Search icon CANCEL
Subscription
0
Cart icon
Your Cart (0 item)
Close icon
You have no products in your basket yet
Arrow left icon
Explore Products
Best Sellers
New Releases
Books
Videos
Audiobooks
Learning Hub
Free Learning
Arrow right icon
Learning Cocos2d-x Game Development
Learning Cocos2d-x Game Development

Learning Cocos2d-x Game Development: Learn cross-platform game development with Cocos2d-x

eBook
$9.99 $28.99
Paperback
$48.99
Subscription
Free Trial
Renews at $19.99p/m

What do you get with Print?

Product feature icon Instant access to your digital eBook copy whilst your Print order is Shipped
Product feature icon Paperback book shipped to your preferred address
Product feature icon Download this book in EPUB and PDF formats
Product feature icon Access this title in our online reader with advanced features
Product feature icon DRM FREE - Read whenever, wherever and however you want
OR
Modal Close icon
Payment Processing...
tick Completed

Shipping Address

Billing Address

Shipping Methods
Table of content icon View table of contents Preview book icon Preview Book

Learning Cocos2d-x Game Development

Chapter 2. Displaying the Hero and Controls

In the previous chapter, we saw the inside workings of Cocos2d-x, where we saw which projects and libraries were included. We also looked at the project and folder structure of a single project and dug deeper into understanding the classes that act as the basic building blocks for creating any game.

From this chapter, we will look at how to take those building blocks and make a functional game out of it.

In this chapter, we will see how to display objects, such as the background image and player, and position them on the screen. Once the player is on the screen, the next thing we will do is make her move around. We will look at different ways that the hero can be controlled in.

The things you will learn in this chapter are the following:

  • How to display the background image
  • How to display the hero
  • How to move the hero using the following:
    • Actions
    • Accelerometer
    • Touches
    • Custom controls

First things first

As we are going to start creating the game from scratch, let's remove all the code that is already present in the HelloWorldScene.cpp file.

So, we open up the project by navigating to wp8Game/wp8Game-XAML/wp8Game.sln in Visual Studio and clicking on the HelloWorldScene.cpp file in the Solution Explorer pane under the wp8Component project in the classes folder. We then go to the init() function and remove CCMenuItem, CCMenu, and CCSprite. We need to make sure that the init() function looks as follows:

bool HelloWorld::init()
{
    //////////////////////////////
    // 1. super init first
    if ( !CCLayer::init() )
    {
        return false;
    }
    
    visibleSize = CCDirector::sharedDirector()->getVisibleSize();
    CCPoint origin = CCDirector::sharedDirector()->getVisibleOrigin();
    
    return true;
}

As Windows doesn't use a close button function, we might as well remove the close button function from the HelloWorldScene.cpp and HelloWorldScene...

Displaying the background image

Now that we have a clean slate, let's start from the top by displaying the background image.

You might think that, "Wait a second. Are we going to be using a static image for the background? But the book says it will teach the parallax background." It is true that we are going to use a static background for the time being so that it is easy to visualize and see whether proportionately everything looks right on the screen. The image is just for reference; we will change the static image into a parallax layer later in the book.

First, we need to copy all the assets from the Resources folder provided with the chapter into the Resources folder of the project on the drive. The Resources folder should be in the wp8Game project folder along with the Classes folder, as mentioned in Chapter 1, Getting Started. After importing the background image and other images into the Resources folder, we go to the wp8Game project (not the component!) in the Solution...

Character movement

For the character to move at a constant speed over a period of time, we need to basically update the position of the character on the x or y axes, depending on the requirement of the game.

So, to achieve this, we use the scheduleUpdate() function, which is inbuilt in Cocos2d-x. This function will automatically call the update function over and over again, depending on the frames per second (fps) that we set for the applicationDidFinishLaunching() function of the AppDelegate class. If you remember, we the set the frame rate to be 1/60, which is 60 frames per second, so that the update function will also be called 60 times per second.

To include the update function, we go to the init() function and add the following line of code:

this->scheduleUpdate();

This will initialize a regular call to the update function as soon as the scene is initialized. Next, we need an update function.

Creating a function in Cocos2d-x is similar to creating a function in C++. In the .h file of...

