Black Art of Java Game Programming

Gaming on the Web is the next blockbuster business. Have any doubts? The video game industry, which already eclipses Hollywood in terms of revenue, targets the Web as the next huge growth area. Software developers are busily porting games to the online environment, or developing entirely new ones. And numerous popular Web sites, many of which charge fees, are devoted to game entertainment.With Black Art of Java Game Programming, you'll learn how to create your own dynamic online entertainment using the Java programming language. Java heralds a revolutionary shift in gaming, away from the desktop and into the network. Using Java, you'll create games that people can download through the Web and play. Using Java, you'll enable players from around the world to compete against one another. As Java enters its maturity, the possibilities of creating innovative entertainment are endless, and the potential for profit unbounded.This book provides you with the foundations for creating Java games of all types, such as board games, video games, and networked/multiplayer games. We recommend that you have some basic knowledge of C, C++, or Java before diving in. The underlying thread of this book is that good objectoriented design and good Java games go hand in hand, so we devote the early chapters of the book to covering and applying object-oriented principles to graphics and games. Once the foundations have been laid, we build a wide variety of games. As you will see, game programming is almost a game in itself, and once you learn the basics, you'll be well equipped to write innovative games on your own. I was given this book by a friend, who received it from a friend, who received it from a friend. Now I'm going to give it away too, because it's useless. We are all professional programmers and two of the friends who have owned this book are now professional game programmers (using C++). We were hoping that this book would prove java to be a great way to code games for other platforms, but it doesnt even come close. If anything it's proved that java is not a game programming option. The book itself is a good intro to java programming, but the game examples are just too basic...so basic that you dont even want to look at them. I have a stack of commodore 64 game programming books with arcade games written in line basic that would put this book to shame... with only 32k of memory. Dont even get me started on the speed. The best game in the book is "javaroids" but it's choppy on my p3-500 with 512mb of ram. It doesnt matter though because it would be a challenge to want to play it for more than 10 seconds,especially in a 200x300 window, and I *love* asteroids and classic arcade games. How sad. Whats java good for? Moving data around between servers... but not games. If this book is offered to you for free, think hard about it but then decline. Step-by-step instructions, covering all the hottest techniques for creating dynamic games and interactive graphical environments using Java 1.1. -- Covers all the essentials of Java for graphics and game development -- Shows how to write interactive video games for the Web, playable by millions around the world -- Presents unique networking techniques for multi-user environments -- CD-ROM contains complete Java source and byte codes to the class libraries and games developed, plus games, third-party applets, and development tools Step-by-step instructions, covering all the hottest techniques for creating dynamic games and interactive graphical environments using Java 1.1.

• Covers all the essentials of Java for graphics and game development
• Shows how to write interactive video games for the Web, playable by millions around the world
• Presents unique networking techniques for multi-user environments

CD-ROM includes: Source code, examples and projects for the tutorial chapters. -- Games from the Game Gallery section of the book. -- The Java Developer's Kit (JDK) version 1.0.2 for Macintosh, Solaris, Windows 95, and windows NT. -- All the materials on the CD-ROM in ZIP or TAR format