CoronaSdk
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Corona introduces an SDK starter, will raise Pro price to $599
Unity is probably the most popular tool for cross-platform development out there right now -- last week at GDC, I heard a lot from developers of all sizes about Unity and how it was helping them to build games for iOS and other platforms. But Corona also has a following out there. It's a Software Development Kit (SDK) that has been updated quite a bit lately, and I did hear a few devs say it's what they use to make their titles. One game development student even told me he's being taught how to use Corona specifically at school, so the tool definitely has its fans. Today, Corona has announced that it's hoping to make its platform more accessible than ever, with a new "SDK Starter" program that will allow developers to make and sell apps with Corona for completely free. The SDK is available as a free download, and as long as you don't need certain features (like in-app purchases or analytics services), you can publish apps made with Corona for exactly zero dollars. Some other SDKs require you to use a certain splash screen on your app or advertise the service in some other way, but Corona's new program doesn't even require that -- it's really free. Of course, the company does offer those other services, and more, with a Pro account. Corona also says it's "re-imagining" what Pro will mean for the service, which essentially means a price raise, to US$599 a year on May 1. The current subscription is $349, and anyone can still get one at that price until the first of May. Pro users will have access to in-app purchases and various analytics, as well as the option to use Corona's high-end graphic features, and the plugin system. But even if you're not interested in a full Pro subscription, it's nice to see that Corona's offering the free option for developers to try out the service for themselves. Unity, I would say, is still the leader in this area, and they offer a free version of the tools for developers to try. But you do need to pay to publish a commercial game on that platform, so maybe Corona will grab a few more users (and see a few more published titles) with this free opportunity.
Spriteloq helps Flash game developers move assets to Corona
Spriteloq is a new tool for Flash developers looking to make iOS games with the Corona SDK, now available on the project's website. The Corona SDK is a third-party software development kit used to put together iOS games and apps (we've covered it and spoken with the creators before). It allows devs to not only develop iOS apps, but also spread them across various other platforms, including Android and even platforms like the Nook and Kindle. Spriteloq is a brand new plug-in for that SDK that allows developers of Flash animations to simply pull them in, whole hog, without having to rebuild from scratch at all. You can watch a video of how it works on the website. You can simply export .SWF files from Flash, convert them using Spriteloq, then quickly bring them back into Corona to use in an actual app. It seems like a really quick and easy way to take a lot of work already done in the Flash environment and bring it over to a much more portable system. Spriteloq and Corona are both free downloads, though you'll need a license for each to actually produce a game or app with them. For the rest of us, this simply means we'll see even more Flash apps making their way over to the iOS platform.
360iDev: Ansca Mobile's Corona SDK
There are always a few SDK vendors lurking around any developer convention, and 360iDev is no different. However, unlike a lot of programs that work as a go-between for the iPhone Software Development Kit and some other language ("middleware," in developer-speak), Ansca Mobile isn't worried about their SDK at all. While there was a bit of a scare about non-Apple development kits earlier this week, Ansca assured us that Corona SDK is good to go; it allows a developer to write up an application directly in Corona with Lua (which is very similar to ActionScript), and then the app will deliver an iPhone, iPad, or even an Android application that is ready to go on the App Store. What does this mean for us gamers? It doesn't mean much -- there's not a lot of difference between a game written in Flash and ported across (like TapDots, out on the App Store right now) and a game written natively in Apple's Xcode, according to the Ansca folks (who actually worked as engineers on the original Flash Mobile implementation). The difference is much bigger for developers, though; they basically have to write just one app, and they can then port it across to another platform in just a scant few hours.