Enabling the touch function

The touch function gives us some basic functions; they can be used to create gestures such as TAP, DOUBLE TAP, and SWIPE, which are used in majority of the handheld games these days. Using these functions, we can also create custom gestures depending on the needs of the game.

We can enable touch on a layer by calling the setTouchEnabled() function on the layer and setting it to true so that the layer starts listening to touches; without this, the gestures won't be recognized.

Cocos2d-x comes with the following four functions to create different control schemes:

  • TouchesBegan(): This function is called whenever a finger touches the screen. Whenever a user touches the screen, a tap is triggered. This is one of the easiest gestures to create. Every touch function takes two parameters: the first is a CCSet and the second is a CCEvent. The CCSet is an array that keeps track of the touch count, such as how many fingers are touching the screen. If there are three fingers...

Enabling multitouch

Now, let's try the same with two fingers; we touch both fingers at the same time, anywhere on the screen. We see that the TouchesBegan() function got called twice, and when we remove each finger one by one, the TouchesEnded() function gets called one after the other.

In Windows Phone and Android, multitouch is enabled automatically. On iOS, we will have to enable it separately by adding the following below the line EAGLView *__glView in the function, (BOOL) application:(UIApplication *)application didFinishLaunchingWithOptions:(NSDictionary *)launchOptions in the AppController.mm file:

[__glView setMultipleTouchEnabled:YES]; 

First things first


As we are going to start creating the game from scratch, let's remove all the code that is already present in the HelloWorldScene.cpp file.

So, we open up the project by navigating to wp8Game/wp8Game-XAML/wp8Game.sln in Visual Studio and clicking on the HelloWorldScene.cpp file in the Solution Explorer pane under the wp8Component project in the classes folder. We then go to the init() function and remove CCMenuItem, CCMenu, and CCSprite. We need to make sure that the init() function looks as follows:

bool HelloWorld::init()
{
    //////////////////////////////
    // 1. super init first
    if ( !CCLayer::init() )
    {
        return false;
    }
    
    visibleSize = CCDirector::sharedDirector()->getVisibleSize();
    CCPoint origin = CCDirector::sharedDirector()->getVisibleOrigin();
    
    return true;
}

As Windows doesn't use a close button function, we might as well remove the close button function from the HelloWorldScene.cpp and HelloWorldScene.h files. So...

Displaying the background image


Now that we have a clean slate, let's start from the top by displaying the background image.

You might think that, "Wait a second. Are we going to be using a static image for the background? But the book says it will teach the parallax background." It is true that we are going to use a static background for the time being so that it is easy to visualize and see whether proportionately everything looks right on the screen. The image is just for reference; we will change the static image into a parallax layer later in the book.

First, we need to copy all the assets from the Resources folder provided with the chapter into the Resources folder of the project on the drive. The Resources folder should be in the wp8Game project folder along with the Classes folder, as mentioned in Chapter 1, Getting Started. After importing the background image and other images into the Resources folder, we go to the wp8Game project (not the component!) in the Solution Explorer pane...

Character movement


For the character to move at a constant speed over a period of time, we need to basically update the position of the character on the x or y axes, depending on the requirement of the game.

So, to achieve this, we use the scheduleUpdate() function, which is inbuilt in Cocos2d-x. This function will automatically call the update function over and over again, depending on the frames per second (fps) that we set for the applicationDidFinishLaunching() function of the AppDelegate class. If you remember, we the set the frame rate to be 1/60, which is 60 frames per second, so that the update function will also be called 60 times per second.

To include the update function, we go to the init() function and add the following line of code:

this->scheduleUpdate();

This will initialize a regular call to the update function as soon as the scene is initialized. Next, we need an update function.

Creating a function in Cocos2d-x is similar to creating a function in C++. In the .h file of...

Enabling the touch function


The touch function gives us some basic functions; they can be used to create gestures such as TAP, DOUBLE TAP, and SWIPE, which are used in majority of the handheld games these days. Using these functions, we can also create custom gestures depending on the needs of the game.

We can enable touch on a layer by calling the setTouchEnabled() function on the layer and setting it to true so that the layer starts listening to touches; without this, the gestures won't be recognized.

