Introduction to Mobile Games with Android

Syllabus

The syllabus is a roadmap for the class, but there may be changes along the way based on the pace of the students.

1. Class 1
   House Keeping (Go over syllabus, Intros, Course Overview, assignments, etc)
   Install Eclipse/Processing/Proclipsing
   Game development in Processing
   
   Assignment 1:
   
   -Read Canabolt Post Mortem:
   http://www.destructoid.com/gdc-10-falling-to-your-death-the-canabalt-postmortem-166512.phtml
   -Play Canabolt:
   http://www.adamatomic.com/canabalt/
   -Make a Processing game involving only mouse input, circles, rectangles, and images (Due Class 3)
   -Play with Nexus One
   

1. Class 2
   Discussion of Canabolt
   Install Android
   Create Project based on Sample Code
   Start discussion of Android Activities
   
   Assignment 2:
   
   -Finish Processing Game
   -Play a casual game, be prepared to discuss it
   -Reading: A Casual Revolution
   

1. Class 3
   Review of Sample Code: AnimationActivity
   Discuss casual games
   Present Processing Games
   Speaker: Charles Pratt
   
   Assignment 3:
   
   -Port Processing Game to Android (Due Class 5)
   -Play Passage
   -Reading: The Video-Game Programmer Saving Our 21st-Century Souls
   

1. Class 4
   Discuss games as art
   Field trip to "No Quarter"
   Review of Sample Code: GestureActivity
   Discussion of combining GestureActivity and AnimationActivity
   
   Assignment 4:
   
   -Finish Port to Processing Game to Android
   

1. Class 5
   Review Game Development/General Questions
   Device Independant Pixels
   Intro to Objects
   Guest Speakers: Larva Labs
   
   Assignment 5:
   
   -Final Game Proposals (Due Class 7)

1. Class 6
   Play Ported Games
   Review of Sample Code: AccelerometerActivity
   Intro Android Layouts
   In Class Game Design Jam
   
   Assignment 6:
   
   -Final Game Proposals (Due Class 7)
   -Play each other's games
   -Reading: Duke Nukem Forever
   
   

1. Class 7
   Connecting Layouts to Activities
   Game Proposals
   Animated Sprites
   Game Discussion
   Handlers
   Intro to Level Editors
   
   Assignment 7:
   
   -Begin Final Projects
   

1. Class 8
   Register for Gamestar Mechanic
   More Layouts
   Android Stack
   Intro to preferences
   Debug walk through
   Sounds
   Music
   
   Assignment 8:
   
   -Play Gamestar Mechanic
   -Play Retro Defense
   -Play Desktop Tower Defense
   -Play Robodefense
   

1. Class 9
   Discuss Games
   Simple Physics
   Simple Motion
   Music and Sounds
   Gamestar Mechanic
   Guest Speaker
   

1. Class 10
   Homework Questions
   Game/Application Development Roles
   Optimization
   Useful libraries (Analytics, Admob, ScoreNinja, etc)
   

1. Class 11
   Publishing your App
   In Class Hack-a-thon
   

1. Class 12
   Final Presentations