Game Development Articles

From Pong to Platformers – An Introduction to Game Physics – Part 3 {06-21-2009}

Thinking Inside the Box However, now that we have movement, we run into an issue. When we think of a classic video game, we think of boundaries, such as the edge of the screen, or floors/walls/ceilings, or other objects. In many games, such as platformers, these boundaries will stop the object from moving. In games [...]

From Pong to Platformers – An Introduction to Game Physics – Part 2 {06-21-2009}

Velocity Velocity is a fancy word for speed with a particular direction. Going 88 MPH would be speed. Going north at 88MPH would be velocity. But forgetting the direction component for a moment, speed is measured in distanced traveled over time. For example, when we say 88 Miles per Hour, we’re saying the object is [...]

From Pong to Platformers – An Introduction to Game Physics – Part 1 {06-21-2009}

Before we get started, I feel the need to point out that this entry will in no way even begin to approach the territory of being comprehensive in the study of video game physics. This is targeted toward those who have little background in physics and is very much a starter tutorial. In general, the [...]

Creating a Blackberry Game – Part 6 {05-03-2008}

Looking for part 5? Let’s Hear It! Our game is almost done – the only part left is the sound (and vibration) processing. This is a fairly simple class as well – again, most of the low level processing is done already by the Blackberry. However – you may want to play with the methods [...]

Creating a Blackberry Game – Part 5 {05-03-2008}

Looking for part 4? Let’s See Our Game Now that our logic is done, we have a few holes in the program where calls are made to graphics and sound processing. By isolating (for the most part, as much as our program allows) graphics and sound processing from the rest of the program, it offers [...]

Creating a Blackberry Game – Part 4 {05-03-2008}

Looking for part 3? Cue the Objects Just like Object is the root for all classes in Java, OBJ is the root class for all of our classes in our game that represent sprites on the screen. This is where object oriented programming really shines through for game creation. By setting up a parent class, [...]

Creating a Blackberry Game – Part 3 {05-03-2008}

Looking for part 2? Gameplay Now that our initial menu switches control to the Gameplay class (by putting an instance of it on the screen stack – [gameplay extends FullScreen]), we need to actually define it! Gameplay takes care of high level game functionality by multitasking actions via threads. One thread, “Refresher”, takes care of [...]

Creating a Blackberry Game – Part 2 {05-03-2008}

GalacticBlast.java package com.synthdreams.GalacticBlast; import net.rim.device.api.ui.UiApplication; /** * Initial main class that starts the ball rolling * UiApplication is extended to provide Blackberry * functionality, specifically the Event Dispatcher * and Screen pusher */ public class GalacticBlast extends UiApplication { public static void main(String[] args) { GalacticBlast GalacticBlast = new GalacticBlast(); // The Blackberry's message pump, [...]

Creating a Blackberry Game – Part 1 {05-03-2008}

Introduction I’ve used a number of cell phones, and without a doubt RIM’s Blackberry continues to be my favorite by far. Blackberry users will know what I’m talking about – it’s just a fantastic communications device. One of its few shortcomings, though, is its lack of a large game library. Historically, the Blackberry has been [...]

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