Cocos2d-x comes with the following four functions to create different control schemes:

  • TouchesBegan(): This function is called whenever a finger touches the screen. Whenever a user touches the screen, a tap is triggered. This is one of the easiest gestures to create. Every touch function takes two parameters: the first is a CCSet and the second is a CCEvent. The CCSet is an array that keeps track of the touch count, such as how many fingers are touching the screen. If there are three fingers...

Left arrow icon Right arrow icon

Description

If you are a hobbyist, novice game developer, or programmer who wants to learn about developing games/apps using Cocos2d-x, this book is ideal for you.

What you will learn

  • Configure and create a Cocos2dx project on Windows
  • Understand the basics of Cocos2dx classes such as CCScene, CCLayer, and CCSprite
  • Develop different control schemes using buttons, a gyroscope, and a custom touch area
  • Implement various methods for collision detection such as circle collision and bounding box collision
  • Discover how to add and remove objects from the screen and update the score as well as Gameover condition
  • Get to grips with the tools used to create spritesheets as well as custom fonts and design particles
  • Integrate ads and inapp purchases in the game to monetize the game
Estimated delivery fee Deliver to Colombia

Standard delivery 10 - 13 business days

$19.95

Premium delivery 3 - 6 business days

$40.95
(Includes tracking information)

Product Details

Country selected
Publication date, Length, Edition, Language, ISBN-13
Publication date : Sep 23, 2014
Length: 266 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781783988266
Tools :

What do you get with Print?

Product feature icon Instant access to your digital eBook copy whilst your Print order is Shipped
Product feature icon Paperback book shipped to your preferred address
Product feature icon Download this book in EPUB and PDF formats
Product feature icon Access this title in our online reader with advanced features
Product feature icon DRM FREE - Read whenever, wherever and however you want
OR
Modal Close icon
Payment Processing...
tick Completed

Shipping Address

Billing Address

Shipping Methods
Estimated delivery fee Deliver to Colombia

Standard delivery 10 - 13 business days

$19.95

Premium delivery 3 - 6 business days

$40.95
(Includes tracking information)

Product Details

Publication date : Sep 23, 2014
Length: 266 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781783988266
Tools :

Packt Subscriptions

See our plans and pricing
Modal Close icon
$19.99 billed monthly
Feature tick icon Unlimited access to Packt's library of 7,000+ practical books and videos
Feature tick icon Constantly refreshed with 50+ new titles a month
Feature tick icon Exclusive Early access to books as they're written
Feature tick icon Solve problems while you work with advanced search and reference features
Feature tick icon Offline reading on the mobile app
Feature tick icon Simple pricing, no contract
$199.99 billed annually
Feature tick icon Unlimited access to Packt's library of 7,000+ practical books and videos
Feature tick icon Constantly refreshed with 50+ new titles a month
Feature tick icon Exclusive Early access to books as they're written
Feature tick icon Solve problems while you work with advanced search and reference features
Feature tick icon Offline reading on the mobile app
Feature tick icon Choose a DRM-free eBook or Video every month to keep
Feature tick icon PLUS own as many other DRM-free eBooks or Videos as you like for just $5 each
Feature tick icon Exclusive print discounts
$279.99 billed in 18 months
Feature tick icon Unlimited access to Packt's library of 7,000+ practical books and videos
Feature tick icon Constantly refreshed with 50+ new titles a month
Feature tick icon Exclusive Early access to books as they're written
Feature tick icon Solve problems while you work with advanced search and reference features
Feature tick icon Offline reading on the mobile app
Feature tick icon Choose a DRM-free eBook or Video every month to keep
Feature tick icon PLUS own as many other DRM-free eBooks or Videos as you like for just $5 each
Feature tick icon Exclusive print discounts

Frequently bought together


Stars icon
Total $ 109.98
Mastering Unity 2D game development
$60.99
Learning Cocos2d-x Game Development
$48.99
Total $ 109.98 Stars icon
Banner background image

Table of Contents

12 Chapters
1. Getting Started Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
2. Displaying the Hero and Controls Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
3. Enemies and Controls Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
4. Collision Detection and Scoring Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
5. HUD, Parallax Background, and the Pause Button Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
6. Animations Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
7. Particle Systems Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
8. Adding Main and Option Menu Scenes Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
9. Adding Sounds and Effects Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
10. Publishing to the Windows Phone Store Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
11. Porting, References, and Final Remarks Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Index Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Customer reviews

