Sams Teach Yourself Android Game Programming in 24 Hours

by Harbour, Jonathan S.

• ISBN13: 9780672336041
• ISBN10: 0672336049
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-11-15
• Publisher: Sams Publishing

Summary

Now, there's a practical, hands-on guide to mastering 2D and 3D game development for Android 3.0 with the Android SDK and Eclipse IDE. One step at a time, this book teaches all facets of mobile game development, from game design and handling user input through publishing via Google's Android Market. Top game development author Jonathan S. Harbour starts with the absolute basics, making Android game development accessible even to programmers who've never written a game before. In just 24 sessions of one hour or less, he shows how to use free Android development tools to design and construct high-performance, highly-playable games for the newest Android smartphones and tablets. Among the topics covered in this book: * Getting started with the Android SDK, display system, and touch screen * Writing efficient object-oriented game code * Building superior game user interfaces * Integrating audio and GPS into your games * Controlling external applications and leveraging Java libraries * Storing game data, and much more Friendly, accessible, and conversational, this book delivers a practical grounding in Android game development without ever becoming overwhelming or intimidating. Each lesson builds on everything that's come before, helping readers learn core techniques from the ground up. Readers learn key concepts, syntax, and techniques through short, practical examples that reflect the realities of modern mobile game development.

Author Biography

Jonathan Harbour is a writer and instructor whose love for computers and video games dates back to the Commodore PET and Atari 2600 era. He has a Master’s in Information Systems Management. His portfolio site at www.jharbour.com includes a discussion forum. He also authored Sams Teach Yourself Windows Phone 7 Game Programming in 24 Hours. His love of science fiction led to the remake of a beloved classic video game with some friends, resulting in Starflight–The Lost Colony (www.starflightgame.com).

Table of Contents

Part I. Introduction
1. Introduction to Android
2. Getting Started with the Android SDK
3. Tapping Into the Display System
4. Getting Input with the Touch Screen

Part II. Graphics
5. Loading and Drawing Bitmaps
6. Building a Better Sprite
7. Drawing with Z-Index Sorting
8. Sprite Transformations
9. Sprite Color and Alpha Animation
10. Sprite Transform Animation
11. Sprite Frame Animation
12. Transforming Frame Animations
13. Versatile Particle Emitters

Part III. Gameplay
14. Linear and Angular Velocity
15. Collision Detection and Response
16. Doing Physics with Box2d
17. Managing Lists of Entities
18. Behavioral Entity A.I.
19. Creating a Graphical User Interface
20. Using the Audio System
21. Location Tracking Using GPS
22. Accessing File Storage for Game Data
23. Taking Advantage of Java Libraries
24. Publishing Your Game on the Android Market