Hi all This is more of a dicussion than a question, with the current focus on Java related to game development my brother in law and i decided to contribute to the cause by developing a series of 2d multiplayer sports games based on a particular theme, of which we will openly discuss once the idea is solid enough. The agenda of the discussion? Well the points are: 1. How much interest exists, in the gaming community, surrounding browser or standalone java based games. Is this correlated with the performance issues native to java. 2. Will this interest become greater while Java matures. ie. Real-Time Specifications, 3d Support etc. becoming apparent. 3. Can Java become one of the mainstream development languages for games in the future when Multiplayer becomes more accessable to more people because of Computer Systems becoming less expensive and faster Internet access becoming more of a reality (more applicable to UK as Cable Modems are just becoming available). We feel the Nature of this thread is quite a significant area for discussion and look forward to various views and Kraiklyn Independent Creations

Is there interest in java games relating to browser vs. stand alone?

For me, if it''s a little puzzle game that i''m only going to play a few times, then i don''t care if it''s in a browser. But for a full game with saving and loading and all the things that gamers expect, I''d rather just d/l a file once. I have yet to see a java game that would interest me enough to play it more than a few times.

Will interest in java grow?

Hard to tell, I don''t see why not. Don''t expect to see gaming quality 3D apis from sun any time, look for 3rd party stuff. I don''t see how real-time java is going to affect gaming.

3. will it be accepted mainstream?

I don''t know about that either, I''m not a mainstream developer. Game developers don''t care too much about platforms other than windows. Game developers are always adding more flair and sacrificing gameplay, so to get the latest whiz-bang effect, you have to use C/C++. I think java will always play second fiddle to the whiz-bang effects.

Just some misc. ideas...

>Will it be accepted into the mainstream...

I guess that depends on what you mean by ''accepted''.

Vampire the Masquerade sold very well (despite a buggy first release) and all of the game scripting for that engine is done via Java (and with the released SDK mod makers wanting to develop in Java have the same graphics capabilities as Quake and Unreal Editors have had access to).

Then you have ''You Don''t Know Jack'' which has done very well for itself and is also done partly in Java.

> (paraphrased) Will interest grow as the supporting libraries mature

I think that is a pretty big implied ''if''. Client side ''supporting libraries'' for Java seem to be maturing a lot more slowly than the server side stuff. As an example, the OpenGL Management group has been working on bindings for Java since at least 1998! (but now that SGI has put its weight behind Magician maybe this will speed up a little).

But if we assume the required infrastructure does come about I think there is some reason to believe that Java''s acceptance will increase. From what I have heard (and I could have taken this out of context, so If any one corroborate) Java is the most widely used language for teaching programming in colleges and universities. So a large majority of the developers being turned out by our Universities in the next few years will know this language. If you take that large population and tell them "Hey, with a language you already know you can develop everything from Games to E-Commerce applications - or you can spend all of your time learning C++ ", I think a lot of them will stick with Java - ASSUMING it really can be used to develop everything from games to E-Commerce applications.

quote: Original post by Jim_Ross

But for a full game with saving and loading and all the things that gamers expect, I''d rather just d/l a file once.

This is a very valid point that Sun is addressing with Java Web Start.

ManaSink