| The word "real" here probably means commercial games. The number of commercial Java games is small compared to ones coded in C or C++, but the number is growing and many have garnered awards and become bestsellers:
- Puzzle Pirates by Three Rings (http://www.puzzlepirates.com/)
This is a multiplayer pirate game that includes Tetris-like or Columns-like puzzles at various points. The client and server are written in Java. It won several awards during 2004, including the Technical Excellence and Audience Choice prizes at the Game Developers Conference.
- Chrome by Techland (http://www.chromethegame.com/en/show.php)
Chrome is a futuristic multiplayer FPS (first person shooter) made up of 14 different missions, in an amazing variety of landscapes. It received a Duke's Choice Award from Sun Microsystems in 2004 for the most innovative product using Java technology.
- Law and Order II by Legacy Interactive. (http://www.lawandordergame.com/index2.htm)
This is a detective game written in Java, Java 3D, and QuickTime for Java. The first Law and Order sold over 100,000 units.
- Kingdom of Wars by Abandoned Castle Studios (http://www.abandonedcastle.com/)
This is a fantasy game set in the world of Jairon.
- Alien Flux by Puppy Games (http://www.puppygames.net/info.php?game=Alien_Flux)
Alien Flux is an exciting arcade shoot-em-up.
- War! Age of Imperialism by Eagle Games (http://www.eaglegames.net/products/WAR_AOI/wai.shtml)
War! is a computer version of the award-winning board game from Eagle Games.
- Runescape by Jagex (http://www.runescape.com)
Runescape is a massive 3D multiplayer fantasy adventure game. Clients can use a Java applet to play or download a Windows-based client application.
- Star Wars Galaxies by LucasArts (http://www.lucasarts.com/products/galaxies/)
This one has its game logic coded in Java.
- IL-2 Sturmovik by Ubi-Soft (http://www.il2sturmovik.com/)
Award winning WW II aerial combat using Java and C++, this and the new version (IL2-Forgotten Battles) are great examples of Java in games.
- Pernica by Starfire Research (http://www.starfireresearch.com/pernica/pernica.html)
Pernica is an online fantasy role-playing game first implemented in Java 3D.
- Cosm by Navtools, Inc. (http://www.cosm-game.com/)
Cosm is another fun online fantasy-based role-playing game.
- C&C Attack Copter by Electronic Arts (http://www.eagames.com/free/home.jsp)
This is a free online action game based on the Command & Conquer series.
- Roboforge by Liquid Edge Games (http://www.roboforge.com)
Train a 3D robot to fight in online tournaments. It was given an "Excellent 87%" by PC Gamer Magazine.
- Galactic Village by Galactic Village Games (http://www.galactic-village.com)
Galactic Village is a massively multiplayer strategy game, written entirely in Java. Not yet finished though alpha versions have been appearing.
- Wurm Online by Mojang Specifications (http://www.wurmonline.com/)
This is another massively multiplayer fantasy game, written in Java. It's still in the alpha stages of development, but the screenshots look great.
- Jellyvision (http://www.jellyvision.com/)
Jellyvision used a mix of Java and C++ in their popular Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (2000) and You Don't Know Jack (1995) games. They employed Java for the game logic, an approach used in Majestic (2001) by Electronic Arts.
- Vampire the Masquerade: Redemption (2000) by Nihilistic software (http://www.nihil-istic.com/).
Java was utilized as a scripting language in this highly acclaimed game.
- Tom Clancy's Politika (1997) by Red Storm Entertainment (http://www.redstorm.com/)
This game was written in almost pure Java. Shadow Watch (2000) and Tom Clancy's ruthless.com (1998) mixed Java and C/C++.
