Sun Sponsors Java Game Development Competition

Sim9 writes "Sun (among others) is sponsoring a $50,000 Java games competition, with the competition page explaining: 'With Java technology, developers are enabled to simplify their development process and create richer games reaching across a multitude of devices and platforms.' In my humble opinion, Java still has a ways to go in the gaming industry, but the competition could greatly help if skilled people enter."

Comments

Puzzle Pirates, again

[Apreche]

I used to think java had no place in games. It's "slow" and the 3d isn't the greatest. Then puzzle pirates changed my mind. That's the kind of game that java does well, that and Yahoo! games type stuff. It's really great playing Puzzle Pirates in linux and windows and mac. Lots of open source in the pirate crew.

fps

[SurgeryByNumbers]

Java, in the process of adding all that compatibility, adds extra layers of abstraction and insulation between the game and the hardware. That means more CPU work... which means lower framerates... which doesn't fall in line with many gamers' (including myself) picky standards.

Now, if performance is not an issue, Java can certainly be a good choice. That might also mean that some good will come out of all that hardware power from chip growth in the near future, but consumers don't really have a need for yet.

Puzzle Pirates should have already won...

[jeblucas]

If you haven't yet tried out Puzzle Pirates, then you should. That's about the best use of Java for a game that I've seen or really expect to see. Works like a charm cross-platform and takes advantage of the -ahem- chunky graphics to deliver a great gaming experience.

J2ME

[Dr. Bent]

Apparently, the entry rules allow games developed for J2ME, of which there are quite a few. These games are also fairly simple to make (harkening back to the glory days of my 8-bit 2D sidescrolling youth).

I think the entries for this contest could be pretty interesting. Mobile gaming is one of the few markets left where a lone wolf developer can make an innovative, even radical game and still have a decent chance of it being a hit.

Java is a great language for games

[KNicolson]

On mobiles at least. In Japan (I don't know about the rest of the world), iMode/iAppli phones all run Java on lots of different flavours of OSes and chip sets, so one code base runnable on many phones makes a lot of sense for the developer, and the iMode micropayment scheme makes it easy to get some return for your investment.

Re:Java is a great language for games

[BortQ]

I don't know about Japan, but in North America every phone manufacturer ships JVMs that are different enough that you must port your application to each one. So, yes, you can do it with just one codebase, but you will have to have a whole bunch of branches for different handsets.

The consensus out there is Sun just wanted to get java put on every damn phone that they could. So they didn't do as stringent a QA process on the JVMs that they should have.

This is supposed to get better with MIDP version 2.0. However that probably won't be in large scale use for a year or two. Even then there will be plenty of older handsets, so the problem isn't going to go away.

Re:Java as a game development platform

[vonstroodl]

Agreed. Its improving though. I think Java's gaming future on desktops probably lie in that area where you need the ease of deployment of Macromedia Flash, but with the sophistication of a fully developed programming langauge. Its still early, but there are a few java games out there that exploit these strengths, such as Wurm Online (a mmorpg that is multiplatform, uses opengl via jogl and doesn't require an install, just click and play!)