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 Groupís 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.

Features

• Provides a complete guide to Java game development for Java programmers new to game development
• Focuses on Java specific topics such as performance issues and the virtual machine, garbage collection, Just-in-Time (JIT) compiler, native timers, and Java as a scripting language
• Covers 3D game development issues including the new Java bindings for OpenGL (JOGL), using JOGL to make a 3D Render Engine, and Collision Detection and Response
• Includes a chapter on "Local Area Networks for Java Games" by Jeff Kesselman, the Sun Game Server Architect, and "Game dbases and JDBC" by Sun Certified Java 2 Programmer, Will Bracken
• Explains genre specific issues for sports, puzzle, racing, strategy, action/adventure, and massively multiplayer online role-playing games
• Provides up-to-date information on J2SDK 1.5 in the book and on the companion site at www.charlesriver.com

On The CD-ROM

• FIGURES: all the figures from the book by chapter
• CODE: examples, libraries, and materials from each chapter
• SUN J2SDK: the latest version of the Sun J2SDK 1.4.2_04 as well as Java3D and JOGL for Linux, Mac OSX and Win32