Advanced Java Game Programming (Paperback)

by David Wallace Croft (Author)
Key Phrases: game architecture, deployment frameworks, class loader, Java Web Start, Open Source, Animation Library (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
<p><i>Advanced Java Game Programming</i> teaches you how to create desktop and Internet computer games using the latest Java programming language techniques. Whereas other Java game programming books focus on introductory Java material, this book covers game programming for experienced Java developers.</p>

<p>David Wallace Croft, founder of the Game Developers Java Users Group (GameJUG), has assembled an open source reusable game library&emdash;a Swing animation engine that allows developers to use these techniques and put out new games very rapidly.</p>

<p>The open source game library also includes a reusable game deployment framework and a multiplayer networking library with HTTP firewall tunneling capability for applets. All of the code is open source, including the example games. The animation has been scrupulously tested and optimized in the Swing environment, and Croft clearly explains how the code works in great detail. The graphics and audio libraries used in the examples are public domain and may also be used royalty-free for creating new games.</p> <p>

About the Author
David Wallace Croft is a Java software architect with a professional background in Java game development.Croft earned his bachelor’s degree from the United States Air Force Academy in 1990 and his master’s degree from the California Institute of Technology in 1995. <p>

After a brief career in neural network chip design, he joined an online Internet multiplayer game startup in 1996 and has been programming in Java exclusively ever since.In 2004, he transitioned from faculty to student and is now pursuing a doctorate in cognition and neuroscience in the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences at the same university.

Product Details

• Paperback: 584 pages
• Publisher: Apress; 1 edition (April 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590591232
• ISBN-13: 978-1590591239
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #384,753 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Much filler, a little on Java game programming, December 3, 2005

By	calvinnme "Texan refugee" (Fredericksburg, Va) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)

You would assume by the title that this book was written for the experienced Java programmer who knows a little about game programming and wants to learn a lot more. You would be wrong. Instead the author wastes your time and his book's space with chapter after chapter of information that has nothing to do with Java game programming, much less advanced material. Chapter one, for example, is all over the map talking about XML, Ant, and upgrading to Java 1.4, which is no longer even the latest release of Java. Chapter two, which is labeled "Deployment Frameworks" talks about JAR files, applets, and Java Web Start. Other off topic subjects include a chapter each devoted to persistent data, the A* search algorithm, and HTTP tunneling. In fact, there are three chapters on HTTP. The few chapters that actually relate to Java game programming are not advanced at all to the experienced Java programmer who knows anything about graphics, Swing, and Java. Instead, the author spends his time talking about his own game programming framework that does nothing special and is constructed quite awkwardly from a software engineering perspective. There are two much better titles on the market right now. One is "Developing Games in Java" by David Brackeen, written in 2003. The other is "Killer Game Programming in Java" by Andrew Davison which was released in the summer of 2005. If you are serious about game programming in Java you should probably own them both, since they are both excellent and each has their advantages. For one, both show how to use Java's own features and API's such as Java3D and Java Sound to complement your game programs rather than reinventing the wheel such as this author does. I notice that Amazon has nothing on the table of contents for this book, so I offer it here for the purpose of completeness, and to help prove my point that most of the book is not applicable to game programming:
Chapter 1 Development Setup
Chapter 2 Deployment Frameworks
Chapter 3 Swing Animation
Chapter 4 Animation Library
Chapter 5 Advanced Graphics
Chapter 6 Persistent Data
Chapter 7 Game Architecture
Chapter 8 A* Algorithm
Chapter 9 HTTP Tunneling
Chapter 10 HTTP Polling
Chapter 11 HTTP Pulling
Appendix A Source Code Index
Appendix B Introducing CVS

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Book For Advanced Game Programmers, April 30, 2004

By	Tripper T McCarthy (Chino Hills, CA United States) - See all my reviews

As the title indicates, this book is for advanced Java game programmers. If you are looking for a book to introduce you to the fundamentals of Java game programming, you probably want to start off with another book first. But if you are an experienced game programmer, with a few games already under your belt, this book is a must read.

The author deals with numerous topics that are at the heart of effective game programming. The sections I found most pertinent were those covering deployment options, swing animation, frame rate issues, and http network communication. In each section the author identifies the potential problems and pitfalls, discusses several options to deal with these issues, and then proceeds to show through his framework how he addresses these problems. The writing is clear and concise, and the code samples from the author's framework illustrate the concepts well.

One thing that I don't like about a lot of Java game programming books is that they spend a lot of time talking about how to develop your game ideas. While this is important, many advanced game programmers are simply looking for sound advice to improve their underlining game design and performance. The author does a great job of speaking to this audience in dealing with the issues and problems we all face. Many of the issues discussed rang true to me as I remembered struggling to find solutions to the very same problems. The author's framework serves as a good foundation upon which to build your own games.

The only thing I wish was covered was the use of 3D in Java games. This is a huge topic with a number of pitfalls and probably would require a book of its own. This really doesn't detract from my overall view of the book though, as what the book does cover is covered very well.

Overall this book is very well done and I would recommend it to all serious Java game programmers.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Horrible book, December 10, 2005

By	Snail - See all my reviews

This has to be one of the worst programming books I've seen. I've been coding in java for a few years and recently got interested in trying to write some 2D games for fun so I got this book.

The book is only useful if you want to know about the authors 2D game framework (which is horrible by the way) otherwise its useless. You won't learn much about 2d graphics in java, how to deal with images best (such as volatile images vs managed images) or anything else that is useful when trying to write a game.

Also its beyond me why the example games are so awful....you'd think if you were trying to show off your framework you'd actually make something that was nice..instead of completely hideous.

A much better book is "Kill Game Programming in java" by Andrew Davison.