Create strange lands filled with mysterious objects (cows frozen in blocks of ice, chirping penguins, golden globes with wavering eyes) and throw away your keyboard and mouse, to go exploring armed only with a gamepad, power glove, or just your bare hands!

Java gaming expert Andrew Davison will show you how to develop and program 3D games in Java technology on a PC, with an emphasis on the construction of 3D landscapes. It's assumed you have a reasonable knowledge of Java—the sort of thing picked up in a first Java course at school.

Topics are split into three sections: Java 3D API, non-standard input devices for game playing, and JOGL. Java 3D is a high-level 3D graphics API, and JOGL is a lower-level Java wrapper around the popular OpenGL graphics API.

You'll look at three non-standard input devices: the webcam, the game pad, and the P5 data glove.

Along the way, you'll utilize several other games-related libraries including: JInput, JOAL, JMF, and Odejava.

Learn all the latest Java SE 6 features relevant to gaming, including: splash screens, JavaScript scripting as well as the desktop and system tray interfaces.

Unique coverage of Java game development using both the Java 3D API and Java for OpenGL, as well as invaluable experience from a recognized Java gaming guru, will provide you with a distinct advantage after reading this book.