Beginning Android Tablet Games Programming

✍ Scribed by Jeremy Kerfs

• Publisher: Apress
• Year: 2011
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 197
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Android games programmers now have the power to write games for Android tablets. Beginning Android Tablet Games Programming explains how to enhance your Android games using the new tablet interface and the additional screen estate. You'll learn how to bring your programming skills up to date and into a world where touch screens, games physics, and artificial intelligence come together in new and surprising ways.

Beginning Android Tablet Games Programming shows how to quickly and easily set up an Android development environment―in no time at all, you'll be programming away. You'll begin with some simple games using sprites and choreographed movement. Next, you'll learn how to handle user input in the modern age of touch screens and motion.

Along the way, you'll discover how to use that extra screen space on a tablet to provide more relaxed and more interesting user interactions in your games. You'll learn how to use sound and music, for instance, to make your application menus more user-friendly.

The Android operating system has recently acquired multicore functionality to meet the demands of multicore devices now entering the tablet market. With Beginning Android Tablet Games Programming, you'll discover how to harness that new power with your games programming through more process-demanding and fun techniques, including physics modeling, rich game world representation, artificial intelligence, and multiplayer interactions. 

Throughout each chapter of Beginning Android Tablet Games Programming, you'll find code that you can add or adapt to your own games to create the components you want. You can also work up to wrapping everything together into a complete Mario-type example game.

Finally, when you have your first games ready, learn how developers have released their games and made a profit. You'll find tips on how to present your games in the Android and other application markets, and a solid approach to games marketing and monetization.

✦ Table of Contents

Title Page
Copyright Page
Contents at a Glance
Table of Contents
About the Author
About the Technical Reviewer
Acknowledgments
CHAPER 1 Setting Up Android 3.0 Java Development
What Is Android?
The Beginnings of Android
Android 3.0 Features
What You Need to Create Android Games
What You Need to Know
What You Need for a Platform
Setting Up Your Android Tablet Programming Environment
Installing the Java JDK
Installing the Eclipse IDE
Installing the Android SDK
Adding Android Tools and a Virtual Device to Eclipse
Putting Your Tools to the Test
Creating an Android Project
Exploring the Android Project in Eclipse
Creating a Virtual Android Device
Running the App
Making Your First Changes to the App
Summary
CHAPTER 2 Creating Simple Games with Sprites and Movement
Working with Images
Creating a Image Display Surface
How the Android View Class Works
How Android Renders Images
Rendering an Image
Working with Sprites
Rendering Sprites
Building a Game Loop
Creating a Sprite
Running a Game
Getting a Professional Look
Implementing Timing and Complex Motion
Detecting Collisions
Summary
CHAPTER 3 Gathering User Input
Understanding Tablet Input Options
Understanding Tablet Input
Responding to Touch
Responding to Gestures
Using Input Queues
Responding to Sensor Data
Using Sensor Data
Summary
CHAPTER 4 Adding Sound Effects, Music, andVideo
Getting Ready for Sounds
Finding and Adding Sound Effects
Playing a Sound Effect
Managing Multiple Sound Effects
Matching Sound Effects to Events
Adding Music
Adding Video
Managing Music
Summary
CHAPTER 5 One-Player Game with Obstacles
Planning a One-Player Game: AllTogether
Building the One-Player Game
Upgrading the Game Sprites
Adding Finer Motion Control
Detecting Collisions Between Sprites
Adding Multiple Sprites
Adding Images for the Sprites
Adding a Reward for Winning the Game
Tracking the State of Game Sprites
Summary
CHAPTER 6 A Ball and Paddle Game
Getting Started
Gathering Game Resources
Creating a New Project
Preparing the Game Environment
Modifying SpriteObject.java
Modifying GameView.java
Adding Collision Detection and Event Handling
Adding Touch, Sound, and Rewards
Adding Touch Control of the Paddle
Adding Sound
Instantiating the Blocks
Removing Dead Blocks
Summary
CHAPTER 7 Building a Two-Player Game
Understanding Multiplayer Games
Multiplayer Games through a Server
Multiplayer Games with Peer-to-Peer
Choosing a Multiplayer Method
Building a Two-Player Peer-to-Peer Game
Adding Bluetooth Connections
Managing Bluetooth Connections
Adapting the Game Code for Two Players
Testing the Game
Summary
CHAPTER 8 A One-Player Strategy Game
Part I: Building the Game
Introducing Harbor Defender
Assembling Harbor Defender
Constructing the Pier
Adding the Ground and Castle
Creating the Boats
Adding Cannons
Adding Images
Debugging Harbor Defender
Summary
CHAPTER 9 A One-Player Strategy Game
Part 2: Coding the Game
Enhancing the Game Sprites
Creating the User Controls
Putting Everything on the Screen
Deploying and Managing the Attack Boats
Firing the Cannons
Managing Game Outcomes
Analyzing the Game
Summary
CHAPTER 10 Publishing the Game
Polishing the Application
Adding an Splash Screen
Responding to a Start Game Button Press
Packaging the Game
Deploying the Game
Opening a Google Developer Account
Uploading a Game to Google Market
Marketing Your Game
Summary
APPENDIX A Testing Android Games on a Real Device
Index