I wish my textbooks were written like this! This book is the complete package for anyone who always wanted to write a game but didn't have an idea where to start. 'Black Art' begins by assumming you >*don't even know Java*<, and teaches all about variables, methods, object construction and inheritence in the first tenth of the book with incredibly compact examples that are both fun (bouncing rectangles and a sushi chef, cool!) and encourage you to mutate the code (the sushi chef burps when he bounces off walls!) to create other effects. Building a full game is not easy, but building a Galaga-type vertical shooter is covered over several chapters, with the game increasing in complexity each time. Collison detection, animation, mouse and keyboard imput, anti-flicker techniques, multiplay over the internet..it's all there, and the examples run on my Java 2 compiler with few quibbles. For icing, the last half of the book shows how to construct several arcade classics (Asteroids, Daleks, Growing Snake and Treats, Trivia match) ending in a 3D combat sim that automatically adjusts the framerate to avoid flickering. Forget classes, get this book!
