Java Game Programming for Dummies

Wayne Holder entered the computer revolution by building his own small computer from one of Intel's first microprocessors, the 4040, and went on to personally write the first spelling checker for Microsoft Word (later licensed to Microsoft) as well as supply spelling and grammar checkers to Kaypro, WordStar International, Philips, Xerox, Symantec, and many others. The computer game bug bit Wayne in 1983, and he jumped in by founding FTL Games. FTL Games went on to create and ship over a million units of different game titles worldwide on everything from Sega game consoles to Macs and PCs. Realizing that the Java tsunami would reshape the face of computing, Wayne and coauthor Doug Bell paddled out to meet the wave in late 1995 and have never looked back. With the arrival of the Holders' first child, daughter Belle, in October of 1996, Wayne shifted to telecomputing and now works at home with his novelist wife, Nancy, who has published over 25 novels and is currently writing several original books based on the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.; Doug Bell is a recovering game junkie. When Doug was growing up, his parents worried about his obsession with not only playing games, but with winning them. Fortunately, about this time the first personal computers that you didn't have to build yourself became available, which rescued Doug from a certain career as a lawyer. In 1981, Doug cofounded PVC Dragon with a college buddy and entered the computer game market to pursue his passion for games. In 1984, Doug joined forces with Wayne Holder and FTL Games where he led the development of several number-one selling games, including the groundbreaking best-seller DungeonMaster. In late 1995 -- after years of cross-platform development in Pascal, C, and assembly -- Doug and Wayne jumped into Java with both feet. Doug's passion for Java quickly became an equal to his passion for games. He has written articles for JavaWorld; appeared on an industry panel on Java Games at Sun Microsystems's annual JavaOne conference; developed courseware and taught classes in Java programming; and, of course, coauthored this book. Doug is Vice President of Development at FTL Games, but his most important job is raising his sons, Steven and Sean, with his wife, Kathy, an accomplished Windows programmer and mother.