Chapter 1: Java as a Game Platform

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Overview

Games are everywhere! Today, interactive entertainment can be found on cell phones, televisions, wristwatches, DVDs, and PCs. The process of developing games for platforms not originally intended to offer interactive entertainment can be difficult. Programmers have used creative ingenuity to overcome the hardware and software limitations for decades. This effort has often resulted in the creation of games on devices—such as an oscilloscope—not normally considered game machines. Many game developers enjoy making a computer or piece of technology perform in a manner that was not previously thought possible.

Time has passed, and game development continues as strong as ever. Game developers diligently seek the small adjustments and optimizations that will make games perform faster and create more dynamic and immersive worlds. Some aspects of technology have become more stratified while others continue to explore and push boundaries. Java™ has provided a powerful platform on which to develop interactive content.

Although this book is centered on Java and the platform technologies, its message is for programmers to maintain an open mind regarding new technologies as well as to keep creative ingenuity intact while implementing games on the Java platform. Sometimes it can take quite a bit of searching and effort to figure out the solution to a problem and the relevant implementation for the technology currently in use. In the past, the authors of this book have decompiled and modified SDK (software developer’s kit) code to repair or modify an implementation and drilled down to the native functionality of a platform to get accurate timers and devices, as well as numerous other tasks specific to the implementation of the project at hand, all in the name of game development.

Some Java purists have criticized the use of “dirty Java” techniques as breaking the promise of platform independence; others have complained that it is the job of Sun Microsystems™ to make sure these tools exist for developers. Game developers are frequently called upon to create something completely new and untried. If the technology won’t handle a required task, use creative ingenuity to get it working. If it can’t be done for some reason, drop that technology as soon as possible and move on. Java is a great platform, but given its target user base, it is difficult to make everyone who uses the technology happy.

This chapter discusses the main advantages and disadvantages to be aware of when using Java, as well as game genres that exist in game development and some of the challenges of implementing them using Java. Each genre is defined and discussed with an emphasis on how Java can be used to create a game of that particular style. This chapter is not meant to be an exhaustive list of game genres because there is only so much space available, and many genres overlap or can be defined in more than one way. Toward the end of the chapter, the discussion covers the upcoming release of Java Development Kit (JDK) 1.5. This new technology presents some unique advantages for developers.