Overview
J2ME Game Programming takes the reader from the birth of the game idea, through the hours of fun programming it, and then finally through the quest of getting the new game published. The main project in the book is the creation of the reader’s own J2ME game, including assessment of the game’s lifecycle, how to handle resources, various methods of drawing to the screen, optimizing memory usage, handling the users input, and even sharing high-scores online! The business models of the J2ME market are very independent-friendly, which is attractive to many programmers who are looking for the knowledge they need to make a few bucks on their own games. When working on a limited platform it is important to squeeze as much as possible out of those precious bytes; in this book readers will find the tools and source code they need to get the most out of the constrained resources and successfully create their own game.
Features
- Covers all the elements needed to create the reader’s own J2ME game. Readers learn the essentials of J2ME game development from the ground up, including issues involved in developing for multiple target devices and how to wrestle the jungle of device specific libraries and device capabilities.
- Addresses important issues of J2ME game development that have been given little, or no attention in other publications such as game play design tailored for mobile devices, supporting multiple target devices, squeezing traditional game techniques, and more.
- Readers additionally learn how to structure code and classes to achieve as small an application footprint as possible.
About the Author
Martin J. Wells is currently the Lead Programmer at Tasman Studios Pty Ltd, located in Sydney, Australia. Throughout his 15-year career he has worked on a wide variety of development projects. He is an expert in multiple computer languages, including Java from its origins, and has extensive experience in the development of high performance networking and multithreaded systems. His first game programming experience came from writing and selling his own games for the Tandy and Commodore microcomputers at the age of 12.
Synopsis
After reviewing the brief history of micro-device software development, this guide shows how to code games using Java 2 micro edition (J2ME), particularly for mobile phones. The author describes the APIs provided as part of Sun's J2ME SDK and some features available with device-specific libraries, then walks through the development of a full-scale action game. A basic knowledge of Java is required. The CD-ROM contains Nokia developer's suite 2.0 for J2ME and a demonstration version of Adobe Photoshop CS. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
Editorials
From Barnes & Noble
The Barnes & Noble ReviewBy 2006, the mobile games market will nearly quadruple, to $1.9 billion in the United States alone. The No. 1 platform for all those games? J2ME. If you’re a Java developer, that’s too much money to ignore. Grab J2ME Game Programming and get some of it.
Start with an overview of the market and the technology; then set up your J2ME development environment. Then, walk through the entire J2ME game development lifecycle, from concept onward: graphics, physics, environments, device-specific customization, localization, even multiplayer and 3D development. Don’t skip the book’s coverage of marketing and publishing: you need to understand these business models.
The CD contains a complete J2ME toolset, including the Nokia Developer’s Suite 2.0. Add your brilliant idea, and you’ll have all you need. Bill Camarda
Bill Camarda is a consultant, writer, and web/multimedia content developer. His 15 books include Special Edition Using Word 2003 and Upgrading & Fixing Networks for Dummies, Second Edition.