Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Setting Up Your Work Environment (Level 0)

Quest Log:

A shiver runs down your back as you stare at the Guild work board.  The one job too terrifying for anyone else to touch returns your stare, daring you to accept.  Setting Up Your Work Environment (Level 0).  A quick scan to the bottom reveals artifacts so legendary that their legends are known by... well... at least a lot of people.  Your final quest will be to tame the wild Drop Beast, but you must first procure and master these artifacts:
The shiver keeps shivering.

In general, for the future it's probably best to go with the most up-to-date versions of whatever you can find (except to stick with Java 1.6, instead of 1.7 which is still not as well supported by these libraries... I think).  If my examples don't work for you, my first guess is that incompatible versions are at fault.

You will be on your own to master these ancient tools, though a reliable source has indicated that libgdx installation instructions can be found deep within the Cavern of http://code.google.com/p/libgdx/wiki/ProjectSetup.

So that we are on the same page for the rest of the time, I have created these two projects in keeping with the libgdx instructions:
  1. GameXYZ - This is where we will actually put most of the code for the game
  2. GameXYZ-desktop - This is where we will store the launcher
I won't ever talk about the Android or HTML5 versions, but if you ever wanted to expand, this setup would make it easy to do so.

Once you have assembled your armaments, you must proceed to the lair of the Drop Beast.  It is up to you, and you alone, to conquer whatever perils lie within.  If you do, the reward will be great.  If you fail, then you should practice your Java skills more thoroughly before starting again.

Ding!  For your hard work and dedication in completing your first quest, you are awarded 200 XP, and have officially begun your life as an adventure programmer.  Welcome to Level 1!


As a Level 1 PC, you have gained modest skills in the arts of
  • Making a master project which is referenced by other (launcher) projects
  • Using SpriteBatch.draw() to render sprites to the screen
  • Using Gdx.input to query the keyboard and mouse for user input
Your next quest will bring you face to face with fear itself, as you battle ferocious monsters from the murky depths of... Spaceship Warrior!!!!!

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