book

Libgdx Cross-platform Game Development Cookbook

Name: Libgdx Cross-platform Game Development Cookbook
ISBN: 9781783287291

by David Saltares Márquez, Alberto Cejas Sánchez

October 2014

Intermediate to advanced

516 pages

11h 53m

English

Packt Publishing

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Libgdx Cross-platform Game Development Cookbook
Table of Contents
Libgdx Cross-platform Game Development Cookbook
Credits
About the Authors
About the Reviewers
www.PacktPub.com
Support files, eBooks, discount offers, and moreWhy Subscribe?Free Access for Packt account holders
Preface
What this book covers
What you need for this book
Who this book is for

Conventions
Reader feedback
Customer support
Downloading the example codeDownloading the color images of this bookErrataPiracyQuestions
1. Diving into Libgdx
Introduction
Setting up a cross-platform development environment
Getting readyHow to do it…Java Development KitWindows and Mac usersGNU/Linux usersEclipseAndroid SDKMac usersGNU/Linux usersAll usersEclipse pluginsXCodeFixing character encoding and line endingsMaking sure everything is in orderHow it works…There's more…See also
Creating a cross-platform project
Getting readyHow to do it…How it works…There's more…See also
Understanding the project structure and application life cycle
Getting readyHow to do it…Using logging to get to know the application life cycleStarter classes and configurationDesktop starterAndroid starterHTML starteriOS starterHow it works…There's more…Living comfortably with ApplicationAdapterManaging a multiscreen application with GameSee also
Updating and managing project dependencies
Getting readyHow to do it…Gradle build file primerUpdating existing dependenciesAdding Libgdx extensionsBulletCoreDesktopAndroidiOSFreeTypeFontCoreDesktopAndroidiOSControllersCoreDesktopAndroidHTML5Box2DCoreDesktopAndroidiOSHTML5ToolsCoreDesktopAICoreAndroidHTMLAdding external repositoriesAdding additional file dependenciesManaging GWT dependenciesThere's more…See also
Using source control on a Libgdx project with Git
Getting readyHow to do it…How it works…Basic operationsGit branchesGitignore filesThere's more…See also
Importing and running the Libgdx official demos
Getting readyHow to do it…How it works…There's more…
2. Working with 2D Graphics
Introduction
Texture rendering with SpriteBatch
Getting readyHow to do it…How it works…2D rendering using 3D techniquesCoordinate system and camera setupAssets location in LibgdxDraw orderTexture filtersThere's more…See also
More effective rendering with regions and atlases
Getting readyHow to do it…Packing PNG files into an atlasRendering regions of an atlasHow it works…Atlas file formatHow SpriteBatch worksA note on texture size limitationsThere's more…See also
Taking advantage of Libgdx sprites
Getting readyHow to do it…How it works…There's more…Using bounds for collision detectionSee also
Rendering sprite-sheet-based animations
Getting readyHow to do it…How it works…There's more…Using different play modesChecking when an animation has finishedHandling a character with many animationsSee also
Understanding orthographic cameras
Getting readyHow to do it…How it works…There's more…Rendering UI on top of the game worldSplit screenSee also
Using ShapeRenderer for debug graphics
Getting readyHow to do it…Rendering linesRendering circlesRendering rectanglesRendering pointsRendering trianglesHow it works…There's more…See also
Handling multiple screen sizes with viewports
Getting readyHow to do it…How it works…There's more…Getting the most out of ViewportWorking with two cameras and viewportsFloating elementsBuild your own Viewport implementationSee also
3. Advanced 2D Graphics
Introduction
Achieving juicy effects with particles
Getting readyHow to do it…The basics of Particle EditorRendering particle effects with LibgdxHow it works…There's more…See also
Frame buffers and image composition
Getting readyHow to do it…How it works…There's more…
Welcome to the world of shaders
Getting readyHow to do it…How it works…Data typesVertex attributesUniformsOpenGL ES precision specifiersThere's more…The sepia effectInverted colors
Passing parameters into shader programs
Getting readyHow to do it…How it works…There's more…Detecting shader compiler errorsMore efficient uniform settings
2D depth of field shader
Getting readyHow to do it…There's more…See also
Embedding a Libgdx window into a Java desktop application
Getting readyHow to do it…How it works…There's more…See also
4. Detecting User Input
Introduction
Detecting user input via event polling
Getting readyHow to do it…How it works…There's more…Checking input availabilityShowing the on-screen keyboard
Detecting user input via event listening
Getting readyHow to do it…Event polling versus event listeningHow it works…There's more…
Managing multiple listeners at once
Getting readyHow to do it…How it works…See also
Detecting more complex gestures
Getting readyHow to do it…How it works…There's more…Gesture polling
Introducing the controllers API
Getting readyHow to do it…Including the controllers extensionEnumerating controllersController state pollingController event listeningHow it works…There's more…Controller mappingsHandling disconnectionsSee also
Input mapping for cross-platform development
Getting readyHow to do it…Input contextsInput profilesEvent notifications with InputActionListenerInput mapping in actionHow it works…There's more…
5. Audio and File I/O
Introduction
Playing short sound effects
Getting readyHow to do it…How it works…There's more…Handling sounds individuallyChanging the volumeCreating looping soundsManaging effect prioritiesSee also
Audio streaming for background music
Getting readyHow to do it…How it works…There's more…Checking the playback stateLooping the background musicSee also
Optimizing audio files to reduce download sizes
Getting readyHow to do it…How it works…There's more…See also
Procedural audio generators
Getting readyHow to do it…How it works…There's more…See also
Engine sounds with dynamic audio
Getting readyHow to do it…How it works…There's more…Controlling direction through panningMusic transitionsSee also
The 2D space sound system
Getting readyHow to do it…How it works…There's more…See also
The first approach to file handling in Libgdx
