Java Game Development with Libgdx: From Beginner to Professional - Paperback

by Lee Stemkoski (Author)

Learn to design and create video games using the Java programming language and the LibGDX software library. Working through the examples in this book, you will create 12 game prototypes in a variety of popular genres, from collection-based and shoot-em-up arcade games to side-scrolling platformers and sword-fighting adventure games. With the flexibility provided by LibGDX, specialized genres such as card games, rhythm games, and visual novels are also covered in this book.
Major updates in this edition include chapters covering advanced topics such as alternative sources of user input, procedural content generation, and advanced graphics. Appendices containing examples for game design documentation and a complete JavaDoc style listing of the extension classes developed in the book have also been added.

What You Will Learn

• Create 12 complete video game projects
  
• Master advanced Javaprogramming concepts, including data structures, encapsulation, inheritance, and algorithms, in the context of game development
• Gain practical experience with game design topics, including user interface design, gameplay balancing, and randomized content
• Integrate third-party components into projects, such as particle effects, tilemaps, and gamepad controllers

Who This Book Is For
The target audience has a desire to make video games, and an introductory level knowledge of basic Java programming. In particular, the reader need only be familiar with: variables, conditional statements, loops, and be able to write methods to accomplish simple tasks and classes to store related data.

Back Jacket

Learn to design and create video games using the Java programming language and the LibGDX software library. Working through the examples in this book, you will create 12 game prototypes in a variety of popular genres, from collection-based and shoot-em-up arcade games to side-scrolling platformers and sword-fighting adventure games. With the flexibility provided by LibGDX, specialized genres such as card games, rhythm games, and visual novels are also covered in this book.
Major updates in this edition include chapters covering advanced topics such as alternative sources of user input, procedural content generation, and advanced graphics. Appendices containing examples for game design documentation and a complete JavaDoc style listing of the extension classes developed in the book have also been added.

What You Will Learn:

• Create 12 complete video game projects
  
• Advanced Java programming concepts, includ

ing data structures, encapsulation, inheritance, and algorithms, in the context of game development

Gain practical experience with game design topics, including user interface design, gameplay balancing, and randomized content

How to integrate third-party components into projects, such as particle effects, tilemaps, and gamepad controllers

Author Biography

Lee Stemkoski is a professor of computer science and mathematics. He earned his Ph.D. from Dartmouth College in 2006. He has been teaching at the college level since then, with an emphasis on Java programming, computer graphics, and video game development for the past eight years. He has refined the set of topics covered and the progression of material in this book based on years of experience helping students overcome their difficulties with these particular topics. He has authored another game development book, Game Development with Construct 2, in addition to many scholarly articles and game development tutorials.