book

Learning LibGDX Game Development- Second Edition

Name: Learning LibGDX Game Development- Second Edition
ISBN: 9781783554775

by Suryakumar B Nair, Andreas Oehlke

January 2015

Beginner to intermediate

478 pages

9h 46m

English

Packt Publishing

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Learning LibGDX Game Development Second Edition
Table of Contents
Learning LibGDX Game Development Second Edition
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. Introduction to LibGDX and Project Setup
Diving into LibGDX
Features of LibGDX 1.2.0
GraphicsAudioInput handlingFile I/O and storageMath and physicsUtilitiesTools
Getting in touch with the community
Prerequisites to install and configure LibGDX
Java Development KitEclipse – Integrated Development EnvironmentDownloading LibGDXInstalling Android SDKRunning Eclipse and installing plugins
Creating a new application
Using the old setup toolUsing the Gradle-based setup
gdx-setup versus gdx-setup-ui
Kicking your game to life
Key to success lies in planning
Game project – Canyon Bunny
Description of the game
Summary
2. Cross-platform Development – Build Once, Deploy Anywhere
The demo application – how the projects work together
LibGDX backends
Lightweight Java Game LibraryAndroidWebGLRoboVM (iOS backend)
LibGDX core modules
The application moduleLoggingShutting down gracefullyPersisting dataQuerying the Android API levelQuerying the platform typeQuerying the memory usageMultithreadingThe graphics moduleQuerying delta timeQuerying display sizeQuerying the frames per second (FPS) counterThe audio moduleSound playbackMusic streamingThe input moduleReading the keyboard/touch/mouse inputReading the accelerometerStarting and canceling vibratorCatching Android's soft keysThe files moduleGetting an internal file handleGetting an external file handleThe network moduleHTTP requestsClient/server socketsOpening a URI in a web browser
LibGDX's application life cycle and interface
Starter classes
Running the demo application on a desktopRunning the demo application on AndroidRunning the demo application in a WebGL-capable web browserRunning the demo application on an iOS device
The demo application – time for code
Inspecting an example code of the demo applicationThe create() methodThe render() methodThe dispose() methodHaving fun with the debugger and Code Hot Swapping
Summary
3. Configuring the Game
Setting up the Canyon Bunny project
Using a class diagram for Canyon Bunny
Laying foundations
Implementing the Constants classImplementing the CanyonBunnyMain classImplementing the WorldController classImplementing the WorldRenderer class
Putting it all together
Building the game loopAdding the test spritesAdding the game world's debug controlsAdding the CameraHelper classAdding the camera debug controls using CameraHelper
Summary
4. Gathering Resources
Setting up a custom Android application icon
Setting up a custom iOS application icon
Creating the texture atlases
Loading and tracking assets
Organizing the assets
Testing the assets
Handling level data
Summary
5. Making a Scene
Creating game objectsThe rock objectThe mountains objectThe water overlay objectThe clouds object
Implementing the level loader
Assembling the game world
Implementing the game GUI
The GUI scoreThe GUI extra livesThe GUI FPS counterRendering the GUI
Summary
6. Adding the Actors
Implementing the actor game objectsCreating the gold coin objectCreating the feather objectCreating the bunny head objectUpdating the rock object
Completing the level loader
Adding the game logic
Adding collision detectionLosing lives, game over, and fixing the cameraAdding the game over text and the feather icon to the GUI
Summary
7. Menus and Options
Managing multiple screens
Exploring Scene2D UI, TableLayout, and skins
Using LibGDX's scene graph for the menu UI
Building the scene for the menu screen
Adding the background layerAdding the objects layerAdding the logos layerAdding the controls layerAdding the Options window layer
Building the Options window
Using the game settings
Summary
8. Special Effects
Creating complex effects with particle systems
Adding a dust particle effect to the player character
Moving the clouds
Smoothing with linear interpolation (Lerp)
Letting the rocks float on the water
Adding parallax scrolling to the mountains in the background
Enhancing the game screen's GUI
Event – player lost a lifeEvent – score increased
Summary
9. Screen Transitions
Adding the screen transition capabilityImplementing the transition effectsKnowing about interpolation algorithmsCreating a fade transition effectCreating a slide transition effectCreating a slice transition effect
Summary
10. Managing the Music and Sound Effects
Playing back the music and sound effectsExploring the Sound interfaceExploring the Music interface
Accessing the audio device directly
Exploring the AudioDevice interfaceExploring the AudioRecorder interface
Using sound generators
The sfxr generatorThe cfxr generatorThe bfxr generator
Adding music and sounds to Canyon Bunny
Summary
11. Advanced Programming Techniques
Simulating physics with Box2DExploring the concepts of Box2DUnderstanding the rigid bodiesChoosing the body typesUsing shapesUsing fixturesSimulating physics in the worldPhysics body editorAdding Box2DAdding Box2D dependency in GradleFor non-Gradle usersPreparing Canyon Bunny for raining carrotsAdding the new assetsAdding the carrot game objectAdding the goal game objectExtending the levelLetting it rain carrots
Working with shaders in LibGDX
Creating a monochrome filter shader programUsing the monochrome filter shader program in Canyon Bunny
Adding alternative input controls
Summary
12. Animations
Manipulating actors through actionsActions for manipulating actorsControlling the order and time of execution
Animating the menu screen
Animating the gold coins and bunny head actorsAnimating the menu buttons and options window
Using sequences of images for animations
Packing animations using TexturePackerChoosing between animation play modes
Animating the game screen
Defining and preparing new animationsAnimating the gold coin game objectAnimating the bunny head game object
Summary
13. Basic 3D Programming
Light sources
Environment and materials
Basic 3D using LibGDX
The project setupThe cameraModel and ModelInstancesThe ModelBatch classThe environment
Loading a model
Model formats and the FBX converter
3D frustum culling
Ray picking
Summary
14. Bullet Physics
About Bullet Physics
A few basic concepts
Understanding rigid bodiesStatic, dynamic, and kinematic rigid bodiesCollision shapesMotionStatesSimulating physics
Learning Bullet with LibGDX
Setting up a projectCreating a basic 3D sceneInitializing BulletCreating a dynamics worldA custom MotionState classA simple ContactListener class
Adding some rigid bodies
Stepping the world
Ray casting in BulletA simple test game
Having fun with shadows
Summary
Index

Content preview from Learning LibGDX Game Development- Second Edition

Building the scene for the menu screen

We will now begin with the actual implementation of the scene for the menu screen. First, take a look at the following diagram that shows the hierarchy of the UI scene graph that we are going to build step-by-step:

The scene graph starts with an empty Stage. Then, the first child actor added to the stage is a Stack widget. The Stack widget allows you to add actors that can overlay other actors. We will make use of this ability to create several layers. Each layer uses a Table widget as its parent actor. Using stacked tables enables us to lay out actors in an easy and logical way.

In the first step, we will add ...

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Learning LibGDX Game Development- Second Edition

by Suryakumar B Nair, Andreas Oehlke

Building the scene for the menu screen

Become an O’Reilly member and get unlimited access to this title plus top books and audiobooks from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers, thousands of courses curated by job role, 150+ live events each month,
and much more.