Wireless Game Development in Java with MIDP 2.0 (Wordware Game Developer's Library)

Book Description

This book features step-by-step examples in major game programming areas such as graphics, GUI, networking, tiles, animation, and sound. Additionally, the book goes into some detail about the business model of wireless game distribution.

Customer Reviews:

Could have been much better.......2006-10-31

This book is confusing and should be improved (a lot) if there is ever a second edition. First, the book starts by discussing the mobile game market and ends by comparing J2ME to Brew. Both chapters are a waste of time (and money, as you pay for them anyway). Next it starts to dissect MIDP2.0 and the game API. Whereas in some sections the book hits the spot, it has some serious flaws. For instance, it starts teaching animation using basic MIDP1.0 techniques, whereas MIPD2.0 have easier and more effective ways to do the same through the Game API. Once you learn the GameCanvas and Sprite classes you will ask why he did that to you in a MIDP2.0 book.

One mixed bag is the chapter discussing the TiledLayer. The author does a great job, and indicates a great free map editor (Mappy, a great tool to design tilemaps and 2D game levels). However, it ruins this chapter by indicating that you need to subtract 1 from each tile in the map so it will be offseted to the correct value. Later he contradicts himself when showing how to load a .MAP file as a resource, where he says you don't need to subtract anything (which is correct, as a TiledLayer image consider the first tile in the image as 1).

The example game is poor, he could have used the two wasted chapters to develop a more complex example, or a second example. The book has some good info on it, but beware, it has many downsides that even at 27.95 it is quite expensive.

not suitable for serious game programming.......2006-03-25

The reviewer Pierce is spot on. The book has little to distinguish it from other books already out on MIDP 2. Much of the text concerns low level and simple material. Basically walking through the classes that are in MIDP and explaining how to use them.But in a very elementary manner.

I guess the value of this book depends on your background. If you have never used MIDP [any version], then it does have some merit. You will certainly learn how to craft basic graphics and a user interface. But if you have already used MIDP and want an advanced guide, that will actually help you code a sophisticated game, then look elsewhere.

Lacking serious depth.......2005-08-27

Its clear from reading through the book that the author has some insight into MIDP2.0 games programming and the business of getting them running well and published, however this book ultimately fails to convey this information to the user.
The author starts out saying that he's not going to spend much time explaining game programming because there are many books on the subject, yet wastes precious time explaining MIDP itself - a topic for which there are considerable numbers of books available. For a book on MIDP game programming, the book actually wastes a considerable number of pages not actually building games. By the time it actually gets to the Game API (Chapter 9 on page 137/334) nearly half the book is over. Once we finish with the one "solid" chapter on the Game API all one will gain is a sampling of information about the general operation of the Game API and layers but it is explained in such little detail that you'll end up having to buy another book to get details about it.

One of the biggest letdowns of this book once it DOES start talking about the Game API occurs when attempting to discuss working with worlds larger than the handset size - something fundamental to most games and crucial to understand for building performant games. The Author covers this entire topic in 2 paragraphs and doesn't even provide a line of code to explain it.

So misguided is parts of the book that it wastes 10 pages trying to discuss JBUilder Mobile Edition and 4 discussing Brew. These wouldn't be such outrageous wastes if the author had actually been more forthcoming in the chapter on the GameAPI in actually telling and showing people what they needed to know in order to use the Game API effectively.

Didn't actually learn anything more about the Game API than I already knew just reading the Sun website. But hey, I do know some more information about the PNG file format history. Look elsewhere. As a professional programmer in this space I found this book to be greatly disappointing.

Reference Guide on MIDP 2.0.......2005-04-24

This book explains MIDP 2.0 than is explains game programming. It is of great use if you are familiar with game programming and only want to apply it on MIDP 2.0. What I like about the book is that the author explains the APIs without talking a lot of extra trash. I use it more as a reference manual when I need a good example to make a menu or whatever.

Excellent starting point........2004-10-11

I am very impressed with this book. It is enjoyable to read. It feels as though you are listening to the author explaining things to you as he speaks.

Each chapter is succinct and precise. This book takes you from novice level to a good understanding of MIDP 2.0 and J2ME.

I am very glad I read this book 1st. I intend to get the authors other book, which is on C++ too. He not only knows his stuff; but can teach it very well.