Getting readyHow to do it…Retrieving basic information from filesTraversing tree structuresWriting to and reading from filesCopying and deleting files and directoriesHow it works…There's more…Creating temporary filesFiltering directory listingsFile streamingSee also
Using preferences to store game states and options
Getting readyHow to do it…How it works…There's more…See also
The XML parsing primer
Getting readyHow to do it…How it works…There's more…See also
JSON serialization and deserialization
Getting readyHow to do it…Reading objects from JSONWriting objects to JSONManual JSON parsingHow it works…There's more…The Serializable interfaceThe Serializer interfaceSee also
6. Font Rendering
Introduction
Generating and rendering bitmap fonts
Getting readyHow to do it…Using Hiero to generate bitmap font filesRendering bitmap font files with LibgdxHow it works…There's more…See also
Baking effects into fonts using Hiero
Getting readyHow to do it…How it works…See also
Scaling friendly font rendering with distance fields
Getting readyHow to do it…Generating distance field fonts with HieroDistance field fonts shaderRendering distance field fonts in LibgdxHow it works…There's more…
Dynamic font effects using distance fields
Getting readyHow to do it…How it works…There's more…
7. Asset Management
Introduction
Getting to know AssetManager
Getting readyHow to do it…How it works…There's more…See also
Asynchronous asset loading
Getting readyHow to do it…How it works…There's more…See also
Creating custom asset loaders
Getting readyHow to do it…Writing our own asset typeWriting our own asset loaderSummarizing...How it works…There's more…See also
Managing groups of assets for bigger games
Getting readyHow to do it…Giving shape to the ideaEmpowering AssetManagerHow it works…There's more…See also
8. User Interfaces with Scene2D
Introduction
Introducing the Scene2D API
Getting readyHow to do it…Creating a custom actorRendering your custom actorManipulating an actorSimple actionsComplex actionsHow it works…There's more…See also
Widget collection overview
Getting readyHow to do it…LabelImageButtonTextButtonImageButtonImageTextButtonCheckBoxTextFieldListScrollPaneSelectBoxProgressBarSliderTouchpadStackTreeSplitPaneWindowDialogHow it works…There's more…See also
Creating a basic menu screen using tables
Getting readyHow to do it…How it works…ExpandFillUniformSizingPadding and spacingAlignmentColumns and rowsDefaultsThere's more…See also
Skin customization
Getting readyHow to do it…How it works…There's more…See also
Creating new widgets
Getting readyHow to do it…Creating a widgetUsing a widgetHow it works…There's more…
9. The 2D Maps API
Introduction
Creating maps with Tiled and loading them into Libgdx
Getting readyHow to do it…Creating a basic map with TiledLoading and rendering a Tiled map in LibgdxHow it works…There's more…
Adding and querying map metadata
Getting readyHow to do it…Object layers and properties in TiledQuerying map metadata from LibgdxHow it works…There's more…See also
Developing your own map loaders and renderers
Getting readyHow to do it…There's more…
10. Rigid Body Physics with Box2D
Introduction
Introducing Box2D
Getting readyHow to do it…How it works…There's more…See also
Introducing more complex shapes
Getting readyHow to do it…Generating JSON shape dataLoading JSON shape data into LibgdxHow it works…There's more…See also
Introducing joints
Getting readyHow to do it…WeldJointDistanceJointRopeJointFrictionJointRevoluteJointPrismaticJointPulleyJointGearJointWheelJointThere's more…See also
Real-life joints example – bike simulator
Getting readyHow to do it…There's more…
Reacting to collisions
Getting readyHow to do it… How it works…There's more…See also
Sensors and collision filtering
Getting readyHow to do it…SensorsGroup collision filteringFlexible collision filteringHow it works…There's more…See also
Querying the world
Getting readyHow to do it…RaycastingArea queryingHow it works…There's more…See also
Building a physics world from level data
Getting readyHow to do it…Defining materialsGenerating the physics metadataPopulating your worldHow it works…There's more…See also
Implementing a deferred raycaster
Getting readyHow to do it…The RayCastManager classUsing RayCastManagerHow it works…There's more…See also
The fixed timestep approach
Getting readyHow to do it…Variable timestepFixed timestepFixed timestep with interpolationThere's more…See also
11. Third-party Libraries and Extras
Introduction
Making libraries compatible with GWT
Getting readyHow to do it…There's more…See also
Managing platform-specific code
Getting readyHow to do it…There's more…
Smooth animations with Universal Tween Engine
Getting readyHow to do it…Creating your accessorLibrary usageTween – a core classOrganizing tweensHow it works…
Dynamic 2D lighting with Box2DLights
Getting readyHow to do it…How it works…RayHandlerTypes of lightsThere's more…
Adding support for localization
Getting readyHow to do it…Creating language filesManaging languagesUsage exampleThere's more…See also
Finite state machine and messaging
Getting readyHow to do it…Creating the agentsUsage exampleHow it works…There's more…
Component-based entity systems with Ashley
Getting readyHow to do it…How it works…There's more…See also
Skeletal animations with Spine
Getting readyHow to do it…How it works…There's more…
12. Performance and Optimizations
Introduction
Profiling your application with VisualVM
Getting readyHow to do it…Installing VisualVMChanging the launcherMonitoring and profilingHow it works…There's more…
Using Libgdx features to avoid garbage collection
Getting readyHow to do it…CollectionsCachingObject poolingThere's more…
Avoiding unnecessary render calls with frustum culling
Getting readyHow to do it…How it works…There's more…
13. Giving Back
Introduction
Releasing your Libgdx game on desktop
Getting readyHow to do it…There's more…See also
Releasing your Libgdx game on Android
Getting readyHow to do it…There's more…
Releasing your Libgdx game on iOS
Getting readyHow to do it…There's more…
Releasing your Libgdx game on browsers
Getting readyHow to do it…There's more…
Working from sources
Getting readyHow to do it…How it works…See also
Creating a new test for your fresh feature
Getting readyHow to do it…
Sending a pull request on GitHub
Getting readyHow to do it…There's more…See also
Index

