| Now that the initial hype surrounding Java is starting to settle down, many developers are sitting around wondering what's next. So we have this really cool technology, but now what? The next logical step for Java programmers is to branch out and start applying their newfound skills to specific areas. One such area that has always intrigued me is games. Having a natural interest in games, I decided to apply my Java skills toward seeing what types of games could be written in Java. You're now holding the results of my experiment!
It turned out that even though Java has its weaknesses (namely in the area of performance), it is actually a very competent game development language. It is so competent, in fact, that after finishing the first sample game for this book, I wanted to distance myself from C++. If you are a C++ programmer interested in writing games in Java, this book is for you. However, a knowledge of C++ is by no means a prerequisite for this book. In fact, it is targeted toward beginning and intermediate Java programmers who are looking for some fun ways to use Java. Even if you aren't a programmer at all, you might find this book useful as a guide to incorporating games and entertainment into your Web site.
Throughout this book, you learn about game programming from a very Web-centric perspective. This is only natural because Java is very Web-centric itself. You learn all about the unique benefits (and drawbacks) of developing Internet games in Java for the Web, accompanied by plenty of source code that you can reuse on your own projects. |