Java 2 Game Programming (The Premier Press Game Development Series)

Average customer rating:

Awesome?
A complete waste of money and time.
If you have zero Java experience, this book is not for you..
Good as a starting point, with some flaws
Limited usefulness, but still good

Java 2 Game Programming (The Premier Press Game Development Series)
Thomas Petchel
Manufacturer: Course Technology PTR
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1931841071

Book Description

With the power of today's personal computer, game developers no longer need to rely on low-level "tricks" to write computer games. Increasingly, object-oriented programming languages, such as Java, are being used to create cutting-edge games. "Java 2 Game Programming" gives you an inside look at how Java can be used to create powerful gaming applications more quickly and easily than ever before. With topics ranging from Java basics for newbie Java programmers to advanced coverage of animation and scene management, this book has it all. Put your new skills to use as you create a fully functional 2D game development engine and sample game. Get ready to take your programming skills to the next level as you master the concepts you need to create the hot new game of tomorrow!

Customer Reviews:

Awesome?.......2003-07-05

What I cannot believe is how unfair recent reviews of this book have been. If you're a beginner hobbyist, then maybe this book isn't for you?
Let's mention instance modelling, advanced collision detection, triple-buffered animation, quad trees, hardware acceleration and framerate syncing.
Maybe this book is ideal for a Mathematician interested in game development using Java. But as a newbie Java developer that just did part of a training diploma, in one word: Terrific!

I just got an invaluable introduction to linked lists and hash trees - and even better, their applications in todays professional game programming industry.
Just please don't mention Vector Geometry for now (lol).
You also get to look at implementing abstract classes -- that surely sets the programming standard? And there's a bonus for people that either do C++ or have had a long look at it. There's great looking boxes that delineate Java limitations and advantages by comparison.

On the down side, a few examples don't seem to compile straight away and probably need to be revised -- mostly the networking section which seems outdated.
Based on this I'd give this book four stars only, except for wanting to boost this books terrible review ratings!

I personally really really wish there was a home page for the included professional level Java engine - where it could be maintained and updated.
Also it could be fully documented, so newbies like me could just use the whole thing more easily.
But it was worth it even if only for the custom controls library -- Swing is SLOW! (note for Sun developers)

I think that without having a full grasp of everything that's covered (and its a lot) I'm now better equipped than ever to get those Java game applets up and running.
And now i can realistically gauge myself against the real professionals. Oh, and I loved the style too.

I shan't discourage!!

A complete waste of money and time........2003-06-21

This book is so awful it deffies description. The authors do not follow any basic Java standards and the book if rife with C++ comments, being that the author is really a C++ programmer and trying his best to help C++ programmers get into Java. Much of the book is chewwed up in aside "boxes" filled with little "gems" of interest to C++ programmers. Who cares! The book is titled "JAVA 2 GAME PROGRAMMING"!

This book covers extremely, extremely basic Java 1.2 (the current SDK from SUN is gonna be 1.5 in a month if they release on time I beleive), and ALOT of the given source code WILL NOT COMPILE. Plan on hours of fighting with, rewriting and debugging the source code from the book if you want to see practically ANYTHING that even resembles workable java code. This I find rather funny actually, being that you need to have legitmate Java experience to even be able to debug the given source code in this "begginers" book! About halfway through this one I became completely feed-up with rewriting the code from the book, opting instead to return it while I could still receive a refund. A complete waste of time this one is.

If you have zero Java experience, this book is not for you.........2003-02-15

I recently also bit, and made the mistake of purchasing this title. This was motivated by my frustration with the incredible lask of practically ANY titles on the subject of Java Game Programming. There is something akin to less than 10 total titles printed on the subject in the last 10 years. The writers C and C++ background shine through here (which quickly becomes a significant annoyance, due to the profuse C and C++ "Comment boxes"). This would be wonderful, except for the fact that this book is supposed to be on JAVA. More time could have been spent on validating the included code examples for things like basic java standards complience, as well as actual compilable code. Many of the code examples will require significant re-writes for anyone running JDK 1.4, even though the book claims to have been written while the 1.4 spec was standard. Without a previous Java base to draw from, this book would have been practically useless to me.

Good as a starting point, with some flaws.......2002-12-20

This book is a decent starting point for someone who already knows Java basics, but has no idea how games (animation, controls...) are made. After reading this book you are ready to continue on web-based articles on specifics and advanced features. I also liked the fact that this is not one of those five-year old books with obsolete/deprecated code.

But this book is far from perfect. I think the Java basics -chapter is too long. It almost presumes no pre-knowledge of Java. The author should not have wasted so many pages on Java basics. Also, the book doesn't go that far either. After you know how to listen to the mouse/keyboard and how to double-buffer your animation for smooth operation, you're left alone.

I would have liked to see some interesting real projects done through the book, maybe a small-scale scroller shoot'em up or whatever. Now you get shown all the pieces separately but ain't shown how to solve the puzzle.

Limited usefulness, but still good.......2002-02-07

1/2002

When I discovered that a book on Java 2 game programming was going to be published, I pre-ordered immediately despite having extremely little information from [Amazon.com] or the publisher on what was really in it. No fault of [Amazon.com], I went through two publish date changes while waiting for this, and once it shipped it was lost by UPS in the Xmas rush. [Amazon.com] got me a new copy fairly quickly since they had limited supplies. Anyway, for all the trouble I went through, this book just wasn't quite worth it, and I doubt I'll pre-order any other books again.

