Book Image

Learning Java by Building Android Games - Third Edition

By : John Horton
5 (1)
Book Image

Learning Java by Building Android Games - Third Edition

5 (1)
By: John Horton

Overview of this book

Android is one of the most popular mobile operating systems today. It uses the most popular programming language, Java, as one of the primary languages for building apps of all types. Unlike most other Android books, this book doesn’t assume that you have any prior knowledge of Java programming, instead helps you get started with building Android games as a beginner. This new, improved, and updated third edition of Learning Java by Building Android Games helps you to build Android games from scratch. Once you've got to grips with the fundamentals, the difficulty level increases steadily as you explore key Java topics, such as variables, loops, methods, object-oriented programming (OOP), and design patterns while working with up-to-date code and supporting examples. At each stage, you'll be able to test your understanding by implementing the concepts that you’ve learned to develop a game. Toward the end, you’ll build games such as Sub Hunter, Retro Pong, Bullet Hell, Classic Snake, and Scrolling Shooter. By the end of this Java book, you'll not only have a solid understanding of Java and Android basics but will also have developed five cool games for the Android platform.
Table of Contents (24 chapters)

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 (the edge of the screen):

Figure 12.1 – Character in the Bullet Hell game

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:

Figure 12.2 – Seconds survived in the game

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:

Figure 12.3 – Teleporting Bob

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