Java ME Game Programming Review

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(More customer reviews)This book has little to do with game programming. It's a book about MIDP 2.0 programming with Java ME for building mobile applications (using GUI controls). The last three chapters (which are quite small) touch on tiles and sprites. So basically you've got a 400+ page book while only about 50 pages is actually about programming mobile games? I would have STARTED the book with chapter 13 and moved on from there into various game topics, instead of ENDING there and doing a poor job of it. The example game in the last chapter was designed for the old 128x128 screens and is probably about 4-5 years old (with 8x8 sprites) which is unacceptable for a book released in 2007 with this title. This is a GOOD book on MIDP 2.0 programming...if you ignore the "game" part of the title. I used this book to teach a course on the subject, but will need to find another for next semester.


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Get ready to create your own J2ME game! This updated edition to the popular J2ME Game Programming provides updated sofware coverage as well as updates to the programming approaches specific to Java ME software. It also covers the recent innovations in mobile games with relations to iPods and cell phones. You will learn the essentials of J2ME game development from the ground up. Throughout the book you will discover the issues involved in developing for multiple target devices and how to work through the jungle of device-specific libraries and device capabilities. Working on a limited platform it is important to squeeze as much as you can out of those precious bytes, so in this book you will find the tools and source code you need to get the most out of the constrained resources. You will also learn how to structure your code and classes to achieve as small an application footprint as possible. As you work toward developing your own J2ME game, you'll examine the game lifecycle, how to handle resources, various methods of drawing to the screen, optimizing memory usage, handling the users input, and even sharing high-scores online! Previous experience in programming object-oriented languages and a basic level of math skills is recommended.

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Beginning Windows Phone 7 Application Development: Building Windows Phone Applications Using Silverlight and XNA (Wrox Programmer to Programmer) Review

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(More customer reviews)From Google Translate--->
Great book to start programming in the new Windows Phone 7.
Clearly explained and very progressive in content and examples that will teach. And not only that they are well explained, they are very complete, and that goes from the basic components of an application to the use of Web services.
On the downside, and it is something you see much in the last books that are coming out, is that just touches XNA, just one chapter focuses on Silverligth. So if you want to make applications, this book is an excellent choice, but if you also want to enter the world of games, we should find something else.
Estupendo libro para comenzar a programar en los nuevos Windows Phone 7.
Claramente explicado y muy progresivo en los contenidos y ejemplos que va enseñando. Y ya no es solo que estén bien explicado, además son muy completos, ya que va desde los componentes básicos de una aplicación, hasta el uso de servicios web.
En el lado negativo, y es algo que se ve mucho en los últimos libros que están saliendo, es que apenas toca XNA, apenas un capítulo y se centra en Silverligth. Así que si quieres hacer aplicaciones, este libro es una excelente elección, pero si también quieres entrar en el mundo de los juegos, habría que buscar otra cosa.

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Discover the core concepts essential for developing apps for Windows Phone
Silverlight and XNA provide you with a powerful development platform and key tools for programming Windows Phone 7 series applications. This book offers a foundation for using the tools required for Windows Phone 7 development, including Visual Studio 2010 Express Edition, the Windows Phone 7 Series SDK, and Silverlight. Experienced authors provide you with detailed coverage on developing accordingly for an application's lifetime, accessing cloud services, and developing notification services.
Explains how to use the most up-to-date tools and development platforms to create applications for the Windows Phone 7
Walks you through developing notification services and location services
Demonstrates ways to generate revenue by deploying your apps to the Windows Phone Marketplace
Details the steps for enabling trial periods for applications and providing updates and new versions of apps

If you're eager to get started developing applications for the Windows Phone 7, then this is the beginner guide for you.

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Wireless Game Development in C/C++ with BREW (Wordware Game Developer's Library) Review

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(More customer reviews)I just got this book, having pre-ordered it awhile ago. As a BREW games developer, I am finding Mr. Barbagello's explanation of some of the finer points of BREW very useful. I've already had a few "Doh! So *that's* how that works!" moments, and I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in coding applications for BREW. BREW has a definite learning curve to it, but this book could make that much easier. You should have a good grounding in C/C++ before diving in, though, so be warned. The book has an extra section on how to construct BMPs in memory for use in BREW, which sounds easy enough, but if you know anything about BREW, isn't. Overall, a wonderful book I wish I'd had when I was learning BREW.

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Designed for game programmers interested in developing mobile phone applications, Wireless Game Development in C/C++ with BREWTM uses QUALCOMMÂ s BREW development environment to illustrate a variety of techniques in the field of wireless phone games. From the basics of the BREW SDKTM and bitmap graphics to wireless networking and applet distribution, this book takes you through the fundamentals of the API, including graphics, sound, and input, and brings it all together with a complete example of a working game.

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Pro J2ME Polish: Open Source Wireless Java Tools Suite Review

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(More customer reviews)When you first learn J2ME, you learn about this fantasy world where all devices follow the J2ME specification to a tee. But in the real world, because of the interpretive nature of the specifications, no two devices really implement the specification exactly the same. So this requires either targeting a particular device or have many versions of you app to run on different devices.
Man what a pain. But that is where J2ME Polish comes to the rescue. J2ME Polish provides pre-compiler directives to allow you to write code such that J2ME Polish's build script can automatically create different versions for you on the fly however you want. There is a lot more to J2ME Polish than just that, but this is a book review.
So let's get to that review. Well, first Robert Virkus is J2ME Polish, well he is the architect and lead programmer for J2ME Polish. Who better to write a book about it? Consider this book the hard copy of the manual for J2ME Polish. If you are going to use J2ME Polish, then this book is a must. It is the reference book that you will need to find anything you need to know about J2ME Polish.
Now, it isn't really a read all the way through the book and you can be J2ME Polish expert. You really need to be actually using J2ME Polish at the time, to better grasp what is being explained. The book can be hard to understand, not because of the writing, but because J2ME Polish is feature rich and there is lots to learn.
I highly recommend using J2ME Polish and buying this book if you will be developing for more than one device, and also to get their cool looking GUI screens, rather than MIDP 2.0 High Level GUIs.

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