Intro To Game Development Series (Part 1): The Game Loop

Intro To Game Development Series (Part 1): The Game Loop

If you're like me, you probably got interested in an IT career because of video games. At some point, you probably thought about making your own game but then managed to convince yourself it was too hard, you didn't have enough time or you weren't good enough. But, no more excuses! I'll be your guide on this journey as we start writing our first game together.

In this presentation, we'll focus on the core of all games, the game loop. We'll discuss a little game theory before we dive into a live coding session. Together, we'll write some "bad" code, some "good" code, probably make a few mistakes... but most importantly have FUN exploring the Android 2D canvas library using the latest Android Studio IDE from Google. Although we'll be coding on the Android platform during this session, the concepts we'll learn are language and platform agnostic. Pending interest, this session will serve as a foundation for future presentations, where we'll continue to explore additional game components including sound, input and physics. Once we have the basics mastered, we'll jump into exploring one or more of the leading game development frameworks like libGDX, AndEngine, PlayN, XNA, Cocos2D or Sprite Kit.

Are you excited yet? I am, so let's get started!

Speaker Info
George Heeres currently works as a senior software engineer at the University of Wisconsin - Steven Point. For more than a decade, George has been developing custom software solutions, routing packets, crashing servers and clicking a mouse. Although always opinionated, George is always happy to mentor and learn with fellow developers. Never able to stop learning, George has recently headed back to school part-time in the evenings to pursue his Masters degree in Computer Science.

George's philosophy on what it takes to be a great developer is simple. If the code you wrote six months ago isn't garbage, then you're standing still. In our industry, if you're standing still you're already moving backwards. Take charge of your career and your code... challenge yourself! Learn something new, reignite your passion and learn to love writing code all over again!

Location

A UW-Stevens Point campus map can be seen at - http://www.uwsp.edu/landing/Pages/campusMap.aspx

We are located at the UW Stevens Point Science Building. The best parking spot will be lot X(which is metered until 7 PM. Cost 25 cents per 1/2 hour). We encourage you enter through the main entrance on the east side of the building as room A121 is located just to the left of the lobby.

Additional parking can be had on/around Stanley Street. If parking on the street, please adhere to city parking rules.