Killer Game Programming in Java: Java Gaming & Graphics Programming

This seems like it would have been a great book when it was first released. As it stands now, the code is very outdated with even the lessons in the first chapter using deprecated methods. I already have a fairly solid grasp on java, but not when it comes to gaming and graphics. I would liken using this book to trying to learn a new skill by reading a book in a language you took in high school. It could certainly be done, but you're expending way too much effort that is secondary to your goal.I may come back to this book in the future once I have a better grasp on game programming, but until then it will just be collecting dust on my shelf.

First of all, I am a self-taught game programming novice. However, I have made a few simple games in java previously.Almost none of the code in this book will compile as written. However, it's not the fault of the author. It's just that many of the java classes that are utilized in this book are now deprecated; e.g., J3D timer. Also, a lot of the techniques that are used in the book are just not the best way to go anymore. If you have gone through a basic java programming book before, like "The Art and Science of Java" by Eric Roberts, then you will know about Java documentation and will be able to figure out how to correct the problems. Ideally, you will use an IDE like Eclipse, which will point you to potential solutions to the errors in the code you get from the book.However, I think that jumping straight to this book from basic Java is a bad idea. I believe that the best option is to try out Greenfoot or Bluejay, which are free, contemporary, and have a good community. After you learn those, then this book makes a nice paperback reference, or solutions manual, to potential problems that you may need help solving.Once again, I'm just a novice, so my opinion should not really be highly regarded; this is just my impression as of now. Feel free to comment me and let me know if you think there is a better way or if my interpretation is specious.

This book is miles ahead of other Java gaming books... For one thing, this is an excellent book in its own right. For another, the other existing books on the topic suck.Anybody who spends a lot of time writing games in Java ends up running into certain challenges. For each of these real issues, it takes a lot time to identify the issue then many hours to come up a satisfactory solution or work-around. This book saves you from 99% of that work. The author has documented nearly every complication that you will run into. The other Java gaming books explain how to apply common sense and traditional gaming strategies to the Java APIs (usually following Sun's tutorials exactly), giving step-by-step instructions on how to do so. Besides the point that this adds no value for somebody capable of following Sun's tutorials and APIs, they offer no help where you need it most... where the straight-forward approach is unsatisfactory or just doesn't work for some reason.Another thing that has saved me a ton of frustration and time is advice from the author. For my specific game project I've run into several questions which I've been unable to answer by web searches, posting to forums, etc. I've emailed Davison (the author), and he has answered each of my questions concisely and to the point every time. (I don't want you to spam him, so please don't send questions until after you have looked for the answer in his book!).To address concerns that other reviewers have posted:This book is not just for "advanced" Java developers. As Davison has emailed me, the intended audience is, "someone who has just got past their first Java course". He purposefully avoids avoids all but elemental Java features (e.g., no ternaries, abstract classes, logging infrastructures, IOC).WRT examples, you are not buying a gaming library or framework. The goal is not to give you production classes that you can use as-is in production quality products. Other reviewers are demanding production-ready examples. It is impossible to make production-ready examples that can be easily understood by first-year Java developers. If you want production-ready classes, don't look for them in a HOW-TO book, find them elsewhere or read this book and then write them yourself.

this book is so well written that there's someone on youtube using all the code from this book to make his own game turoial i thoutht he was making it on his own but he took the foundation of his book and was able to make something out of nothing as will i shortly this book was written in 2005 but the code is still good in 2012 so anybody who has and understanding in java but is unsure how to start this book is definitely the way to go, because not only is the code well explained but the author also helps you with planning it out with UML to give you an even better insight on getting started

Let me start off by saying that this is good text. It's a helpful book, and brings to light some issues that a novice such as myself would never think of.That being said, I am only still a novice, and this book goes a bit over my head in some (most) areas. I would recommend this book to someone who has had quite a lot of exposure to Java, but not to someone of the same skillset as myself, having taken only one class.Again, it is a great book from what I have gleaned, and it will most definitely come in handy in the future. But make sure you have a very sturdy base in Java before giving it a try.

This is a great volume for anyone looking at game programming - not just java fans. The examples are straightforward enough that whatever language you plan to use for your game, you will easily be able to adapt the included code to your language of choice. The book gives a basic intro to various different approaches to writing games, lots of hints and tips that will save hours of annoyance and forehead-slapping 'If only I'd known' moments. Wicked book, essential for any would-be games programmer's arsenal.

great price and good read

This was for my husband and he is delighted with it.

I have 1 university years worth of C++ and Java knowledge, and an interest in games. Deciding to look into games creation as a hobby I was disappointed in how messy C++ (or C with classes) games programming books were. I'd bought about 5 and read through 3. Then I purchased killer game programming in Java. It is well written, focuses on why doing something one way is a good idea compared to another, and the topics fit in so well if you have a sound (but not necessarily expert) grasp of the Java language and programming concepts. It's going to take a lot of time and effort before I write a game I am truly happy with, but this book is certainly going to help along the way.

The book is just the author going through some pre-written code. Although, I'm sure it's perfect for somebody who is experienced in programming games in other languages and thinking of moving to Java. For someone just learning game programming it is not that helpful. I can create simple games on my own in Java and I was hoping this book would help me make some more advanced games and start working with 3D elements but you need to already understand these concepts to understand the book.The book is a lot bigger than I thought it would be, and thats a plus. I'm sure it'll come in use at a later time in my life.