My First Java Game: Checkers

Hey Everyone,

I have some general knowledge in Java, and have studied it for a few months now. I am trying to build my first Java applet this week - a simple Checkers game.

What I'm trying to accomplish is just having a simple checkers game where two people can play against each other. I was thinking of possibly using GridWorld to create the board and animate the pieces, but I've been struggling to find any helpful resources on how to do this, and my knowledge with Java definitely lacks when it comes to game development.

If anyone has any tips on the best way I could go about creating this game, maybe if you've created something similar before or if you're just a Java guru :), please let me know. Any links to resources that might help would also be very appreciated. I'm stuck on how to start this project and could use any help I could get.

Thanks very much!

//heartbeat

Basically you have to follow,

1. Learn about the applets, how to create a simple applet and launch in your browser and/or applet viewer
2. Layouts. As you said you can use a grid (eg, 3x3) to handle the basic UI
3. 2D drawings in Java, like line drawings. User can put crosses in the grid. So you have to study about the brushes and related in Java graphics.
4. How to handle the backend, when a user add a cross how to manipulate data and events.

If you search the web you can find lots of similar examples. Try to map those with the steps I have listed above and try to work on.

Hey Eranga,

Thanks very much for the fast response! :)

Are there any resources (books, websites w/ tutorials, youtube vids, etc.) that you would recommend I look at for designing a game like this? I have googled a lot and found some neat stuff, but nothing that truly shows how to start from scratch and create a grid, and add in moving pieces.

Thanks! -heartbeat

I am always recommended Suns' tutorial. If you don't have internet facilities all the time then you have to refer some printed matters (or else you can download the complete Sun tutorial and keep). Have a look at the following links.

Java Applets.
Lesson: Java Applets (The Java™ Tutorials > Deployment)

Layouts in Java.
A Visual Guide to Layout Managers (The Java™ Tutorials > Creating a GUI With JFC/Swing > Laying Out Components Within a Container)

Java 2D Graphics.
Trail: 2D Graphics (The Java™ Tutorials)

Event Listeners.
Lesson: Writing Event Listeners (The Java™ Tutorials > Creating a GUI With JFC/Swing)

Best way you should follow is while reading the above stuff try to implement them in your project. First of a make a design of your project. Don't think about the complete solution at once, but start from the simple steps.

If you can post the design over here. So I can comment on that if you like.