Developing Games in Java (New Riders Games) [ペーパーバック]

I've reviewed a few other Java game programming books and they're pretty much all stinkers. This one is head and shoulders and feet above the others. And it assumes you know at least some Java and don't have to be hand-held through a dozen chapters of the language basics before they think you're competent enough to get a peek at writing a lame card game or bouncing-ball applet like the other books do. I've only spent a day with this book and have not attempted to compile any code, so keep that in mind while reading the rest of this review. Speaking of code, this is not a code-listing book. It definitely has code in it and dissects it, but the ratio of text to code is very appropriate.

Right off the bat in chapter 1 David starts with a chapter on Threads! Then he moves on to several chapters of 2D graphics and animation and builds a complete 2D scroller in chapter 5! You're probably liking what you're hearing so far if you've read any of the other java game programming books. The next several chapters spend some time on understanding and then programming 3D graphics (great chapters, BTW), then moves on to collision detection, AI and pathfinding, game scripting (using BeanShell - excellent choice), optimization, and more. Somewhere in there is a chapter on multiplayer networking.

All chapters build on the previous ones. The examples all seem worthwhile and demonstrate the concepts and techniques. This is real meat & potatoes game programming, and as the author points out, just happens to be implemented in Java. It looks to me like this guy really knows Java well (I'm a professional Java/J2EE programmer) and points out everything you need to know about using it to implement the game programming concepts.

A few minor nits and notes. The focus of the book is on full-screen applications, not applets or windowed games. You can apply what you've learned to those two, but they're not covered (which is a good thing, but be forewarned). The book is printed with a relatively large font, IMO, especially the code listings, so it's a bit heftier than it should be, but I don't feel like they're over-charging, so I'll live. Also, almost no time was spent talking about writing tools like map editors, assest editors, etc. I feel like those items are important enough to spend a bit more time on, but I can understand why they are only mentioned in brief. The only items other items I would have liked to see some brief coverage of were 2D isometric tile-based maps and 3D terrain.

This is a great intermediate level book on writing games in Java. I'd love to see the author or other writers build on this book to cover more advanced topics like those mentioned above, but you can use the information in this book and other great game programming references (like the Game Programming Gems series, AI Game Programming Wisdom, Strategy Game Programming in DirectX 9.0 (EXCELLENT BOOK), Game Coding Complete, 3D Game Engine Design, Physics for Game Developers, and others) to get where you need to go.

For anyone disappointed with other Java game programming books, this is a must-have. Highly recommended.

This is one of two excellent books on the subject of game programming in the Java programming language, the other being "Killer Game Programming in Java" by Davison. If you are serious about programming games in Java you should probably own them both, but start with this one since it starts out slower with simpler concepts. The book is divided into three parts. The first part "Java Game Fundamentals" discusses threading, 2D graphics and animation, interactivity and user interfaces, and sound effects and music. These chapters are good for anyone interested in Java multimedia programming in general. Part one of the book finishes up with chapters on 2D platform games and multi-player games in Java using the tools learned in the previous chapters. Part two moves the discussion from 2D to 3D gaming. There are chapters on 3D graphics, texture mapping and lighting, 3D objects, 3D scene management, and collision detection. All of these chapters are written more from a general algorithmic standpoint for 3D graphics rather than going into details on Java3D. The next chapters in the 3D section are not really about 3D graphics at all, instead they are about artificial intelligence in the context of games, algorithms, and Java implementations. The final part of this book, "Tuning and Finishing Your Game" has chapters on the odds and ends of game programming such as optimization, creating art and sound for your game, debugging, deployment, and finally the future of game programming. This book is very thorough and accessible and stays on the subject of game programming in Java, all the while not coddling the reader and expecting the reader to already be a Java programmer who wishes to apply his/her talents to game programming. Amazon does not show the table of contents so I do that here:
PART 1- JAVA GAME FUNDAMENTALS
Chapter 1 - Java and Object-Orientation Basics
Chapter 2 - Java Threads
Chapter 3 - 2D Graphics and Animation
Chapter 4 - Interactivity and User Interfaces
Chapter 5 - Sound Effects and Music
Chapter 6 - Creating a 2D Platform Game
Chapter 7 - Multi-Player Games
PART 2- 3D GRAPHICS AND ADVANCED TECHNIQUES
Chapter 8 - 3D Graphics and Software Rendering
Chapter 9 - 3D Scene Management
Chapter 10 - Creating 3D Scenes with a Level Editor
Chapter 11 - Path Finding and Collision Detection
Chapter 12 - Creating a 3D Shooter
Chapter 13 - Artificial Intelligence
Chapter 14 - Game Scripting
Chapter 15 - Persistence - Saving the Game
PART 3 TUNING AND FINISHING YOUR GAME
Chapter 16 - Cross-Platform Issues
Chapter 17 - Optimization Techniques
Chapter 18 - Using Tools to Create Images, Sounds, and Models
Chapter 19 - I've Made My Game, Now What?
Chapter 20 - The Future

There are many, many book for the amateur or beginning game programmer around, but most of them stink, and for some reason the Java game programming ones stink even more! This book is an exception to the rule, and it is way over the average, especially compared with the other books in this very sloppy and superficial New Riders's game programming series. No tome fattening explaining the fundamentals of Java, just the raw meat of useful game programming techniques. Threading, full screen, Swing, double buffering, animation, a little 2D scroller, up to date NIO game networking, fundamentals of 3D graphics, BSP trees, AI, scripting...you will find all these cookies inside the book! The "level of detail" of course varies from subject to subject, do not expect a through , complete, super-extensive treatment, but all the subjects are covered in more than decent depth. I have only one critique: The author's code doesn't use any form of 3D acceleration. I understand that this way the code can be more interesting.. as you are forced to learn more about what it takes to put a 3D object on the screen, but still software rendering is history now. The author is definitely too young and inexperienced to be a game programming guru, and sometimes his explanations are a bit vague and too "code-oriented", but he is definitely a very talented programmer and a good technical writer... on his way to gurudom! ;)