= Getting Started with Rubygame

== About Rubygame

Rubygame is a combination extension and library for the Ruby language,
designed for creating computer games (and having fun doing it!).
As an extension, it provides an interface to the Simple DirectMedia Library
(SDL) and its companion libraries SDL_gfx, SDL_image, SDL_ttf, and SDL_mixer.
As a Ruby library, it provides classes/modules which implement some useful
concepts such as Sprites, Event Queues, and rasterized fonts (SFont).

== Suggested Order

To get acquainted with Rubygame, we recommend exploring the available classes
and modules in this order.

First, take a look at the most fundamental classes: 
- Rubygame::Screen (the display window, what the user sees)
- Rubygame::Surface (stores image data which can be copied to the Screen)
- Rubygame::Rect (stores a rectangular area, like part of the Screen)

As a next step, read about the event Queue and the hardware events, which
allow you to take keyboard and mouse input, among other things.
- Rubygame::EventQueue (stores events for processing)
- Rubygame::KeyDownEvent (keyboard button is pressed)
- Rubygame::KeyUpEvent (keyboard button is released)
- Rubygame::MouseDownEvent (mouse button is clicked)
- Rubygame::MouseUpEvent (mouse button is released)
- Rubygame::MouseMotionEvent (mouse cursor is moved)
- Rubygame::QuitEvent (user tries to close the window)
- Rubygame::JoyDownEvent (joystick button is pressed)
- Rubygame::JoyUpEvent (joystick button is released)
- Rubygame::JoyAxisEvent (joystick axis is moved)
- Rubygame::JoyBallEvent (joystick trackball is moved)
- Rubygame::JoyHatEvent (joystick 8-directional hat switch is moved)
- Rubygame::ActiveEvent (the Screen gets keyboard and/or mouse focus)
- Rubygame::ResizeEvent (the Screen is resized)
- Rubygame::ExposeEvent (the Screen is redrawn, mostly for OpenGL)

Finally, familiarize yourself with:
- Rubygame::Clock for monitoring and controlling framerate to save resources
- Rubygame::Sprites for an easy-to-use yet flexible on-screen object framework
- Rubygame::TTF and Rubygame::SFont for rendering text
- Rubygame::GL for hardware-accelerated 3D graphics with OpenGL

There are several sample applications in the rubygame/samples/ directory
packaged with Rubygame which can also help you get started.