A good source for nontechnical lists of Java games, both commercial and freeware/shareware, can be found on the Java games pages at java.com (http://www.java.com/en/games/). The pages divide games into several categories: action, adventure, strategy, puzzle, cards, sports, and so on. Freeware/Shareware Games Many Java games are out on the Web, but finding a game that's written well requires a careful search. Many applets date from the late 1990s and were designed using the outdated JDK 1.0 and 1.1 with their feeble media APIs (e.g., graphics, sounds). The initial Java euphoria produced some less than exciting games, more concerned with technical trickery than quality. This large pool of useless applets got Java labeled as a toy language. Recent versions of Java are different. The speed has improved and APIs crucial to gamingsuch as graphics and audioare of a high quality. There's been a move away from applets towards the downloading of client-side applications using JWS. Java's backward compatibility allows the applets from 1996 to 1998 to be executed, and they'll often run quicker than the original applets. However, it's probably best to steer clear of these Java dinosaurs and look for more modern code. Numerous web sites use Java games. The emphasis of the following list is on applications/applets for playing:
- Java Games Factory (JGF) (http://grexengine.com/sections/externalgames/)
There aren't many games at this site (about 50), but they're all high quality. The aim is to show off various modern Java game technologies.
- ArcadePod.com (http://www.arcadepod.com/java/)
Over 750 Java games, nicely categorized.
- Java 4 Fun (http://www.java4fun.com/java.html)
Similar in style to ArcadePod, with a good set of links to other sites.
- jars.com (http://www.jars.com)
A general Java site with a ratings scheme. There are many games, but a lot of them are old applets.
- Java Shareware (http://www.javashareware.com/)
Another general site: look under the categories applications/games and applets/games.
- Java Games Central (http://www.mnsi.net/tild rkerr/)
A personal web site that lists games with ratings and links. It was last updated in 2001.
Some of my favorite freeware/shareware games are:
- Super Elvis; also known as Hallucinogenesis (http://www.puppygames.net/downloads/hallucinogenesis/hallucinogenesis.jnlp)
This game won the Sun Microsystems 2004 Technology Game Development Contest. Super Elvis can be downloaded from the puppygames web site using JWS.
- FlyingGuns (http://www.flyingguns.com/)
A 3D multiplayer WWI fighter plane game/simulator. This came second in the contest but is my favorite.
- Cosmic Trip (http://www.mycgiserver.com/tild movegaga/cosmictrip.html)
An arcade-style 3D game with striking graphics.
- Squareheads (http://home.halden.net/tombr/squareheads/squareheads.html)
A multiplayer FPS (it came third in the developer contest).
- Escape (http://javaisdoomed.sourceforge.net/)
A Doom-like FPS.
- CazaPool3D (http://membres.lycos.fr/franckcalzada/Billard3D/Pool.html)
A pool game that allows online (single/multiplayer) play in an applet or as a standalone application.
Programmers looking for source code should start at one of the following sites:
- SourceForge (http://sourceforge.net/search/)
SourceForge acts as a repository and management tool for software projects, many with source code. A recent search for (java + game) returned over 70 projects that had 40 percent or greater activity. One of the drawbacks of SourceForge is that deciding if a project is vaporware is difficult. Good projects that have been completed will show low activity after a time, dropping down the list of search results.
- FreshMeat.com (http://freshmeat.net/)
FreshMeat maintains thousands of applications, most released under open source licenses. The search facilities are excellent and can be guided by game category terms. The results include rating, vitality, and popularity figures for each piece of software. A recent search for Java in the Games/Entertainment category returned nearly 70 hits. Many applications turn up at SourceForge and FreshMeat.
- The "Your Games Here" Java Games Forum (http://www.javagaming.org/cgi-bin/JGNetForums/YaBB.cgi?board=Announcements)
Implementers can post links to their games, and (perhaps more importantly) users can post their opinions as follow-ups.
- Code Beach (http://www.codebeach.com)
CodeBeach has a searchable subsection for Java games that contains nearly 90 examples.
- Programmers Heaven (http://www.programmersheaven.com/zone13/)
It has a "Java zone" containing some games.
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