Rating distribution
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Empty star icon Empty star icon 3
(1 Ratings)
5 star 0%
4 star 0%
3 star 100%
2 star 0%
1 star 0%
Martin Smutek Sep 27, 2014
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Empty star icon Empty star icon 3
It still describes version 2.x of cocos2d even if version 3.2 is out at this time...
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Get free access to Packt library with over 7500+ books and video courses for 7 days!
Start Free Trial

FAQs

What is the delivery time and cost of print book? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Shipping Details

USA:

'

Economy: Delivery to most addresses in the US within 10-15 business days

Premium: Trackable Delivery to most addresses in the US within 3-8 business days

UK:

Economy: Delivery to most addresses in the U.K. within 7-9 business days.
Shipments are not trackable

Premium: Trackable delivery to most addresses in the U.K. within 3-4 business days!
Add one extra business day for deliveries to Northern Ireland and Scottish Highlands and islands

EU:

Premium: Trackable delivery to most EU destinations within 4-9 business days.

Australia:

Economy: Can deliver to P. O. Boxes and private residences.
Trackable service with delivery to addresses in Australia only.
Delivery time ranges from 7-9 business days for VIC and 8-10 business days for Interstate metro
Delivery time is up to 15 business days for remote areas of WA, NT & QLD.

Premium: Delivery to addresses in Australia only
Trackable delivery to most P. O. Boxes and private residences in Australia within 4-5 days based on the distance to a destination following dispatch.

India:

Premium: Delivery to most Indian addresses within 5-6 business days

Rest of the World:

Premium: Countries in the American continent: Trackable delivery to most countries within 4-7 business days

Asia:

Premium: Delivery to most Asian addresses within 5-9 business days

Disclaimer:
All orders received before 5 PM U.K time would start printing from the next business day. So the estimated delivery times start from the next day as well. Orders received after 5 PM U.K time (in our internal systems) on a business day or anytime on the weekend will begin printing the second to next business day. For example, an order placed at 11 AM today will begin printing tomorrow, whereas an order placed at 9 PM tonight will begin printing the day after tomorrow.


Unfortunately, due to several restrictions, we are unable to ship to the following countries:

  1. Afghanistan
  2. American Samoa
  3. Belarus
  4. Brunei Darussalam
  5. Central African Republic
  6. The Democratic Republic of Congo
  7. Eritrea
  8. Guinea-bissau
  9. Iran
  10. Lebanon
  11. Libiya Arab Jamahriya
  12. Somalia
  13. Sudan
  14. Russian Federation
  15. Syrian Arab Republic
  16. Ukraine
  17. Venezuela
What is custom duty/charge? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Customs duty are charges levied on goods when they cross international borders. It is a tax that is imposed on imported goods. These duties are charged by special authorities and bodies created by local governments and are meant to protect local industries, economies, and businesses.

Do I have to pay customs charges for the print book order? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

The orders shipped to the countries that are listed under EU27 will not bear custom charges. They are paid by Packt as part of the order.

List of EU27 countries: www.gov.uk/eu-eea:

A custom duty or localized taxes may be applicable on the shipment and would be charged by the recipient country outside of the EU27 which should be paid by the customer and these duties are not included in the shipping charges been charged on the order.

How do I know my custom duty charges? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

The amount of duty payable varies greatly depending on the imported goods, the country of origin and several other factors like the total invoice amount or dimensions like weight, and other such criteria applicable in your country.

For example:

  • If you live in Mexico, and the declared value of your ordered items is over $ 50, for you to receive a package, you will have to pay additional import tax of 19% which will be $ 9.50 to the courier service.
  • Whereas if you live in Turkey, and the declared value of your ordered items is over € 22, for you to receive a package, you will have to pay additional import tax of 18% which will be € 3.96 to the courier service.
How can I cancel my order? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Cancellation Policy for Published Printed Books:

You can cancel any order within 1 hour of placing the order. Simply contact customercare@packt.com with your order details or payment transaction id. If your order has already started the shipment process, we will do our best to stop it. However, if it is already on the way to you then when you receive it, you can contact us at customercare@packt.com using the returns and refund process.

