Beginning Android C++ Game Development

Beginning Android C++ Game Development introduces general and Android game developers like you to Android's powerful Native Development Kit (NDK). The Android NDK platform allows you to build the most sophisticated, complex and best performing game apps that leverage C++. In short, you learn to build professional looking and performing game apps like the book's case study, Droid Runner.

In this book, you'll learn all the major aspects of game design and programming using the Android NDK and be ready to submit your first professional video game app to Google Play and Amazon Appstore for today's Android smartphones and tablet users to download and play.

The techniques contained in this book include building a game engine, writing a renderer, and building a full game app with entities, game levels and collisions. As part of the tutorial you'll also learn about inserting perspectives using cameras and including audio in your game app.

What you’ll learn

• How to build your first real-world quality game app for Android smartphones and tablets using the power of the Android C++ APIs as found in the NDK
• How to do professional level, quality game design, starting the Droid Runner case study that's used throughout this book to illustrate the key concepts
• How to build a game engine
• How to write a renderer
• How to build the Droid Runner game app with entities, game levels and collisions
• How to insert perspectives using cameras and more
• How to create or integrate audio into your game app
• How to submit to the Android app stores like Google Play and Amazon Appstore

Who this book is for

This book is for game developers looking to get into Android development for the first time, as well as Android game developers who have never used the Native Development Kit (NDK).

About the Author

Bruce Sutherland is a video game programmer hailing from Dundee, Scotland. He graduated with a Bsc (Hons) Computer Games Technology from the University of Abertay, Dundee in Scotland, graduating in 2005. After graduating he began his first job in the games industry at 4J Studios where he worked on Star Trek: Encounters (PS2), The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (PS3), Star Trek: Conquest (PS2, Wii), Ducati Moto (NDS) and AMF Pinbusters! (NDS). In July 2008 he moved from Dundee to Melbourne Australia where he joined Visceral Studios and was a software engineer on Dead Space (Xbox 360, PS3, PC), The Godfather II (Xbox 360, PS3, PC) and Dead Space 3 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC). He developed an interest in developing for Android in his spare time and writes tutorials on his blog.