newt

Newt, a nimble 2D game framework for Lua!

Newt is a native script-driven runtime built in Odin. It exposes a clear, composable API to LuaJIT for building 2D games, tools, and interactive apps without drowning in giant engine workflows.

• runtime - game loop callbacks: init, update, and draw
• graphics - images, shapes, text, fonts, render targets, transforms, clipping, and blend modes
• audio - sounds, streams, voices, 2D spatial audio, mixing, panning, filters, and delay
• input - keyboard, mouse, cursor, scroll wheel, and text input
• gamepad - buttons, sticks, triggers, trigger edges, and rumble
• window - size, position, flags, cursor control, clipboard, and close handling
• filesystem - resource paths, working paths, file I/O, directory queries, and path operations
• raster - CPU pixelmaps, raster drawing, pixel read/write, image queries, Pixelmap I/O, and GPU upload
• grid - datagrids, pathfinding, distance fields, FOV, line of sight, region queries, and grid-field math
• random - seeded generators, random values, list randomization, and noise fields

See the API Reference for the full module documentation. For questions, and project chat, join the Discord.

Newt runs lua/main.lua from the project Resource Directory.

local x, y = 400, 300
local speed = 420

runtime.init = function()
    window.set_title("Welcome to Newt!")
end

runtime.update = function(dt)
    if input.down("a") or input.down("left")  then x = x - speed * dt end
    if input.down("d") or input.down("right") then x = x + speed * dt end
    if input.down("w") or input.down("up")    then y = y - speed * dt end
    if input.down("s") or input.down("down")  then y = y + speed * dt end
end

runtime.draw = function()
    graphics.clear(rgba(20, 30, 20))
    graphics.draw_text("WASD or arrow keys to move", 16, 16, rgba("#00FF00"))
    graphics.draw_rect(x, y, 32, 32, rgba("#00FF00"))
end

A tiny platformer: keyboard input, movement, gravity, tile collision, and shape drawing. (example script)

A compact roguelike visibility demo using Newt's grid module for cave generation, connected-region queries, and field of view. (example script)

See Getting Started for project setup and per-platform folder layout.

• GitHub Releases
• API Reference
• Examples

Prebuilt downloads for Windows and macOS are available on GitHub Releases.

MacOS users should run this before first launch:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /path/to/Newt.app

Otherwise, macOS may show a misleading message saying that the application is damaged.

• Windows (x64)
• macOS (arm64)
• Linux (not tested yet)

Newt is usable, stable, and actively developed. APIs may evolve as the project grows.

See LICENSE.