Please understand that Packt Publishing cannot provide refunds or cancel any order except for the cases described in our Return Policy (i.e. Packt Publishing agrees to replace your printed book because it arrives damaged or material defect in book), Packt Publishing will not accept returns.

What is your returns and refunds policy? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Return Policy:

We want you to be happy with your purchase from Packtpub.com. We will not hassle you with returning print books to us. If the print book you receive from us is incorrect, damaged, doesn't work or is unacceptably late, please contact Customer Relations Team on customercare@packt.com with the order number and issue details as explained below:

  1. If you ordered (eBook, Video or Print Book) incorrectly or accidentally, please contact Customer Relations Team on customercare@packt.com within one hour of placing the order and we will replace/refund you the item cost.
  2. Sadly, if your eBook or Video file is faulty or a fault occurs during the eBook or Video being made available to you, i.e. during download then you should contact Customer Relations Team within 14 days of purchase on customercare@packt.com who will be able to resolve this issue for you.
  3. You will have a choice of replacement or refund of the problem items.(damaged, defective or incorrect)
  4. Once Customer Care Team confirms that you will be refunded, you should receive the refund within 10 to 12 working days.
  5. If you are only requesting a refund of one book from a multiple order, then we will refund you the appropriate single item.
  6. Where the items were shipped under a free shipping offer, there will be no shipping costs to refund.

On the off chance your printed book arrives damaged, with book material defect, contact our Customer Relation Team on customercare@packt.com within 14 days of receipt of the book with appropriate evidence of damage and we will work with you to secure a replacement copy, if necessary. Please note that each printed book you order from us is individually made by Packt's professional book-printing partner which is on a print-on-demand basis.

What tax is charged? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Currently, no tax is charged on the purchase of any print book (subject to change based on the laws and regulations). A localized VAT fee is charged only to our European and UK customers on eBooks, Video and subscriptions that they buy. GST is charged to Indian customers for eBooks and video purchases.

What payment methods can I use? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

You can pay with the following card types:

  1. Visa Debit
  2. Visa Credit
  3. MasterCard
  4. PayPal
What is the delivery time and cost of print books? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Shipping Details

USA:

'

Economy: Delivery to most addresses in the US within 10-15 business days

Premium: Trackable Delivery to most addresses in the US within 3-8 business days

UK:

Economy: Delivery to most addresses in the U.K. within 7-9 business days.
Shipments are not trackable

Premium: Trackable delivery to most addresses in the U.K. within 3-4 business days!
Add one extra business day for deliveries to Northern Ireland and Scottish Highlands and islands

EU:

Premium: Trackable delivery to most EU destinations within 4-9 business days.

Australia:

Economy: Can deliver to P. O. Boxes and private residences.
Trackable service with delivery to addresses in Australia only.
Delivery time ranges from 7-9 business days for VIC and 8-10 business days for Interstate metro
Delivery time is up to 15 business days for remote areas of WA, NT & QLD.

Premium: Delivery to addresses in Australia only
Trackable delivery to most P. O. Boxes and private residences in Australia within 4-5 days based on the distance to a destination following dispatch.

India:

Premium: Delivery to most Indian addresses within 5-6 business days

Rest of the World:

Premium: Countries in the American continent: Trackable delivery to most countries within 4-7 business days

Asia:

Premium: Delivery to most Asian addresses within 5-9 business days

Disclaimer:
All orders received before 5 PM U.K time would start printing from the next business day. So the estimated delivery times start from the next day as well. Orders received after 5 PM U.K time (in our internal systems) on a business day or anytime on the weekend will begin printing the second to next business day. For example, an order placed at 11 AM today will begin printing tomorrow, whereas an order placed at 9 PM tonight will begin printing the day after tomorrow.


Unfortunately, due to several restrictions, we are unable to ship to the following countries:

  1. Afghanistan
  2. American Samoa
  3. Belarus
  4. Brunei Darussalam
  5. Central African Republic
  6. The Democratic Republic of Congo
  7. Eritrea
  8. Guinea-bissau
  9. Iran
  10. Lebanon
  11. Libiya Arab Jamahriya
  12. Somalia
  13. Sudan
  14. Russian Federation
  15. Syrian Arab Republic
  16. Ukraine
  17. Venezuela