Android Game Development Where Do I Start?

Question

I know the basics of Java and want to start making games on android (and hopefully iOS at some point) where do I start learning how to code for android? I want to make a game with fairly simple 2D graphics so I'm pretty sure Java will do the job, but I'd love to find out what you think.

Answer 1

Actually, look int LibGDX. If you know Java basics, you can get to a working game pretty fast without having to bother with all the Android specific stuff.

As an added benefit, the game will also run on all Desktops (Win, Linux, MacOS) which means you can test the game to your hearts content on the desktop during development (i.e. you don't have to run the slow emulator or wait 30 seconds until the game's copied to your phone before each test run)

http://libgdx.badlogicgames.com/

Answer 2

First, be sure that you know Java. Even if I have been programing in PHP, ActionScript, JavaScript, Jquery, .Net, etc, Java is kind of different. To start making 2D games, make sure you know basics of Java programming. Try creating basic game in Java to practice some skills



To start coding for Android, you need 3 applications installed

- Android SDK - http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html#download

- JDK 6 - http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/index.html

- Eclipse IDE for Java EE Developers - http://www.eclipse.org/downloads/

When Eclipse is launched, go to 'Help > Install New Software' to install Android Development Tools (ADT) plug-in. This extension supports the creation and debugging of Android applications

Next step is to create an Android Virtual Device (AVD) to be used for testing your Android

applications. An AVD is an emulator instance that enables you to model an actual device

To create AVD, go to 'Window > AVD Manager'



You can also use Unity (game engine) to create Android games

http://www.unity3d.com/



With all the tools & SDK installed, you can start Android programming at below mentioned sites

Android Training site - http://developer.android.com/training/index.html

Android Game Development Tutorial - http://www.kilobolt.com/game-development-tutorial.html

Udemy free course - https://www.udemy.com/learn-android-programming-from-scratch-beta/

Beginning Android Game Programming - http://mobile.dzone.com/articles/beginning-android-game



YouTube playlist - Android Game Development by TheLazyTryhard

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvnXjBkwUhDHHUDTkV42GscJHf3BplZtN



"Beginning Android Games" is great book to learn fundamentals of game development for Android smartphones and tablets. Must have for new Android game developers!

http://www.amazon.com/Beginning-Android-Games-Mario-Zechner/dp/1430246774/ref=sr_1_1_title_0_main?s=books&tag=basebal-20&ie=UTF8&qid=1398951519&sr=1-1

Answer 3

If you know java. The you just need an android compiler that reads java. Eclipse is the best for this job