The Android Game Developer’s Handbook

369 Pages·2016·4.15 MB·English

by  Avisekhar Roy

The Android Game
Developer's Handbook
Discover an all in one handbook to developing
immersive and cross-platform Android games
Avisekhar Roy
BIRMINGHAM - MUMBAI
The Android Game Developer's Handbook
Copyright © 2016 Packt Publishing
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However, Packt Publishing cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information.
First published: August 2016
Production reference: 1120816
Published by Packt Publishing Ltd.
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Birmingham B3 2PB, UK.
ISBN 978-1-78588-586-0
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Credits
Author Project Coordinator
Avisekhar Roy Izzat Contractor
Reviewer Proofreader
Attilio Carotenuto Safis Editing
Commissioning Editor Indexer
Edward Gordon Tejal Daruwale Soni
Acquisition Editor Graphics
Rahul Nair Disha Haria
Content Development Editor Production Coordinator
Anish Sukumaran Melwyn Dsa
Technical Editor Cover Work
Taabish Khan Melwyn Dsa
Copy Editors
Sonia Mathur
Karuna Narayanan
About the Author
Avisekhar Roy is a B.Tech engineer in computer science. He has had a passion
for coding since his school days. However, he had no plans to become a game
programmer. His fate landed him in the gaming industry in 2010. Since then,
he fell in love with game development.
Avisekhar has worked in many formats of game development environment, ranging
from small companies and individual studios to corporate companies and full-scale
game development studios. He recently started his own gaming start-up in 2016 and
is currently working on games for the mobile platform.
Avisekhar has also worked with some big companies, such as Reliance Games in
India, as well as a small-scale studio called Nautilus Mobile. He is now trying to
acquire a position in the gaming industry for his own venture, Funboat Games.
I would like to mention my parents, who have supported me in
every step during the journey of my career. I would not be able to
write this book without their blessings. I would like to thank Mr.
Pritesh Dhawle for his active support in writing the book; he is
not just my partner at Funboat Games, but also an intimate friend.
I'd also like to express my gratitude to Mr. Kinshuk Sunil, who
supported me while writing this book at an early stage. There are
many more friends and well-wishers whom I would like thank for
their support.
Finally, I would like to express my gratitude toward the people who
provided their valuable analysis on specific subjects; their articles
and reports have helped me a lot to research more while writing this
book.
About the Reviewer
Attilio Carotenuto is a senior game designer and developer with over 7 years of
experience in his field. He's the owner and game director at Himeki Games, an indie
studio with a focus on hardcore, premium games, currently working on An Oath to
the Stars, a Japanese-style bullet hell shooter.
Attilio previously worked at companies such as Electronic Arts Playfish, King, and
Space Ape Games, creating games that are played by millions of people every day.
He has previously worked with Packt Publishing as a technical reviewer for Building
Levels in Unity, Volodymyr Gerasimov; Unity3D UI Essentials, Simon Jackson; and Unity
3D Game Development by Example [Video], Adam Maxwell.
You can find more about his recent projects, articles, and talks on his personal
website at http://www.attiliocarotenuto.com/.
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Table of Contents
Preface xvii
Chapter 1: Android Game Development 1
Android game development 1
Features and support 3
Challenges 4
User experience 4
Design constraints 5
A game is not just an application 5
Games versus applications 5
Life cycle of Android application and games 6
Performance of games and applications 7
Memory management of games and applications 7
Choosing the target device configuration 8
Game scale 8
Target audience 9
Feature requirement 9
Scope for portability 10
Best practices for making an Android game 10
Maintaining game quality 11
Minimalistic user interface 11
Supporting maximum resolutions 12
Supporting maximum devices 12
Background behavior 13
Interruption handling 13
Maintaining battery usage 14
Extended support for multiple visual quality 15
Introducing social networking and multiplayer 15
Summary 16
[ i ]
Table of Contents
Chapter 2: Introduction to Different Android Platforms 17
Exploring Android mobiles 18
Exploring Android tablets 22
Exploring Android televisions and STBs 24
Exploring Android consoles 28
Exploring Android watches 33
Development insights on Android mobiles 35
Development insights on Android tablets 38
Development insights on Android TV and STBs 39
UI and game design 41
Overscan 41
Development insights on Android consoles 42
Development insights on Android watches 42
Creating and setting up a wearable application 43
Including the correct libraries in the project 44
Hardware compatibility issues with Android versions 44
Platform-specific specialties 44
Android mobiles 45
Android tablets 45
Android televisions and STBs 45
Android consoles 46
Android watches 46
Summary 46
Chapter 3: Different Android Development Tools 49
Android SDK 50
Android Development Tool 50
Android Virtual Device 51
Configuring AVD 51
Android Debug Bridge 53
Using adb on an Android device 54
Dalvik Debug Monitor Server 55
Other tools 56
Eclipse 56
Hierarchy Viewer 57
Draw 9-Patch 58
ProGuard 59
Asset optimization tools 60
Full asset optimization 60
Creating sprites 61
[ ii ]
Table of Contents
Tools for testing 61
Creating a test case 61
Setting up your test fixture 61
Adding test preconditions 63
Adding test methods to verify an activity 63
Performance profiling tools 64
Android Studio 65
Android project view 65
Memory and CPU monitor 66
Cross-platform tools 67
Cocos2d-x 68
Unity3D 69
Unreal Engine 70
PhoneGap 71
Corona 72
Titanium 73
Summary 74
Chapter 4: Android Development Style and Standards
in the Industry 75
The Android programming structure 76
Class formation 76
Call hierarchy 77
Game programming specifications 78
Gameplay programming 78
Graphics programming 79
Technical programming 79
Sound programming 80
Network programming 80
Game tool programming 80
Research and development programming 81
Technical design standards 81
Game analysis 82
Design pattern and flow diagram 82
Technical specification 82
Tools and other requirements 83
Resource analysis 83
Testing requirements 83
Scope analysis 84
Risk analysis 84
Change log 84
[ iii ]