Java Game Programming

Companion web site available.

Although the number of commercial Java games is still small compared to those written in C or C++, the market is expanding rapidly. Recent updates to Java make it faster and easier to create powerful gaming applications-particularly Java 3D-is fueling an explosive growth in Java games. Java games like Puzzle Pirates, Chrome, Star Wars Galaxies, Runescape, Alien Flux, Kingdom of Wars, Law and Order II, Roboforge, Tom Clancy's Politika, and scores of others have earned awards and become bestsellers.Java developers new to graphics and game programming, as well as game developers new to Java 3D, will find Killer Game Programming in Java invaluable. This new book is a practical introduction to the latest Java graphics and game programming technologies and techniques. It is the first book to thoroughly cover Java's 3D capabilities for all types of graphics and game development projects.Killer Game Programming in Java is a comprehensive guide to everything you need to know to program cool, testosterone-drenched Java games. It will give you reusable techniques to create everything from fast, full-screen action games to multiplayer 3D games. In addition to the most thorough coverage of Java 3D available, Killer Game Programming in Java also clearly details the older, better-known 2D APIs, 3D sprites, animated 3D sprites, first-person shooter programming, sound, fractals, and networked games. Killer Game Programming in Java is a must-have for anyone who wants to create adrenaline-fueled games in Java.

Advanced Java Game Programming teaches you how to create desktop and Internet computer games using the latest Java programming language techniques. Whereas other Java game programming books focus on introductory Java material, this book covers game programming for experienced Java developers. David Wallace Croft, founder of the Game Developers Java Users Group (GameJUG), has assembled an open-source reusable game library—a Swing animation engine that allows developers to use these techniques and put out new games very rapidly. The open-source game library also includes a reusable game deployment framework and a multiplayer networking library with HTTP firewall tunneling capability for applets. All of the code is open source, including the example games. The animation has been scrupulously tested and optimized in the Swing environment, and Croft clearly explains how the code works in great detail. The graphics and audio libraries used in the examples are public domain and may also be used royalty-free for creating new games.

Intermediate programmers with an interest in game development will benefit from this book that is fast-paced enough for experienced programmers but detailed enough for beginners.

Learn to design and create video games using the Java programming language and the LibGDX software library. Working through the examples in this book, you will create 12 game prototypes in a variety of popular genres, from collection-based and shoot-em-up arcade games to side-scrolling platformers and sword-fighting adventure games. With the flexibility provided by LibGDX, specialized genres such as card games, rhythm games, and visual novels are also covered in this book. Major updates in this edition include chapters covering advanced topics such as alternative sources of user input, procedural content generation, and advanced graphics. Appendices containing examples for game design documentation and a complete JavaDoc style listing of the extension classes developed in the book have also been added. What You Will Learn Create 12 complete video game projects Master advanced Java programming concepts, including data structures, encapsulation, inheritance, and algorithms, in the context of game development Gain practical experience with game design topics, including user interface design, gameplay balancing, and randomized content Integrate third-party components into projects, such as particle effects, tilemaps, and gamepad controllers Who This Book Is For The target audience has a desire to make video games, and an introductory level knowledge of basic Java programming. In particular, the reader need only be familiar with: variables, conditional statements, loops, and be able to write methods to accomplish simple tasks and classes to store related data.

The biggest challenge facing many game programmers is completing their game. Most game projects fizzle out, overwhelmed by the complexity of their own code. Game Programming Patterns tackles that exact problem. Based on years of experience in shipped AAA titles, this book collects proven patterns to untangle and optimize your game, organized as independent recipes so you can pick just the patterns you need. You will learn how to write a robust game loop, how to organize your entities using components, and take advantage of the CPUs cache to improve your performance. You'll dive deep into how scripting engines encode behavior, how quadtrees and other spatial partitions optimize your engine, and how other classic design patterns can be used in games.

CD-ROM includes: Source code, examples and projects for the tutorial chapters. -- Games from the Game Gallery section of the book. -- The Java Developer's Kit (JDK) version 1.0.2 for Macintosh, Solaris, Windows 95, and windows NT. -- All the materials on the CD-ROM in ZIP or TAR format.

Intended for programmers producing games for the Internet, this manual details the development of four full Internet games. Assuming some working knowledge of Java, the text focuses on the advanced features of game development and includes a CD-Rom that offers sample applications and demo software.

Beginning Java 8 Games Development, written by Java expert and author Wallace Jackson, teaches you the fundamentals of building a highly illustrative game using the Java 8 programming language. In this book, you'll employ open source software as tools to help you quickly and efficiently build your Java game applications. You'll learn how to utilize vector and bit-wise graphics; create sprites and sprite animations; handle events; process inputs; create and insert multimedia and audio files; and more. Furthermore, you'll learn about JavaFX 8, now integrated into Java 8 and which gives you additional APIs that will make your game application more fun and dynamic as well as give it a smaller foot-print; so, your game application can run on your PC, mobile and embedded devices. After reading and using this tutorial, you'll come away with a cool Java-based 2D game application template that you can re-use and apply to your own game making ambitions or for fun.

-- Provides exhaustive coverage of J2ME games, extensions, portable devices and competitive environments.