Chapter 1, Setting Up an AndEngine Project, introduces AndEngine and guides you through the installation of all the necessary software. At the end of the chapter, an empty AndEngine skeleton application is created.

Chapter 2, Game Concept and Assets, introduces the idea of the game that will be created. It begins with outlining the game rules, followed by gathering the game assets and scene diagram, and ends with a completed blueprint for the game.

Chapter 3, From Assets to Entities, explains loading the assets into memory and how to use them in a game. It shows a basic way to display an image on the screen by creating a game entity. It also explains the basic terms and different ways of storing images in memory, considering memory and quality requirements.

Chapter 4, HUD and Text Display, deals with loading fonts, national alphabets, and outputting text. It also explains heads-up display (HUD) and its usage in a game. The way to store characters and most common problems associated with it are explained as well.

Chapter 5, Basic Interactions, teaches you about basic animation and controls in AndEngine. Accelerometer and touchscreen are introduced along with collision detection. In this chapter, the game becomes interactive.

Chapter 6, Physics, introduces the AndEngine Box2D extension that takes care of physics simulation. Accelerometer readings are combined with procedural animation governed by the physics engine to create a better way of controlling the main character.

Chapter 7, Detecting Collisions and Reacting to Events, adds more interactivity and uses the physics engine's optimized collision detection. Game events are created and handled and playing sounds is explained too.

Chapter 8, Advanced Physics, introduces concepts that are not necessary for the game, but nevertheless important. Multiple fixture bodies that can make simulation more precise and realistic are introduced. Collision filtering and its use as an optimization technique is described. Finally, all physics engine joints are listed and explained.

Chapter 9, Adding a Menu and Splash Scene, describes exactly what the title suggests. In this chapter, a splash scene that is shown at the start of the game is added and a way to load resources in the background is described. Also, a simple menu scene is added as an entry point to the game.

Chapter 10, Polishing the Game, explores a few ways to polish the game and make it more interesting by adding music, more animations, and some special effects. A standalone fire and smoke particle engine example is created.

Chapter 11, Testing, Publishing, and What's Next, shares insights about joining a community of developers, user testing, debugging, and publishing the game.

Learning AndEngine is meant for complete beginners in Android game development, but you should know the fundamentals of Java programming. Having some knowledge of the Android platform is beneficial but not required and no knowledge of AndEngine is expected.

All the required software applications are open source and can be obtained for free from the Internet. Therefore, an Internet connection is required. The first chapter of the book helps you download the software and set your environment.

To follow the tutorial in this book, you should own an Android phone or tablet and a PC or a Mac that is able to run the Eclipse IDE and Android SDK. The examples can be run on an Android emulator but it is not recommended.

If you are an aspiring game developer who is looking for a quick way into the Android game developer world, this is the book for you! This book is most beneficial for those who haven't created any games yet. More advanced users who have made a game in AndEngine already will most likely find the book to be very basic.

In this book, you will find a number of styles of text that distinguish between different kinds of information. Here are some examples of these styles, and an explanation of their meaning.

Code words in text, database table names, folder names, filenames, file extensions, pathnames, dummy URLs, user input, and Twitter handles are shown as follows: "The versionName value will be displayed in the store listing."

A block of code is set as follows:

@Override
public void populate() {
  ...
  engine.enableAccelerationSensor(activity, this);
}

When we wish to draw your attention to a particular part of a code block, the relevant lines or items are set in bold:

if (player.isDead()) {
  endGameText.setVisible(true);
  if (score > activity.getHiScore()) {
    activity.setHiScore(score);
  }
}

Any command-line input or output is written as follows:

adb install LearningAndEngine.apk

New terms and important words are shown in bold. Words that you see on the screen, in menus or dialog boxes for example, appear in the text like this: "The option is located in the main button bar and in the Window menu."

Feedback from our readers is always welcome. Let us know what you think about this book—what you liked or may have disliked. Reader feedback is important for us to develop titles that you really get the most out of.

To send us general feedback, simply send an e-mail to <[email protected]>, and mention the book title via the subject of your message.

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