love-loader/readme.md

# Love Loader

Custom menu for selecting game from multiple for Love2D.

![PSP Style](./scr/psp.png)

[Other screenshots](./scr)

# How it works?

Just place games into `games` folder! (like `this_folder/games/game/main.lua`)

Technically, this creates the loop until game wasn't selected or user wants to exit
with custom event handling and redrawing.

# LibLL

Love Loader from v2.0 includes library to simplify creating custom interfaces.
It is like a backend for Love Loader.

It have not so many functions and fields:

- `ll.games` - field for games, which have this structure:
  ```lua
  {
    name = 'string', -- Friendly name for game or placeholder
    desc = 'string', -- Description for game or placeholder
    base = 'string', -- base directory used in game mounting, must end with `/`
    dir  = 'string', -- directory name, used if no name was defined
    main = 'string', -- main file to execute or `main.lua`
    screens = {'array of', 'path to screenshots'},
    scrcur  = 1, --[[number]] -- current  index from screenshots
    scrprv  = 1, --[[number]] -- previous index from screenshots
    dat = nil, --[[any]] -- maybe platform-dependent data to reduce operations
  }
  ```

- `ll.mdir` - string or nil, contains full mounted directory.

- `ll.mgme` - game or nil, contains mounted game.

- `ll.gameNew(configuration --[[string]], fileName --[[string, not used]], base --[[string]], directory --[[string]])`

  Creates game object (defined above) and returns it.

- `ll.gameAdd(conf, file, base, dir)` - same as `ll.gameNew`, but inserts game into `ll.games`.

- `ll.mount(game)` - mounts game.

  Can throw an error.

  Sets `ll.mdir` and `ll.mgme`.

- `ll.umount()` - unmounts game if can.

  Unsets `ll.mdir` and `ll.mgme`.

- `ll.home()` - calls `llHome`

# API

To simplify task to the game developers, this loader creates some global variables to use.

You can also use it without Love Loader by including `ll-min.lua` file.

`W` and `H`: width and height of the screen which controls by custom love.resize function.

`love.resize` and optional `resize` payload: functions called when screen size was changed and on booting.

`love.event.quit`: function to exit to main screen.

`llHome`: function called by `love.event.quit` (broken for now).

`llUsed`: is Love Loader (not minimal API) used.

`COLDIV`: color divider (1 or 255) to `love.graphics.setColor` function.

# Fill game information

To fill game information in game folder need to create `info.ll` file.

Syntax is `k = v` with `# comments`

```
# are there needed any comments?
name = New awesome game using Love Loader
desc = Some descripion about the game.
# main = optional main file instead of `main.lua`
pic = screen.png
pics = [ screen.png; screen2.png ] # wow arrays
```