jMonkeyEngine 3.0 beginner's guide : develop professional 3D games for desktop, web, and mobile, all in the familiar Java programming language / Ruth Kusterer.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kusterer, Ruth.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Video games--Programming.

Video games.

Video games--Design.

Java (Computer program language).

Physical Description:

vi, 334 p. : ill. (some col.)

Edition:

1st edition

Place of Publication:

Birmingham : Packt Pub., 2013.

Language Note:

English

System Details:

text file

Summary:

Whether you want to design 3D games with Java for love or for money, this is the primer you need to start using the free libraries of jMonkeyEngine 3.0. All hands on, all fun – it makes light work of learning. Create 3D games that run on Android devices, Windows, Mac OS, Linux desktop PCs and in web browsers – for commercial, hobbyists, or educational purposes. Follow end-to-end examples that teach essential concepts and processes of game development, from the basic layout of a scene to interactive game characters. Make your artwork come alive and publish your game to multiple platforms, all from one unified development environment. In Detail jMonkeyEngine 3.0 is a powerful set of free Java libraries that allows you to unlock your imagination, create 3D games and stunning graphics. Using jMonkeyEngine’s library of time-tested methods, this book will allow you to unlock its potential and make the creation of beautiful interactive 3D environments a breeze. "jMonkeyEngine 3.0 Beginner’s Guide" teaches aspiring game developers how to build modern 3D games with Java. This primer on 3D programming is packed with best practices, tips and tricks and loads of example code. Progressing from elementary concepts to advanced effects, budding game developers will have their first game up and running by the end of this book. From basic concepts and project creation to building a complex 3D Game, you will learn to layout 3D scenes, make them interactive and add various multi-media effects. You will find answers to common questions including best practices and approaches, how game characters can act and interact, how to simulate solid walls and physical forces, how to take it online to play over a network and much more. From Zero to Hero, start your journey to make your game idea a reality.

Contents:

Intro

jMonkeyEngine 3.0 Beginner's Guide

Table of Contents

Credits

About the Author

About the Reviewers

www.PacktPub.com

Support files, eBooks, discount offers and more

Why Subscribe?

Free Access for Packt account holders

Preface

What this book covers

Get a head start

Who this book is for

Getting things done

The building blocks of game development

Listening to the heartbeat of your game

Putting the pieces together

Sources of information

Conventions

Time for action - heading

What just happened?

Pop quiz - heading

Have a go hero - heading

Reader feedback

Customer support

Downloading the example code

Downloading the color images of this book

Errata

Piracy

Questions

1. Installing jMonkeyEngine

Installation requirements for game developers

Time for action - installing the jMonkeyEngine SDK

jMonkeyEngine SDK at your service

Can I work in other Java IDEs?

Time for action - running a demo

Time for action - creating a project

Assets and the art pipeline

Time for action - distributing a game

Can I sell my jMonkeyEngine game?

Summary

2. Creating Your First 3D Scene

A basic template to initialize scenes

Time for action - initializing a scene step by step

Starting and stopping the application

Time for action - starting the application

Orient yourself in 3D space

Time for action - finding the spot

Pop quiz - which way, vector?

And how do I say that in Java?

Time for action - position it!

Time for action - scale it!

Time for action - rotate it!

What just happened?.

Time for action - rotate it again, Sam

Where am I?

Time for action - navigating the scene

Pop quiz ‑ spinning around

Populating the scene

Time for action - node versus geometry

Pop quiz - the truth about spatials

Extending SimpleApplication

Make a big scene

Time for action - configuring display settings

Keeping an eye on your FPS

Time for action - checking vital stats

Navigating the scene with a mouse and a keyboard

Time for action - move it!

