Book Image

Learning Java by Building Android Games - Second Edition

By : John Horton
Book Image

Learning Java by Building Android Games - Second Edition

By: John Horton

Overview of this book

Android is one of the most popular mobile operating systems presently. It uses the most popular programming language, Java, as the primary language for building apps of all types. However, this book is unlike other Android books in that it doesn’t assume that you already have Java proficiency. This new and expanded second edition of Learning Java by Building Android Games shows you how to start building Android games from scratch. The difficulty level will grow steadily as you explore key Java topics, such as variables, loops, methods, object oriented programming, and design patterns, including code and examples that are written for Java 9 and Android P. At each stage, you will put what you’ve learned into practice by developing a game. You will build games such as Minesweeper, Retro Pong, Bullet Hell, and Classic Snake and Scrolling Shooter games. In the later chapters, you will create a time-trial, open-world platform game. By the end of the book, you will not only have grasped Java and Android but will also have developed six cool games for the Android platform.
Table of Contents (30 chapters)
Learning Java by Building Android Games Second Edition
Contributors
Preface
Index

Planning the project


The Bullet Hell game is simple yet frantic to play. The game starts with Bob on the screen with a single bullet bouncing around the walls (edges of the screen).

The aim of the game is to survive as long as possible and the game will have a timer so the player knows how well they are doing.

If Bob is about to get hit the player can tap anywhere on the screen and Bob will instantly teleport to that location. However, each time Bob teleports, another bullet is spawned making the likelihood of collision and Bob needing to teleport again (and yet another bullet spawning), greater.

Clearly, this is a game which can only end badly for Bob. The game will also record the player's best performance (longest time) for the duration of the play session.

Note

When we put the finishing touches on the fifth project in Chapter 21 we will see how to persist the high score even beyond the player switching his device off.

Bob will have a 10-bullet shield which will count down with each hit...