LibGDX Game Development By Example

Learn how to create your very own game using the libGDX cross-platform framework

About This Book

• Learn the core features of libGDX to develop your own exciting games
• Explore game development concepts through example projects
• Target games for major app stores quickly and easily with libGDX's cross-platform functionality

Who This Book Is For

This book is intended for those who wish to learn the concepts of game development using libGDX. An understanding of Java and other programming languages would definitely be helpful, although it is not a must.

What You Will Learn

• Create and configure a libGDX project to get started with making games
• Get to grips with a simple game loop that will drive your games
• Manage game assets to reduce code duplication and speed up development
• Pack game assets together into single assets to increase your game’s performance
• Display textures on the screen and manipulate them with play input
• Play various types of sounds that a game can generate
• Design and modify a game user interface with libGDX’s built-in tools
• Develop a game that will run across various platforms

In Detail

LibGDX is a cross-platform game development framework in Java that makes game programming easier and fun to do. It currently supports Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, Android, and HTML5.

With a vast feature set on offer, there isn't a game that can’t be made using libGDX. It allows you to write your code once and deploy it to multiple platforms without modification. With cross-platform delivery at its heart, a game can be made to target the major markets quickly and cost effectively.

This book starts with a simple game through which the game update cycle is explained, including loading textures onto your screen, moving them around, and responding to input. From there you’ll move on to more advanced concepts such as creating a formal game structure with a menu screen, adding a game screen and loading screen, sprite sheets, and animations. You’ll explore how to introduce a font to optimize text, and with the help of a game that you’ll create, you’ll familiarise yourself with the 2D tile map API to create worlds that scroll as the characters move.

In the final sample game of the book, you’ll implement a basic version of an Angry Birds clone, which will allow you to use the physic library box2D that libGDX provides access to. An overview of exporting games to different platforms is then provided.

Finally, you will discover how to integrate third-party services into games and take a sneak peak at the Social Media API to get a basic understanding of how it fits into the libGDX ecosystem.

Style and approach

With this book you’ll learn game development with libGDX through example game projects. You’ll finish the book with a thorough understanding of libGDX game development, along with completed games that you’ll have built yourself.