Sams Teach Yourself Android Game Programming in 24 Hours

Description

• Copyright 2013
• Dimensions: 7" x 9-1/8"
• Edition: 1st

• Book
• ISBN-10: 0-672-33604-9
• ISBN-13: 978-0-672-33604-1

In just 24 sessions of one hour or less, Sams Teach Yourself Android Game Programming in 24 Hours will help you master mobile game development for Android 4. Using a straightforward, step-by-step approach, you’ll gain hands-on expertise with the entire process: from getting access to the hardware via the Android SDK to finishing a complete example game. You’ll learn to use the Android SDK and open source software to design and build fast, highly playable games for the newest Android smartphones and tablets. Every lesson builds on what you’ve already learned, giving you a rock-solid foundation for real-world success!

Step-by-step instructions carefully walk you through the most common Android game programming tasks.

Quizzes and exercises at the end of each chapter help you test your knowledge.

By the Way notes present interesting information related to the discussion.

Did You Know? tips offer advice or show you easier ways to perform tasks.

Watch Out! cautions alert you to possible problems and give you advice on how to avoid them.

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 http://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 (http://www.starflightgame.com).

Learn how to…

• Install and configure the free development tools, including the Android 4 SDK, Java Development Kit, and Eclipse (or NetBeans)
• Use the Android graphics system to bring your game characters to life
• Load and manage bitmaps, and use double buffering for better performance
• Incorporate timing and animation with threaded game loops
• Tap into the touch screen for user input
• Learn to use Android sensors such as the accelerometer, gyroscope, compass, light detector, and thermometer
• Integrate audio into your games using the media player
• Build your own game engine library to simplify gameplay code in your projects
• Animate games with sprites using atlas images and fast matrix transforms
• Employ object-oriented programming techniques using inheritance and data hiding
• Create an advanced animation system to add interesting behaviors to game objects
• Detect collisions and simulate realistic movement with trigonometry
• Experiment with an evolving engine coding technique that more naturally reflects how games are written

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Extras

Author's Site

Please visit the URL associated with Sams Teach Yourself Android Game Programming in 24 Hours: http://jharbour.com/

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Sample Content

Sample Pages

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Table of Contents

Introduction      xvii

Part I: Introduction

HOUR 1: Introducing Android 4     3

Hello, Android 4     3

About the Android SDK     7

About the Android NDK     8

Android Dev System Requirements     8

History of the Platform     9

Android Hardware Specifications     11

Summary     13

Q&A     13

Workshop     14

HOUR 2: Installing the Development Tools     15

Installing the JDK     16

Downloading the NetBeans Package     17

Installing the Package     17

Installing the Android SDK     19

Downloading the SDK     20

Installing the SDK     20

Running the Android SDK Manager     23

Installing the ADT Plug-in for Eclipse     25

Summary     28

Q&A     29

Workshop     29

HOUR 3: Configuring NetBeans and Eclipse with the Android SDK     31

Creating an Android Emulator Device     31

Plugging Android SDK into NetBeans     35

Adding Android SDK Support to Eclipse     40

Summary     45

Q&A     46

Workshop     46

Hour 4: Creating Your First Android Program     47

Creating a New Android Project     47

Building the New Project     52

Editing the “Hello, Android!” Program     60

Comparing the Emulator to an Android Device     63

Summary     72

Q&A     72

Workshop     72

Part II: Android Hardware

HOUR 5: Getting Started with Graphics     77

Understanding the Activity Class     77

Testing the Activity States     79

World’s Simplest Android Graphics Demo     86

Summary     90

Q&A     91

Workshop     91

HOUR 6: Drawing Basic Shapes and Text     93

Drawing Basic Vector Shapes     93

Drawing Text     99

Writing Code for Javadoc&

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