If you have been reading any of the previous posts in this blog, you know that I have been creating games over the last couple years using a programming language called Monkey-X. It is a nice straightforward language based on Basic. Today we will go through some of the strengths Monkey-X offers and how to get Monkey-X setup on your computer so you can start creating games with it too.
Why Use Monkey-X
One of the main reasons I use Monkey-X is that I have found that for some reason I am a little extra productive in it. I don’t know if it is the simple language syntax or the ease of creating a build of the game and testing it for fast feedback. It’s probably a combination of the two and a few other things.
Additionally there is a great little community built around what is referred to as the Blitz Basic family of programming languages (the language Monkey-X came from). Guides, how to’s, a forum, and at least 1 Youtube playlist to help you get started and help you when you get stuck.
This community has also developed plugins and libraries to help you take care of some of the more routine functions and tasks that you will be performing as you create games. We will discuss these later on.
One of the more powerful reasons I even looked into using Monkey-X at all is that it builds to tons of platforms. All the major desktops (Windows, OSX, Linux), HTML5 for web, mobile (Android and iOS), even XNA so it can run on an XBox, as well as PSM for the Playstation Vita.
The final reason it is good to get started making games with Monkey-X is the cost. It is completely free to download and make games for the HTML5 target which is perfect for a beginner. And when you are ready to upgrade to build to more platforms, the Pro version is fairly inexpensive (~$40 USD at the time of this writing). If you want a little more, there is a fancier IDE and some other addons you can purchase as well.
Installing Monkey-X
Monkey-X runs on pretty much any desktop OS. Whether you are using Windows, OSX, or Linux you should be able to install Monkey-X and start making games.
Installing Monkey-X On Windows
- Visit the Monkey-X website and create a free account. You will need this to get the download.
- Sign in and visit the Monkey-X download page and download the free version of Monkey-X (or the pro version if you have purchased it). Hint: the free download is at the bottom of the page.
- Unzip the downloaded folder and put the files wherever you want.
- (Optional) Right-click the Monkey-X executable file and create a shortcut to your desktop to make accessing it easier
Installing Monkey-X On OSX/Mac
- Visit the Monkey-X website and create a free account. You will need this to get the download.
- Sign in and visit the Monkey-X download page and download the free version of Monkey-X (or the pro version if you have purchased it). Hint: the free download is at the bottom of the page.
- When the file has finished downloading, open in Finder and drag it to the Application folder. NOTE: You may need to change your systems security settings to allow apps from anywhere to be installed in order for it to work.
Installing Monkey-X On Ubuntu
For now I am just going to leave a link to this post someone in the Monkey-X community created for installing on Linux. If I get enough requests, I will do a walkthrough myself on setting up Monkey-X on a fresh Ubuntu install. If you would like that, shoot me an email.
Where To Look If You Get Stuck
If you have any trouble a few good places to look for help are the Monkey-X forums and sites like Stack Overflow. Also, you can email me and I will try to help you get up and running with Monkey-X.