Have a go hero - tower defense

3. Interacting with the User

The digital Dungeon Master

Time for action - from input to output in slow motion

Time for action - pushing the right buttons

Time for action - trigger meets mapping

Time for action - mapping meets listeners

Time for action - listeners meet actions

Click me if you can

Time for action - pick a brick (using crosshairs)

Time for action - pick a brick (crosshairs with ray casting)

Time for action - pick a brick (using the mouse pointer)

Time for action - pick a brick (pointer with ray casting)

Pop quiz - input handling

How to steer spatials

Time for action - you are the CubeChaser

Time for action - chase all the cubes!

Time for action - get these cubes under control

Time for action - get into the right AppState of mind

Time for action - call me maybe?

Coordinating global game mechanics.

The beauty of AppStates and controls

Pop quiz - how to control game mechanics

Have a go hero - shoot down the creeps!

4. Adding Character to Your Game

Making a Mesh

Time for action - meshing around with cubes

Time for action - meshing around with spheres

From mesh to geometry

Beg, steal, or borrow

The right wrench to pound in the screw

Time for action - installing the Blender-to-Ogre3D plugin

Time for action - sculpting the mesh

Time for action - coloring the mesh

Time for action - a model for to go, please

Time for action - loading a model (just testing)

Time for action - loading a model (for real)

Managing assets - best practices

Time for action - sorting your stuff out

Time for action - saving and loading .j3o files

Pop quiz

Animating a model

Time for action - rig, skin, and animate

Time for action - loading an animated model

Time for action - playing an animated model

Time for action - responding to animation events

Loading a simple user interface

Time for action - displaying text

Time for action - loading AngelCode fonts

Time for action - loading icons into the GUI

Time for action - display interactive status icons

Time for action - 3D objects in the 2D GUI?

The art pipeline

Have a go hero - furnishing the tower defense game

5. Creating Materials

What is a material?.

Time for action - unshaded materials

Material definitions and shaders

Good-bye unshaded, hello lighting!

Time for action - no frills, just color

Time for action - oooh, shiny!

Time for action - illuminated opaque textures

Time for action - semitransparent texture

Time for action - transparent textures

Pop quiz - transparent versus opaque

Multimapping

Time for action - meet the hover tank

Time for action - let the hover tank be groovy

Time for action - give your hover tank a shine

Time for action - make your hover tank glow

Time for action - deep-freeze your materials

Pop quiz - multimapping

Different types of textures

Time for action - scaling and tiling textures

Time for action - lights on!

Have a go hero

6. Having Fun with Physics

Solid floors and walls

Time for action - fortify the town

Time for action - first-person navigation

Fun with rigid bodies

Time for action - falling bricks

Time for action - flying cannon balls

Time for action - predict the explosion

Dynamic, static, and kinematic

Time for action - an elevator platform

Time for action - react to collisions

Time for action - timing forces correctly

My whole world is falling apart

LEET skillz - learn from the pros

Have a go hero - rubber balls versus stacked crates

Summary.

7. Adding Spark to Your Game

Particle effects

Time for action - stir up some dust

Time for action - sparks

Time for action - fit to burst?

Starting and stopping effects

Time for action - fire!

Time for action - design effects in the SDK

Time for action - finding stuff in the scene graph

Custom effect textures

Have a go hero - explosion!

Scene-wide effects

Time for action - welcome to Dark Town

Time for action - welcome to Dark City

Time for action - this city needs more gloom

Time for action - stay focused

Time for action - this city needs more glow

Time for action - toons and artistic effects

8. Creating Landscapes

Welcome to Earth

Time for action - climbing a hill

Time for action - let there be grass

Time for action - splat goes the texture

But wait, there's more

Time for action - up hill and down dale

Time for action - go fast and vast

Time for action - plant a tree

Not even the sky is the limit

Time for action - nothing but blue sky

Time for action - sky factory

Time for action - fog of war

Catch the sun

Time for action - let the sun shine in

Still waters run deep

Time for action - simple water

Time for action - take a swim

9. Making Yourself Heard.

Notes:

"Learn by doing: less theory, more results"--Cover.

Includes index.

ISBN:

1-84951-647-2

OCLC:

854569113