The book's content is fairly good, but does fall down a few times. As with other reviewers on this one, I felt the 'Intro to Java' took up too much of the book. Anyone interested in game programming probably will get themselves good language reference books anyway. The intro section could have been compressed into a 20-30 page refresher at most. Or it could have been made into a separate book altogether. But in my opinion all that space is just 'filler' to up the page count and therefore the price. But the intro is pretty solid and well-written, so I can give a little credit for that.

That brings me to another point that other reviewers have mentioned - the page design is overdone and distracting, and takes too much space. The fonts are rather large, too, which would be useful if I had poor vision, but then I probably wouldn't be playing or programming video games in that case. Just by changing the page design and font choices, we could have saved about 75-100 pages worth of some poor tree. I'll blame the publisher for that.

The editing of the book was rather poor (if it happened at all), as a number of errors were evident just from flipping through it, not to mention the printed code errors others have mentioned. One that stuck out was the use of the term 'depreciated' several times when what should have been used was 'deprecated'. But the concepts all seemed to be reasonable and correct, so no faults there.

My final comment is regarding the example program. It wasn't very interesting. I was expecting (before I got the book) maybe a 2D platform game, simple top-down RPG, or possibly advanced clones of the standard Atari classics - at least something I could identify with. The example game appears to be original, but as an example, it doesn't seem to fit the bill. I guess I was hoping for more discussion of AI, graphics/animation, and tools.

'Game Progamming Gems' seems to have more useful content per pound/dollar for the Java game programmer, and there's no Java in it! I suspect in the end that I will learn some things from this book as I continue through it, but it was not the comprehensive and useful tome I hoped it would be. This appears to be a trend with any book associated with Andre LeMothe (spelling?).

Additional Notes, 4/9/2002 - still working my way through it. As mentioned before, the overall content is good but just not very polished, and doesn't quite cover implementing in Java some key items of interest to game programmers. I understand the example program a little better, but I'm still peeved that it's not something a little more mainstream that an aspiring programmer would recognize and learn concepts and implementation from. I raised my rating from 2 to 3 stars, but it won't ever get any higher than that. Maybe if they rework the book into a second edition it could get 4 or 4 1/2 stars.

New Note 11/27/2002 - Java 1.4 Game Programming (ISBN 1556229631) by Andrew Mulholland and Glenn Murphy (two more unknowns AFAIK) is due out in December (after a delay, of course). My recommendation is to wait until that book is published before deciding which book you need, or both. I'm placing my bets on the new one as it likely discusses important technical items and performance issues in JDK 1.4 such as volatile images, nio, and full-screen mode. These items will be more relevant to someobody who isn't interested in just applets and more in action-oriented content.

Book Description

From 1999 to 2003 a multipurpose regional geochemical mapping project, was carried out in Finland, and the NW-part of Russia. An important aim of the project is to define the anthropogenic impact in relation to the natural variations in regional geochemical baselines of heavy metals and other elements over a large area containing several of the largest industrial emitters in Europe but also some of its most pristine areas.

Terrestrial moss, the organic layer, stream waters, and the C-horizon soil samples were collected from1085 sites in Russia and 288 sites in Finland, giving an average density of one site per 1000 km ².
Both total and aqua regia extractable element concentrations were determined from <2 mm fraction of minerogenic samples, and total concentrations of organic soil samples and terrestrial moss were measured after strong acid leach, bioavailable concentrations of organic layer soil samples were measured, too. Concentrations of more than 50 elements, radionuclides, and other parameters were determined. Different extraction methods were used in order to study the speciation and bioavailability of the elements.

Maps showing the distribution of 48 elements and other parameters are included in this atlas. The anomaly patterns of minerogenic C-horizon data are strongly controlled by element distributions in the bedrock. Stream water data are mainly controlled by geological formations and structures both for major and trace elements, but in some cases the influence of anthropogenic activities could be detected as elevated heavy metal concentrations. Anomaly patterns from moss data reflect mainly anthropogenic activities, but in areas such as mountains and tundra the geogenic dust also has a strong influence. It was not possible to detect any long distance airborne transport of heavy metals from industrialized areas to clean arctic regions.

Average customer rating:

Umm, that's Missoula MONTANA!, folks . .

What else could happen?

Great story, great characters... but the dialogue?

