Introduction to Android N

It all started way back in 2005 when Google acquired a new company, which would later change the course of mobile computing for good. Yes, you guessed it right! The company that was acquired was the developer of the Android operating system. Since then, Android has seen a lot of developments and has grown significantly in terms of its user base because of the might of Google. At the time of writing this book, Android N is the latest version of this OS. Market share of Android has been growing ever since and is currently at 87.6% of total mobile computing devices. This is huge, and therefore, from a developer perspective, it is extremely important to develop for this platform because most of the mobile base are Android users.

Android N stands for Android Nougat. You must be aware of the naming convention for Android versions. If you are not, they are named in an incremented alphabetical fashion and each version is named after a sweet, barring the exception of the first two versions. Here’s a quick look at the different versions of Android:

• Alpha
• Beta
• Cupcake
• Donut
• Eclair
• Froyo
• Gingerbread
• Honeycomb
• Ice Cream Sandwich
• Jellybean
• Kit Kat
• Lollipop
• Marshmallow
• Nougat

The world of app development is interesting-but even more interesting than that is, one specific field, that is, game development. Mobile games account for the highest number of downloads on the Google Play Store, and, therefore, this is a most exciting time for game developers since Google has established a massive distribution channel and has made it extremely easy for mobile game developers to publish their games. Gone are the days when you’d have to wait for months or even years to crack a publishing deal with a major publisher. In today's times, you can simply sign up on Google Play Store as a developer and in a matter of hours publish your first game, if it is ready, and get feedback from live users.

The world of Android games has seen massive success stories, such as Angry Birds, Candy Crush, Subway Surfers, and so on. Even games with simple gameplay, such as Flappy Bird, have done extremely well, and it was estimated that at the game’s peak it was earning around $50,000 per day in ad revenues. Isn’t that exciting? You are just one click away from getting your game to a potential audience of billions, and, if your game gets noticed, then you’ll be having the time of your life.

You can make a game as simple as a text-based game or as complex as a third-person shooter. You are only as restricted as your imagination. Plus, all the resources you need are available easily today online. This book will serve you as a ready reference to get started in the world of Android game development and will use the latest version of Android, so you are up-to-date with your knowledge. You don’t necessarily need to have prior experience of developing games for Android platform; however, if you do, then that would be a plus. You do need to have a little bit of Java programming experience, though, to get started. However, rest assured that this book’s language is going to be as easy to understand as possible, and in the whole process of developing your first game for Android, you will have a lot of fun.

So, without further ado, let’s dive right into this exciting journey of developing games for Android using the latest components and tools available at our disposal. I hope you have a great time reading and implementing simultaneously from this book and would highly recommend that you make your own notes while going through this book.