Learning iOS Game Programming: A Hands-On Guide to Building Your First iPhone Game, Rough Cuts

Description

This is the Rough Cut version of the printed book.

Get Started Fast with iOS Game Programming

Since the launch of the App Store, games have been the hottest category of apps for the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. That means your best chance of tapping into the iPhone/iPad “Gold Rush” is to put out a killer game that everyone wants to play (and talk about). While many people think games are hard to build, they can actually be quite easy, and Learning iOS Game Programming is your perfect beginner’s guide. Michael Daley walks you through every step as you build a killer 2D game for the iPhone.

In Learning iOS Game Programming, you’ll learn how to build a 2D tile map game, Sir Lamorak’s Quest: The Spell of Release (which is free in the App Store). You can download and play the game you’re going to build while you learn about the code and everything behind the scenes. Daley identifies the key characteristics of a successful iPhone game and introduces the technologies, terminology, and tools you will use. Then, he carefully guides you through the whole development process: from planning storylines and game play all the way through testing and tuning.

Download the free version of Sir Lamorak’s Quest from the App Store today, while you learn how to build the game in this book.

Coverage includes 

• Planning high-level game design, components, and difficulty levels
• Using game loops to make sure the right events happen at the right time
• Rendering images, creating sprite sheets, and building basic animations
• Using tile maps to build large game worlds from small reusable images
• Creating fire, explosions, smoke, sparks, and other organic effects
• Delivering great sound via OpenAL and the iPhone’s media player
• Providing game control via iPhone’s touch and accelerometer features
• Crafting an effective, intuitive game interface
• Building game objects and entities and making them work properly
• Detecting collisions and ensuring the right response to them
• Polishing, testing, debugging, and performance-tuning your game 

Learning iOS Game Programming focuses on the features, concepts, and techniques you’ll use most often—and helps you master them in a real-world context. This book is 100% useful and 100% practical; there’s never been an iPhone game development book like it!

Praise for Learning iOS Game Programming

“An excellent introduction into the world of game development explaining every aspect of game design and implementation for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch devices. A great way for anyone interested in writing games to get started.”

–Tom Bradley, Software Architect, Designer of TBXML

“A great developer and a great game.That’s everything you can find in this book to learn how to write an awesome game for iPhone.Maybe you’re the next AppStore hit!”

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Sample Content

Table of Contents

Preface     xxi

1   Game Design     1

The Game That Started It All (For Me)     3

So, What’s the Big Idea?     4

  A Game That Fits with the iPhone     4

  The Storyline     5

  What’s in a Name?     5

  The Game’s Objective     6

Game Play Components     7

  Time     7

  Lives     7

  Health     8

  Objects     8

  Doors     9

  Weapons     10

  Entities     10

  Player     11

Summary     11

2   The Three Ts: Terminology, Technology, and Tools     13

Terminology     14

  Sprite     14

  Sprite Sheet     16

  Animation     18

  Bitmap Fonts     19

  Tile Maps     20

  Particle System     21

Collision Detection     22

  Artificial Intelligence (AI)     23

  Game Loop     24

Technology     26

  Objective-C     26

  Cocoa Touch     27

  OpenGL ES     27

  OpenAL     30

Tools     31

  The iPhone SDK     32

Summary     38

3   The Journey Begins     39

Creating the Project in Xcode     39

Running the Project     42

Under the Hood     43

Application Delegate     43

  Examining the Header File     44

  Examining the Implementation File     46

EAGLView     49

  EAGLView.h     49

  EAGLView.m     50

ES1Renderer     58

  Examining ES1Renderer.h     58

  Examining ES1Renderer.m     59

  Creating the Framebuffer and Renderbuffer     60

  Defining the Color Values     66

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