![[BlackBerry App World PIC]](blackberry_app_world.png)
Chapter 1. Gaming on BlackBerry!Why games on BlackBerry? Aren't BlackBerry smartphones built for business and not pleasure?
The BlackBerry smartphone series – produced by the Canadian firm Research In Motion – has enjoyed a decade of success. It's the second most popular smartphone line in the world (after Nokia). Despite the arrival of the iPhone, BlackBerry's market share is still growing. So far, more than fifty million BlackBerry handsets have been sold worldwide. And even if much of Blackberry's popularity has been driven by business applications, that still makes quite a lot of smart BlackBerry gadgets in the hands of users who can't help but want to play with them.
This book will give you the information you need – from the basic concepts to the pro-level tips – to create professional games for BlackBerry smartphones. Rather than doing a survey of the BlackBerry API listing the features, Andrew and I have started from game ideas. We explain the theory and practice of BlackBerry development as you encounter it in real projects and applications. All you need is a basic knowledge of Java programming, and this book will show you how to turn your ideas into games and sell them on BlackBerry App World (see the picture) and beyond!
If your ultimate goal is to get into mobile game development in general, BlackBerry is a great starting platform. BlackBerry smartphones support Java ME's Mobile Information Device Profile (MIDP), which is found on more than two billion handsets. Throughout this book, we provide explanations for how BlackBerry-specific game development compares to other mobile platforms so that you can easily pick up general Java ME development based on what you learn here. Plus, we cover a range of game-programming techniques (such as graphics, timing, and coordinate systems) that you can apply to mobile game development on any platform.
If, on the other hand, your ultimate goal is to learn general BlackBerry application programming, these games provide a fun entry point. BlackBerry has its own Java ME paradigm (full of unexpected, ill-documented quirks) that is quite unlike anything else in mobile development. This book can offer you a painless introduction.
Of course if your ultimate goal is just to have fun with your BlackBerry, then you've definitely picked up the right book!
This book covers Java development on all BlackBerry models. From the early trackwheel models (which sold for many years and are still common in the wild) to the cool, new touchscreen BlackBerry Storm smartphones, you'll see how to program for them. Plus, we'll show you how to harness the fantastic rich gaming potential of the latest BlackBerry operating system: version 5!
Dr. Carol Hamer
E-mail: carol.hamer@gmail.com
To Carol's blog
Dr. Andrew Davison
E-mail: ad@fivedots.coe.psu.ac.th
To Andrew's home page