A Step Back

Suspend Your Disbelief

Plain Heathen Mischief
Martin Clark
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Many Aspects of Mobile Home Living: A Novel

Oyster Blues: A Novel

Handling Sin

Mohawk Mohawk

The Big Bamboo

ASIN: 1400034116
Release Date: 2005-06-14

Book Description

Moments after finishing a six-month sentence in the Roanoke jail for a crime he might not have committed, Baptist minister Joel King is served some unwelcome papers. His wife wants a divorce, and the teenage vixen everyone believes he seduced is suing him for five million dollars.

Holding on to his faith with a white-knuckle grip, Joel accepts a ride out west with Edmund Brooks, a member of his former flock who has some Commandment-challenging ideas about helping Joel help himself. From the author the New York Times Magazine called “the drinking man’s John Grisham,” Plain Heathen Mischief ranges from the cross to the double cross, from Virginia to Las Vegas, from courtrooms to trout streams, as Martin Clark follows his Job-like hero through dubious choices and high-dollar insurance scams to a redemption no reader could possibly predict.

Customer Reviews:

Umm, that's Missoula MONTANA!, folks . ........2007-06-22

Set predominantly in the Big Sky country, my state of birth, "Plain Heathen Mischief" is a most interesting morality play. Are there shades of grey? Or is anything beyond the straight and narrow path just plain heathen mischief, as the protagonist's old professor (who he used to call Dr. Brimstone) used to say? Often quite unlikeable, Joel King nonetheless does what he does with a consistent desire to do whatever it is he is doing for the greater good. With often misplaced loyalty - and with the burden of being seen as a child molester by the law enforcement community, even if the young woman who he is accused of having sex with was 17 and even if she was the aggressor - he fumbles along, straying farther and farther away from his beginning point as a Baptist preacher. With his sister Sophie - who is often earthy to the point of vulgarity - to act as a foil to his prudery, I found myself liking this book despite myself. Not knowing Missoula very well, I can't tell if the landscape was described very well or not - maybe a native Missoulan can step up and tell us? But Montana winters were definitely described to a "T" - Brrrrr! Recommend from me for anyone looking for something a little different to pass the time.

What else could happen?.......2005-12-15

This is definitely the story of Job. I couldn't put the book down once I started it, but I kept thinking "how can this guy be so gulible?" As usual, I got into the characters and Joel (Job?) was someone I felt for. When I hear myself saying to a character, "don't do it!", I know I'm into the book. His sister, Sophie, was remarkably believable in her no-nonsense, out-of-patience take on life. Of course, if I had a brother like Joel, I'd be the same way. What a fun read. This would a good book for discussion in a book club.

Great story, great characters... but the dialogue?.......2005-08-05

I'm willing to suspend a fair amount of disbelief when reading a novel: I know that few authors can accurately reflect human speech in their narratives, and often we wouldn't enjoy novels that did. In Plain Heathen Mischief, though, I couldn't do it. Main character Joel King is interesting, and his attitudinal shifts only seem slightly pat, but basically all of his dialogue (and others) is a series of competing monologues. More people speak seven sentences at once, without interruption, full of clever metaphors and snappiness, than I've ever met.

This is a significant negative in what otherwise is a fine caper novel, with some great turns and fun character development.

I'll certainly read another Clark novel - I enjoyed reading most of this - but I was exasperated by the end. Talk like a normal person!

A Step Back.......2005-07-06

I will try to be as fair as possible in this review because I really like Martin Clark's writing, and I know he reads these reviews. First the good: Clark has matured exponentially in his grasp of the English language since his first book, "The Many Aspects of Mobile Home Living." This is a beautifully written book. His phrases are just right and often startling in their artistry. I'm rather envious that a judge has attained such a high literary level. However, the main weakness of this novel is the protagonist, Joel King. He's simply a flat, dull character. I found myself never really caring about him or his moral dilemmas. And his passivity was nettlesome. This was disappointing to me because the characters in "Mobile Home" are very rich, complex, real, and downright funny. While there are spiritual themes in "Mobile Home," there are more religious ones in "Plain Heathen Mischief." Christians should respond well to this novel. "Heathens" may find it overbearing. I'm still a fan of Mr. Clark, and I will read his third novel. I hope he returns to the characterization that made him a star.

Suspend Your Disbelief.......2005-07-01

What a fabulous ride this book is. Beautifully written, dialog that absolutely sizzles. This isn't an "inspirational" novel. No God beams or angels with flapping wings appear to hand Joel King a Hollywood-style redemption. Instead this book is filled with outstanding description, emotions, and characters that are at once poignant and so goofy and hilarious, they jump right off the pages. Sa'ad X. Sa'ad and Edmund made me think of a Johnnie Cochran knockoff and Cosmo Kramer. I hope Martin Clark is working on his next book because he's got a sale here.

Average customer rating:

Plain Heathen Mischief: A Novel
Martin Clark
Manufacturer: Alfred A. Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0965501434

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