Saturday, May 4, 2013

Starting Android Development

Hi there guys...

Recently I started learning android development. So far I wrote two simple applications just to experiment with user interface, and database management.

Compared to .Net framework, android seems difficult. The difficult part about it - or what I am not used to - is managing the interface. In .NET for example, you place a button, double click it and you can use it right a way. In android however, you place a button, link the button to an object manually, and set the handler for clicking that button manually. Switching between interfaces and transfer data isn't as straight forward as in .NET. However after getting used to that, it is becoming easier and easier.

So why I am learning android? Well, since I started working on my game (The Escape), I was hoping I would be able to make multiple players play that game on PCs and mobile devices. I was thinking of developing a central server to store the world, and keep track of every creature in it. Players could connect to that world and interact with all these creatures at any time. Another reason is that I am thinking of having evolving enemies and creatures. The evolution could be applied to their behavior, shapes and properties. The goal is that the game won't always be the same since the difficulty changes all the time, and the creatures evolve and change.

The problem is that ideas alone don't mean anything. Bringing them to life is what matters. So what next? Well I have to learn game programming on android (a little of OpenGL). Next I have to develop simple android game to experiment with that. Next is to create the server, followed by creating PC client, and finally creating the android client. Seems like a lot of work, right? Well, probably but I would love to make a game.

Finally check out the two simple apps i created on my google play page at:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/developer?id=mkaatr

let me know what do you think about them, are them good, acceptable, bad? and how could I improve them.

thank you