Learn DEFOLD with Real Code Examples

Defold enables developers to create games using a component-based approach and Lua scripting.

It provides 2D rendering, physics, animation, audio, input handling, particle systems, and basic GUI functionality.

Defold is used by indie developers and commercial studios for mobile, desktop, and web games, with emphasis on performance and scalability.

Collections and game objects

Sprite and animation handling

Collision and physics

GUI system

Audio and particle systems

Collection: container of game objects

Game Object: entity with components

Component: modular behavior (sprite, script, collision)

Script: Lua code defining logic

GUI Scene: user interface layout

main/ - default collection and scripts

assets/ - images, sounds, particle effects

scripts/ - Lua scripts

gui/ - GUI scenes and components

build/ - compiled projects

Create a new project

Build collections and add game objects

Attach components to objects

Write Lua scripts for behavior

Add GUI elements, audio, and particle effects

Test and deploy to target platforms

Beginner: simple 2D game

Intermediate: physics-based game

Advanced: multiplayer or performance-optimized game

Expert: mobile-optimized large game

Enterprise: commercial cross-platform release

Defold vs Unity: Defold lightweight 2D vs Unity feature-rich 2D/3D

Defold vs Godot: Defold Lua vs Godot GDScript

Defold vs GameMaker Studio: Defold free/open-source vs GMS paid

Defold vs Construct 3: Defold code-based vs Construct visual scripting

Defold vs Cocos2d-x: Defold Lua scripting vs C++/Lua hybrid

2011 – Defold internal development at King

2016 – Public release of Defold engine

2017 – Updates with enhanced editor and live-reload

2019 – Open-source release

2025 – Current version with improved cross-platform support

Lua: scripting language

Collection: container of objects

Game Object: entity in collection

Component: modular part of object

Factory: object spawning system