Java is gaining more and more acceptance in the game development community, and with good commercial-quality Java games on the market, it will become a definitive choice. Practical Java Game Programming identifies the technological path developers need to take to make this happen. It explores and illustrates cutting-edge Java game programming concepts and techniques through specific explanations from existing Java game projects, with fully executable example code. Intended for both Java programmers new to game development, and for game programmers interested in Java, the book offers usage patterns that leverage Java’s strengths and points out weaknesses to avoid. It teaches Java programmers how to deliver outstanding games and details the specific issues in Java to make game development straightforward and efficient.
Java has always provided a powerful platform on which to develop interactive content, and with the addition of the Java Technology Group’s gaming APIs, Java becomes a third-party platform choice and delivery model for game developers. Each chapter includes working code examples that can stand alone for easy implementation into one’s own projects, or be used toward the creation of a fully functional demo game. This allows beginning programmers to follow the topics step-by-step, and more experienced programmers to use specific areas of interest. Although this book is centered on Java and the platform technologies, its message is for developers to maintain a wide view regarding new technologies, as well as to keep creative ingenuity intact while implementing games on the Java platform.
Chapter 1 Java as a Game Platform
Chapter 2 Fundamentals of Game Programming
Chapter 3 2D Graphics Programming
Chapter 4 Creating Game Audio Using Java
Chapter 5 Java IO and NIO
Chapter 6 Performance and the Java Virtual Machine
Chapter 7 Local Area Networking for Java Games
Chapter 8 Faster math
Chapter 9 Game Databases and JDBC
Chapter 10 Java as a Scrip-ting Language
Chapter 11 Java Native Interface
Chapter 12 3D Graphics Foundations
Chapter 13 Java Bindings to OpenGL (JOGL)
Chapter 14 Overlays and Menus Using JOGL
Chapter 15 3D Render Engine Using JOGL
Chapter 16 3D Collision Detection and Response
About the CD-ROM
About the Author:
Dustin Clingman (Oviedo, FL) is a professor of Game Design and Development at Full Sail Real World Education and President of the game studio Zeitgeist Games, Inc. (www.zeitgeistgames.com). He frequently speaks at IGDA events and conferences around the country. Shawn Kendall (Winter Park, FL) is the professor for Real Time 3D Graphics at Full Sail and has developed cutting edge Java and Java3D based game technology demos for both Full Sail and Sun Microsystems. He is the founder of Immediate Mode Interactive, LLC, a Java game technology company (www.imilabs.com). Syrus Mesdaghi (Orlando, FL) is the professor for the A.I. course at Full Sail, has developed cutting edge game technology for both Full Sail and Sun Microsystems and is active in Java gaming and A.I. communities.