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

Summary


That was a big chapter, but much was achieved. We were introduced to the Java HashMap class and the Singleton pattern which together enabled us to code the BitmapStore class to save memory by avoiding duplicate copies of Bitmap instances. We coded the component classes for all the platforms that Bob will walk on as well as the decorative component classes that will handle things like trees and stalagmites.

We coded a new GameObjectFactory that was like the previous project except it handles multiple different types of Transform. We saw and added the code for the level designs. They are represented by extending a parent Level class.

We also coded the slightly familiar GameObject, GameState, SoundEngine, PhysicsEngine and Renderer classes.

We learned about and coded the all-new Camera class which tracks the player's position, keeping him in the centre of all the action and translating floating point world coordinates to integer pixel coordinates.

Next, we coded the HUD and the UIController...