LibGDX Cross-Platform Development Blueprints

Develop four exciting, cross-platform games using LibGDX with increasing complexity and understand its key concepts

About This Book

• Learn how to make a complete game from scratch using the LibGDX framework
• Discover different aspects of game development, optimize them, and implement them in your games
• This is a comprehensive guide packed with concepts that are covered in an incremental manner

Who This Book Is For

If you have a good grip of Java and want to explore its capabilities in game development, this book is for you. Basic knowledge of LibGDX is preferred, but is not mandatory.

What You Will Learn

• Set up the development environment and implement a very simple game type
• Implement new features such as motion, sounds, and randomness by implementing a new game
• Add music, physics, and menus to your games
• Start the creation of a platformer game and apply optimisation techniques
• Perform collision detection and manage the game assets
• Render game levels designed in the tool and add enemies
• Create multiple levels, enemy motion, and level transitions in the game

In Detail

LibGDX is a very popular open source game framework for the Java programming language. It features deployment to multiple platforms with the same code base and it is very fast. Its vast amount of features makes it very easy to learn and master game development without knowing the low-level details.

LibGDX Cross-platform Development Blueprints teaches you the concepts of game development using the LibGDX framework as you make four complete games.

You'll start with setting up the environment, then move on to advanced concepts such as collision detection, memory optimization, and more. The first game is Monty Hall, where you'll learn how to set up LibGDX and use simple graphics. Then, you'll get to know more about concepts such as animation, game sounds, and scoring by developing a Whack a Mole game. This will set up the base for a Bounce the Ball game, where you'll get to grips with advanced concepts such as movements and collisions based on physics. Finally, the Dungeon Bob game will help you understand player motion.

This guide gives you everything you need to master game development with LibGDX.

Style and approach

This is an easy-to-understand guide, packed with examples and illustrations along the way. Complex areas are broken down into bite-size chunks and are explained in detail. The difficulty levels of games are built throughout the chapters.