LibGDX Game Development Essentials

About This Book

• Utilize the robust features of LibGDX to easily create and publish cross-platform 2D and 3D games that involve complicated physics
• Be the best cross-platform game developer with the ability to create rich interactive applications on all the leading platforms
• Develop a 2D side scrolling game, Thrust Copter, add physics, and try to convert it to 3D while working on interesting LibGDX experiments

Who This Book Is For

If you are a Java developer who wants to learn LibGDX and create great games, then this book is for you. To take full advantage of this book, you are expected to be familiar with Java or any other object-oriented language. Experience of using Eclipse will be very useful.

What You Will Learn

• Wire up Eclipse with ADT, Gradle, and other relevant plugins
• Set up, upgrade, and maintain a Gradle-based LibGDX project
• Develop a complete Flappy Bird-like game, Thrust Copter, while learning about all of the relevant packages in LibGDX
• Create the menu and UI of the game using Scene2D
• Use the Particle Editor and add smoke and explosion effects to the game
• Convert the game to use Box2D physics in place of custom code
• Play with simple 3D scene experiments with integrated bullet physics
• Publish the game to Google Play, the App Store, and the Web

In Detail

This book focuses on teaching LibGDX and its incredible features with a balanced mix of theory and practice. As you proceed through the book, you will create a 2D game in parallel and work on active coding as well. The source code of the game and all the experiments that are done in the book are also provided to get you started quickly and easily.

The game you will develop is a simple one, aimed at helping beginners learn the basics from start to finish. You will develop the complete game and as a next step you will integrate the Box2D physics engine by replacing the existing code. The book teaches you how to create GUI elements using Scene2D and helps you with everything that is involved, from the creation to the publishing of a game. In later chapters, you will learn about 3D in LibGDX and 3D physics using Bullet. The final chapter details the process involved in publishing the game to Google Play, Apple App Store, PC, and the Web.The book covers all the relevant topics of LibGDX game development but makes sure that even a beginner can easily follow the development with the help of sample code and illustrations.