From the Forum — Issue #57

30 January 2015

From the Forum — Issue #57

Welcome to the latest installment of From the Forum. In this series, guest blogger Alex Jackson highlights outstanding threads from the Corona Forum. The goal is to bring attention to the most captivating, interesting, and thought-provoking discussions taking place in our very own backyard.

Please visit the forum to join these conversations or start your own!

1. Digging in the crates and coming up with gold!

Oftentimes I find myself strolling through the forum looking for a gem that I missed. Whether it’s a utility that someone posted, a tip one developer suggested to another, or a shortcut that shaved hours off of development time, I’m forever on the lookout for that tips that optimize my coding lifestyle.

I must have been enjoying a nice Choco taco when this particular post was put up. Shoebox is a nice tool that helps generate bitmap fonts for use in a wide variety of contexts. I’m not going to be able to do the application justice with any amount of text here; you’re best off checking out the forum link on how this can apply to Corona development, and what else can be accomplished with this amazing tool!

http://forums.coronalabs.com/topic/34445-shoebox-free-cross-platform-sprite-packerbitmap-font-tool/

2. Best practices for pixel art from an expert.

If you know anything about me, you know I’m a pixel-art aficionado. A nice tileable graphic collection makes me smile every time, and I always appreciate new ways to make my tiletsets better.

That’s why this next post is right up my alley. Recently a developer asked about tricks for producing better tilesets, and the Caleb P (the developer behind the very popular level-building library Dusk) provided his rules for producing a great pixel-based tileset every time.

I’d only add that the GIMP makes a very serviceable pixel-art editor if you adopt the right settings, but Caleb’s suggestions eclipse my meager ideas. Head down to the original post and check it out!

http://forums.coronalabs.com/topic/54068-tips-for-drawing-tilesets

3. Increasing your popularity with some grassroots efforts.

Making a dent in the mobile marketplace can be incredibly difficult for independent developers. The idea that you can just create a great app and it’ll magically turn into a million-seller is nice, but it rarely turns into reality. You still need to pound the digital pavement and make sure people know about the fantastic app you just created. The forum post below details some ways to make a positive impact in the market. One of the links is a very useful write-up about the best way to create a PR email about your project. Check the rest out at the link below!

http://forums.coronalabs.com/topic/54191-gift-your-app-to-boost-download-and-get-reviews/

About Alex

Alex Jackson is an indie developer and the founder of Panc Software, specializing in retro-style gaming. He has created several mobile applications, enjoys long walks on the beach, pixel art, and reading the Corona forums. Contact him by email or follow him on Twitter: @pancsoftware. Check out his new game Crosstown Smash on iOS, Android, and Amazon devices!