New Java 2D Game tutorial at planetalia

Newbie & Debugging Questions
#1

Hello everyone.

This is my first post here, and I wanted to share a 2D game tutorial I wrote this weekend. The tutorial is rather unusual in the sense that is not a big source code that is explained in the text, but rather is a step-by-step tutorial from step 0 (a simple window on the screen) to step 29 (a “space invaders” type of shooter with a scrolling background and sound), each step adding a bit of funcionality on top of the previous one. I believe this way allows to make a non-trivial game while at the same time does not frighten newbies with the size of the source code, since it starts with a mere 10 lines of code. IMHO it also allows to see how and when to refactor code and how to use OOP techniques to changing requirements.

Please have a look at it and tell me what you think. Please also bear with my english - it’s not my native languge : any corrections, comments, suggestions, etc. will be appreciated.

The tutorial is located here:

http://www.planetalia.com/cursos

It has a spanish version and an english version (It took me longer to translate the whole thing than to write it >:( )

If you think it’s good, then I might write some other tutorials too.

#2

Pretty good tutorial :slight_smile:

#3

That is really nice. Bilingual too!

#4

Nice!

Although, a few bugs on my Apple (see screenshot):

http://www.ribot.co.uk/temp/invader_23.png

#5

Cool tutorial! I’m always amazed at the skill level of persons who don’t speak English natively, but who can clearly communicate ideas in multiple languages.

Would you be interested in some help with the English documentation? You’ve already done a great job, but I would be willing to help with cleaning up the grammar, etc. if you would allow me.

#6

Sure, any help is welcome… And thanks… Mail me your corrections to “ax at planetalia.com”

#7

I’ve just started work on the first tutorial.

In what format would you like the corrections? Plain text (.txt) file? Word (.doc) document? Do you want them as an attachment, or in the body of the email?

#8

I don’t have any special preferences… Do them in whatever you feel more confortable…

#9

Haven’t had a lot of time to look it over yet, but it looks pretty impressive…

Might I just suggest a place to download the entire tuturial? for those of us who dont have a permanent internet connection.

#10

I’ll think about it, but the problem is that although the tutorial looks as plain and easy html pages, in reality there are a lot of JSP tags that really perform the work (meaning "get this source code, highlight these lines, show these other lines, etc…). Also, the structure of the tutorial is in a database and navigation links are generated automatically.

#11

Very nice tutorial. Great for a Java game newbie like myself :stuck_out_tongue:

#12

Hey Alex,
This tutorial rocks! It is very cool. Actually it is exactly what I was looking for. The idea of building the code step-by-step (and not vice versa, or just providing some snippets from time to time) is excellent. To me, there is no better way to learn than yours! Great work. I would love to see new tutorials from you, just in this style… maybe about LWJGL or network game programming. Would be great!

Now after completing your tutorial I’ll do Kev’s and then try to work with Brackeen’s book.

Thank you for your nice work!

PS: Did I already mention how good your tutorial is? :wink:

#13

Well though I really love the tutorial, there is something that doesn’t work. Eclipse tells me that this method does require other arguments than the ones you wrote. You can find what I mean here:
http://www.planetalia.com/cursos/Java-Invaders/JAVA-INVADERS-13.tutorial
in Actor.java, line 27. This method does not work because it needs other arguments. What would be correct then?
Note that I use Java5.


26      public void paint(Graphics2D g){
27        g.drawImage( spriteCache.getSprite(spriteName), x,y, stage );
28      }
29

Thank you in advance, Alex