Jumper

Jumper - A Practice Game for AndEngine

Jumper is a simple yet engaging game developed as part of the practice to learn and master AndEngine, an open-source game engine designed for Android development. This application was created based on the book "Learning AndEngine" by Packt Publishing, which guides readers through building a Doodle Jump clone. The primary goal of this project was not only to create a fun game but also to share my experience and insights gained while working with this powerful tool. By developing Jumper, I aimed to demonstrate how easy it can be to get started with game development using AndEngine, even for beginners.

The gameplay of Jumper is straightforward: the player must jump as high as possible, using platforms to propel themselves upward while avoiding black bugs that appear on the screen. The game features a variety of elements such as sprites, animated graphics, physics-based movement, collision detection, and background parallax effects. It also includes sound and music to enhance the overall gaming experience. One of the key aspects of Jumper is its use of SharedPreferences from the Android SDK to save the highest score and user preferences, making it more interactive and personalized for each player.

About AndEngine and Its Role in Game Development

AndEngine is a well-structured and beginner-friendly game engine that simplifies the process of creating 2D games for Android. It provides a wide range of classes and tools, including support for sprites, tiled sprites, animated sprites, parallax backgrounds, and physics extensions. These features make it easier for developers to focus on the creative aspects of game design rather than getting bogged down by low-level implementation details. For someone new to game development, AndEngine serves as an excellent starting point, especially since it only requires knowledge of Java.

Despite its many advantages, AndEngine is no longer actively maintained, with no updates since 2013. This lack of ongoing development can be a drawback for those planning to build complex or resource-intensive games. While it performs well for simpler projects, it may struggle with performance when handling a large number of sprites or visual effects simultaneously. However, for developers targeting older Android devices, this limitation should be taken into serious consideration. On the other hand, AndEngine's exclusive focus on Android can be seen as an advantage, allowing direct access to the full Android SDK, which might not be as straightforward with multiplatform engines like LibGDX or Cocos2D-X.

Learning AndEngine and the Jumper Project

The book "Learning AndEngine" by Packt Publishing is highly recommended for anyone interested in learning game development. It offers a clear and structured approach to mastering the engine, with detailed explanations and practical examples. The author uses a solid object-oriented approach, emphasizing best practices and reusable code. Concepts like the singleton and factory patterns are introduced to help create optimized and maintainable code, which is essential for any game project.

After completing the book, I successfully created Jumper, a game that showcases the capabilities of AndEngine. You can find the official version of the game on the Google Play Store at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.app_dev_coders.jumping_goat. The game includes a variety of graphical assets, many of which are available for free from Kenney's website at http://opengameart.org/users/kenney. If you're interested in exploring the source code, you can request it from Packt Publishing's website by providing your email address. Additionally, there's an official version of the game available at http://www.appjenny.com/Android/App/is.kul.learningandengine.official for further reference.