www.it-ebooks.info www.it-ebooks.info Android ™ Game Programming FOR DUMmIES ‰ www.it-ebooks.info www.it-ebooks.info by Derek James Android ™ Game Programming FOR DUMmIES ‰ www.it-ebooks.info Android ™ Game Programming For Dummies ® Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774 www.wiley.com Copyright © 2013 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey Published simultaneously in Canada No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permit- ted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600. 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If this book refers to media such as a CD or DVD that is not included in the version you purchased, you may download this material at http://booksupport.wiley.com. For more information about Wiley products, visit www.wiley.com. Library of Congress Control Number: 2012950501 ISBN 978-1-118-02774-5 (pbk); 978-1-118-23599-7 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-26083-8 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-22218-8 (ebk) Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 www.it-ebooks.info About the Author Derek James is the founder and owner of Polyclef Software, one of the most successful Android indie game developers on Google Play. His apps and games have garnered over 1 million combined downloads, with multiple games receiving four-star or better rat- ings and holding top-ranking positions in their categories for many months. He was an early adopter of the Android platform and has been developing Android apps and games since the first device was released. He lives in Lafayette, Louisiana. You can follow Derek on Polyclef’s Twitter feed (@polyclefapps), his blog (http://polyclefsoftware.blogspot.com), and his website (polyclefsoftware.com). www.it-ebooks.info www.it-ebooks.info Dedication To Jenna, who was there by my side throughout the writing of this book. www.it-ebooks.info www.it-ebooks.info [...]... posted at www .dummies. com/go/androidgameprogrammingfordummies www.it-ebooks.info Part I Adopting the Android Gaming Mindset www.it-ebooks.info P In this part art I gets you ready to build amazing games by giving you the background you need to understand Android as a gaming platform — and then by walking you through all the necessary steps for designing your game I discuss the history of Android and... Android and mobile gaming to this point in time I contrast Android game development with other platforms and discuss its pros and cons This part also helps you think through all the necessary decisions before you begin to program, including the basics of designing a mobile game for Android www.it-ebooks.info 3 4 Android Game Programming For Dummies Part II: Starting to Program Part II walks you through... and mobile games are the hottest segment of mobile applications Android in particular is experiencing enormous growth That means your games will be available to millions of users around the world Android is also a great platform for developers, with flexibility and freedom unparalleled on other mobile platforms Seeing the Potential of the Android Platform Whether you want to make games for Android as... launch your own game studio, the platform has a lot of things going for it For starters: ✓ Android is an open platform That means fewer restrictions on what you have access to and what you can do ✓ fastest-growing mobile platform Android is the That means more people to download and play your games www.it-ebooks.info 10 Part I: Adopting the Android Gaming Mindset Where Android came from Android started... www.it-ebooks.info xvii xviii Android Game Programming For Dummies AppBrain 324 AndroLib 325 Your Website 326 BitTorrent Sites 326 Chapter 16: Ten Websites for Android Game Developers 327 Stack Overflow 328 Android Developer 329 anddev.org 330 Android Developers Blog 331 Appolicious 332 Android Tapp... cool, compelling games I’m going to help you make that happen Why You Need This Book Obviously you want to make games for Android, but you may not know where to get started You may not even have any programming experience — if you do, great! — but I don’t make too many assumptions about your level www.it-ebooks.info 2 Android Game Programming For Dummies of experience By default, Android apps are written... you have a great game idea, consider developing your game for both of the dominant smartphone platforms See Chapter 14 for tools that make crossplatform development easier How Android Is Suited to Mobile Gaming The biggest advantage to developing games for Android is the low level of investment needed to get started: ✓ associated development tools are free The SDK and all ✓ A number of game engines are... consider before firing up your computer to start coding www.it-ebooks.info Chapter 1 Getting to Know Android Gaming In This Chapter ▶ Learning the background of Android ▶ Approaching Android as a gaming platform ▶ Planning your first game Y ou love games and now want to make some of your own, specifically for smartphones and tablets You’re in luck! These are exciting times for the mobile game industry... possible These links connect you to valuable internet resources www.it-ebooks.info 5 6 Android Game Programming For Dummies Where to Go from Here Are you ready to start developing games for Android? I hope you enjoy the process as much as I enjoyed putting this book together for you I tried my best to make the subject informative and entertaining, but if you have any additional questions, you can contact... tools for building Android games I show you how to create a simple Android project and run the resulting app on both virtual and real devices I then walk you through the guts of an Android project to get a closer look at what all the pieces are and how they all fit together to make a game Part III: Making Your First Game: Crazy Eights Part III involves making your first game, the two-player card game . www.it-ebooks.info www.it-ebooks.info Android ™ Game Programming FOR DUMmIES ‰ www.it-ebooks.info www.it-ebooks.info by Derek James Android ™ Game Programming FOR DUMmIES ‰ www.it-ebooks.info Android ™ . 175 www.it-ebooks.info Android Game Programming For Dummies xvi Chapter 7: Finishing Your First Game 181 Ending Hands and Games 181 Ending a hand 181 Ending a game 189 Wrapping