Mobile 3D Game Development: From Start to Market

Description

Mobile 3D Game Development: From Start to Market teaches how to develop 3D-games for JAVA-enabled mobile phones by guiding programmers through the process of developing three complete games based around three different game genres (racing, first-person shooter, and role playing). In the process of developing each game, the entire game production process is covered with an emphasis on the practical application of art production and programming techniques. For each game, all of the necessary steps needed to realistically implement a production-quality game for that genre are covered, and within each chapter concepts are presented using a mixture of general theory with immediate application to the task of building the game being covered.

The primary focus of the book is on the development of J2ME 3D games and the integration of 3D art assets. The 3D modeling techniques, guidelines, and limitations of the Mobile 3D environment are explained, and audio, AI, and Networking are discussed and implemented. Common mistakes encountered by beginner developers are explained and techniques for overcoming these mistakes are presented. Game art creation is presented within the context of completing the games presented in the book. After completing the book, developers will develop the skills they need to create their own games and 3D models.

 

Table of Contents

1)Intro to Game Development
Game Development Process
Art Production
Software Development (AI; Physics; Rendering; User input; Networking)

2)Introduction to J2ME
What is J2ME
Basics of J2ME Platform
Development environment and tools
J2ME SDK

3)J2ME - Building Blocks
MIDlet lifecycle management
Command definition and handling
Canvases
User Input Handling

4)Intro to 3D J2ME using retained mode
Introduction to game art creation
Entering the realm of 3D with retained mode rendering
Programming a 3D retained application that displays the car created in the previous step.
Uses of retained mode
Prototyping your game

5)Math Chapter
Coordinate Systems
Vectors
Matrices

6)Using Immediate mode 3D
The MIDlet
The GameCanvas in Immediate mode
Double Buffering and Hardware rendering
Creating objects in immediate mode
Rendering our environment
A simple but effective camera
Transformations in immediate mode
Creating a solid but flexible rendering pipeline
Loading models into the world

7)Project 1: First-Person Shooter (FPS)
Game design questions to consider in making a first person shooter
Art production for an FPS
Unique programming concerns for FPS

8)Project 2: Racing Game
Game Design Basics of a mobile racing game
Game design questions to consider in making a racing game
Art production for a mobile racing game?
Unique programming concerns for racing game
Putting it together

9)Project 3: Multi-player Role playing game
Game design questions to consider in making a role-playing game
Art production for role playing game
Unique programming concerns for role playing game

10)Appendix A -- In Depth Math Review

11)Appendix B - J2ME Class Reference

12)Appendix C - JSR-184 Reference