Overview

Delve into the world of game development with 'Libgdx Cross-platform Game Development Cookbook.' Through more than 75 practical and accessible recipes, this book equips readers with the skills to harness LibGDX for creating multi-platform 2D games. From managing textures to implementing advanced physics simulations, you'll unlock the expertise to build and deploy games across various platforms efficiently.

What this Book will help me do

Master texture management and the use of shaders for compelling 2D graphics.
Efficiently handle multiple user input methods such as touch, keyboard, and accelerometer.
Utilize advanced features of the LibGDX audio API to enhance player immersion.
Learn Box2D physics simulation techniques for realistic game interactions.
Understand deployment across multiple platforms to reach a broad audience.

Author(s)

The author is a seasoned game developer with extensive expertise in leveraging LibGDX for building engaging, cross-platform games. With a deep understanding of Java and game design principles, the author aims to provide readers with clear, actionable recipes. The book reflects years of practical experience and commitment to teaching and empowering fellow developers.

Who is it for?

This book is ideal for developers seeking to create 2D games using LibGDX with a focus on cross-platform deployment. Readers should have prior knowledge of Java and basic game development concepts. It is particularly suitable for those looking to enhance their skills in interactive graphics, physics simulations, and effective multimedia handling. Achieve professional-grade results efficiently with this expertly crafted guide.

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