possibility of creating the sort of controller-driven games I enjoyed back in the halcyon days of the NES and Sega Master System. I’ve only had a few hours of hands-on time with the OUYA, but so far I’m impressed. The hardware seems solid, the interface runs smoothly, and of course, since Corona has built-in support for OUYA and its controller using the “key events” API, I’m well-positioned to create the next OUYA runaway hit!

Test Environment

I do all of my development work on a Mac, and the Corona Simulator does not currently support controller input like it does on Windows (OS X is generally not very “joystick-friendly”). So, to properly test changes to my OUYA-targeted games, I’d typically need to create a build, transfer the APK to the OUYA, move from my computer to my TV, and pray that there isn’t some silly little bug in my code that requires me to start the entire process over. One of my favorite things about Corona is that I can see changes in my code reflected instantly in the simulator — but it seems this isn’t possible if I want to use a controller. What to do? READ MORE »

Posted in Corona SDK Resources

Web-Based Alternative to native.newMapView()

Mar10
2014
Leave a Comment Written by Jason

This is a reposting of a code snippet I contributed to the Corona Labs Code Exchange back in 2012. It’s worth noting that the impetus for this bit of code was that in 2012 Android native map views were not yet available. Corona’s APIs have evolved quite a bit since then and Android native map views are now on-par with iOS. However, there are still some developers who prefer the level of customization you get by displaying your map in a webView generated with the Google Maps API.

Furthermore, fellow Corona Developers T and G Apps Ltd. have taken this code and expanded upon it, offering an even greater level of customization. You can check out their expanded version here.


Hi Everybody,

I don’t know about you, but I’ve grown desperate waiting for Android MapViews, so I’ve taken matters into my own hands and come up with what I think is a pretty decent workaround, using HTML, JavaScript, and a WebPopup. READ MORE »

Posted in Corona SDK Resources

Spanish School Bus – Education Edition!

Mar06
2014
Leave a Comment Written by Jason

I’m happy to announce that in response to strong interest from teachers eager to implement Spanish School Bus into their curriculums, we have released an Education Edition of the app. The Education Edition is essentially the same as the free version, except all content is unlocked right away, without the need for any in-app purchase. By charging up-front for the fully-unlocked app, we enable teachers to take advantage of Apple’s Volume Purchase Program, which doesn’t extend to in-app purchases. Hopefully this new version will mean that more and more students get to learn with the help of Spanish School Bus. If you are a Spanish teacher looking for a fun and engaging way to boost your students’ vocabulary skills, please check out Spanish School Bus – Education Edition today!

Posted in Announcements

Spanish School Bus is Available Now!

Mar03
2014
Leave a Comment Written by Jason
Spanish School Bus


Available at Amazon Appstore

Yikes, having a couple of kids has really sapped my (poor to begin with) ability to post news to the site in a timely manner, because Spanish School Bus, my second collaboration with the terrific children’s publisher Chungaboo, has been out for months! It has even enjoyed a decent level of success, with thousands of active players worldwide and sustained Top-200 “What’s Hot” status in the U.S. iOS App Store (in the Card Games category) for over three months now.

But better late than never…to wit: go download “Spanish School Bus!” It’s free (there is an in-app purchase to unlock the entire game), it’s fun, and it’s available on the iOS App Store, Google Play, and Amazon Appstore.

¡Gracias!

Posted in Announcements
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The Corona SDK tutorials, modules and code snippets that I post on this site are free for you to use, with no expectation of repayment. But a few kind souls have told me that they wanted to toss me a few bucks as a way of saying "thanks," so I've added this donation button. If you like what I'm doing here, and wanted to contribute, feel free. And if not, that's cool too. I'm just glad you're here.

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