Hi guys,

My name is Rockseller and this is the first time I use a forum to get in touch with other developers.

In my daily job I develop .NET applications to support the Automotive Industry.
It is a well paid job but my dream is to make Games.

My knowledge is limited for varied on the programming languages field. I have knowledge with high level programming languages such as C# and Java to an extend, and have also used C++ to make a little game as an application to work at Gameloft (A puyo puyo Game in a DOS Console).

I'm not a guru nor an expert programming but have I have always used what it's at my scope to make things happen, and when the time is right, I spent time learning new stuff, if it's worth it over using what I currently know.

All this happens when I'm not at my job (sometimes when I'm there, ), and have also thought about the idea to quit my job and focus on game development but It's a very good job and I'm afraid to lose it to follow a dream that hasn't come true yet and that needs a lot of time.

I don't want to get much off-topic, so I'll just ask a few questions which I hope get answered since I'm sure the Karma (for those that doesn't believe in that I have also thought about the idea of Karma being a probability game in our little bubbles) in these forums might exist and I will help other guys soon.

1. I'm currently using the GLSurfaceView class that exists on the Android Development SDK by default, I can't access the code but it's there; It's basically a View and a Render thread, the game loop resides on the Render one. I have made a game called Ping Pong Mania HD and it's published on Google Play;
   
   The question is:
   Is it worth using Java over the NDK?
   I don't have a clue yet of how the NDK works, nor know if you do use C or C++ but I would like to know if it's worth moving from NDK for my next games or keep using the default Android SDK.
   
2. Do you guys have a tip or piece of information about the memory usage on games on Android?
   I have an Xperia Play for debugging but it's a High-end device, and I haven't been able to use the Android Emulator with OpenGL ES 2.0;
   
   I'm having a hard time trying to figure out if my applications will be able to run on devices with less capability
   
3. I have played some games that have a SHARE button that shows a default android menu asking you to choose the way to SHARE the application, Facebook, WhatsApp, and many application. Is this an Android functionality included on the SDK? Like an Intent? Or is this hard-coded by the developer?
   

Thank you and I look forward getting and giving help.
Cheers

I meant Limited but Varied, couldn't find an edit button

>> My name is Rockseller and this is the first time I use a forum to get in touch with other developers.

Welcome to the community.


>> Is it worth using Java over the NDK? I don't have a clue yet of how the NDK works, nor know if you do use C or C++ but I would like to know if it's worth moving from NDK for my next games or keep using the default Android SDK.

Both the built-in libraries and the system hardware work best with Java. Depending on what you are doing there may be small performance penalties when things are marshalled between languages.

For a small hobby project, the differences will be minor.

For a hobby project use whatever makes you most productive.


>> Do you guys have a tip or piece of information about the memory usage on games on Android? I'm having a hard time trying to figure out if my applications will be able to run on devices with less capability.

This is one area that there is a lot of fragmentation in the market.

It varies based on your application and how you use memory. It varies by the actual device being used.

For a hobby project you are probably best to just make something that works on your device, then distribute it to others and verify that it works on their devices too.

As for 2.0 on the emulator, that was a fairly recent addition. Make sure you download the latest versions of everything and it should show up in the emulator.

>>I have played some games that have a SHARE button that shows a default android menu asking you to choose the way to SHARE the application, Facebook, WhatsApp, and many application. Is this an Android functionality included on the SDK? Like an Intent? Or is this hard-coded by the developer?

This would be coded by the developer.

Thank you frob, i don't feel alone anymore .

I don't know anything about the NDK so I can't help there.

The most overhead will probably be in the images and OpenGL state changes. Pack your images in SpriteSheets so you don't have to switch textures a lot during frames. If you have backgrounds in one sheet, ui elements in another sheet, and objects in a third sheet, render the images so you load one texture and draw all its elements then switch to the next and draw its elements and so on. State changes also cost a bit so if you don't need to assign something like glClearColor every frame put it in the resume() method which only gets called on creation and resume. That way you aren't reassigning it every frame. Does that make sense?

Check places like Facebook to see if they have an SDK that lets you easily integrate sharing.