The Beginner's Guide to Android Game Development

I actually read through this book last year (around this time), and now after using the game framework to start my first big project, I decided a good review was well overdue. Of course, much has changed in the Android world over the past 2 years, but the essential takeaway hasn't: learning to build a simple game development framework for Android games!Even though I already had some Java and Android experience, the book is very capable of bringing an absolute beginner up to speed with the essentials of Java (and object-oriented) programming, which is absolutely necessary for a smooth transition into Android development.As a newbie to game development, the main benefit for me was learning to build a simple game development framework. While others feel the name of the book does not accurately represent the contents of the book, I'd say that Mr. Cho is spot on. In terms of what you will know at the end of the book, the name is correct.The game framework is clear, concise and easy to modify for a different game style without having to change much (or any) of the core architecture. I highly recommend using this game framework and attempting to build a completely different style of game (such as a shooter or a puzzle game), as it will deepen your understanding of it and give you new problems to solve! While there are simplifications in the framework, the book's companion site has additional resources.I also like that, at the end of the book, Mr. Cho points you in new directions for continued learning. I personally will be exploring libGDX next, and may be transitioning my current project over to it.If you're looking for a good introduction to simple game development on Android, this book is for you!

I am a casual programmer--mainly programming as a hobby. I had my first exposure to Java programming around 1998, then again in 2004. In 1998 I was testing a java console designed to show real time events being stored in a MySQL database. It didn't cut it because it was extremely slow. Suffice it to say that it swayed me away from being a JAVA fan. In 2004 I got involved on a special project where I tested a java program designed to control a robot. I developed Java harness to test it. The program itself was pretty cool, but I had issues with my test harness as I wrote it without using event listeners and such. Instead I had a loop the constantly checked for an event. When I ran this it quickly froze my computer. The software engineer I was working with told me it was due to the right loop.Fast forward to 2016. I have the urge to program again. After seeing the success of Minecraft, which was written in Java, I thought that, JAVA has evolved to a level that it is a serious programming language contender. Of course I'm at least 5 years behind in realizing this. Also, as it turns out, JAVA is the programming language used on Android devices.To learn how to program on Android, I needed a way to learn it in a fun way. So I looked for a book on Amazon that provided a Java refresher and an introduction to Android development.After a long search, and after buying several book on the subject matter, I finally settled on this book.I'm now on Chapter 6. At this point in the book, I've received a good Java refresher while learning about the various classes needed to create a game using a game loop. James Cho thus far has done a great job at building up my understanding of the basic game framework down to the very lines of code that help keep the animation smooth. His presentation and explanation of how the code works were very clear.I've peeked at chapter 7 and I see that I will be updating the game into an android application.Once I finish the book, I will update my review.

This author has the learner in mind !This author has the learner in mind !!This author has the learner in mind !!!It's unbeatable...a beginner material that takes you from grass to grace - from zero knowledge through programming basics in java, OOP techniques, Android platform coding techniques, actual step by step game implementations, smoothly-connected running codes, porting from standard java PC games to Android with minimal code adjustments, optimization/maintenance,publishing/releasing your game . I can compare the energy behind this book as that of the-most-read " Android Programming - Big Nerd Ranch Guide". Both authors have the learner in mind !!!!! . Both deserve my 5 * . FYI, I hardly write reviews, but I'm so impressed with the way this book is laid out. You could tell he loves his craft so deeply. Please buy this book, if you want a single book to read for a 2D game programming. You may also like "Android game programming - by John Horton" where I really enjoyed the game story scripting that manifests into actual game, using Tiles . See you on Google play !

This was a very helpful book for a newbie programmer. I went on to learn libGDX after this and this book was a good step to take first. I would say this is good for learning how to make a basic game, but it will be lacking in a few important ways. This book doesn't teach openGL and other things necessary to make a modern, money producing game, but it is a great start. You could make some older arcade games after reading this book pretty easily. If you already know how to do that, then this book may not help you much. The next step after this is, for a newbie, is libGDX or AndEngine or other pre-made framework, in my opinion.