LibGDX – A Modern Cross-Platform Java Framework for Game Development

LibGDX is a cross-platform 2D/3D game development environment, which was written in Java/C/C++ language based on Apache License 2.0 Agreement. It’s free for commercial and non-commercial use and hosted on GitHub.

Advantages

Let’s look at the advantages of this framework.

1. Strong compatibility

Libgdx is compatible with most platforms and implemented using standard JavaSE.

It can run on Mac, Linux, Windows, Android, and IOS platforms. So, LibGDX offers a single API to target: Windows, Linux (including the Raspberry Pi), macOS, Android, iOS, and Web. At the same time, the extremely high compatibility ensures the convenience of debugging and development.

One can use the same code on Android or IOS to write, test, and debug one’s app on a desktop PC (one can debug game apps written with the Libgdx engine without opening an Android or IOS emulator).

2. High efficiency

Libgdx is a game development framework. It is mainly written in Java, which is also mixed with some C/C++ code. These codes allow some high-performance operations like a physics engine or audio processing.

As a user, one only needs to pay attention to the Java side, which has encapsulated all native code. Compared to other Android game engines, the efficiency advantage of LibGDX is very clear.

3. Clear structure

LibGDX has many modules. These core libraries consist of sound operations, file reading, 2D/3D rendering, LibGDX drawing-related operations, Box2D packaging, 2D/3D game components, and built-in Libgdx tools in Libgdx.

4. Box2D

The packaging of the Libgdx physics engine is also amazing. It’s crazy enough to use JNI to encapsulate the C++ side of box2d, making it operationally much faster than other physics engines of the same tier like jbox2d.

Amongst popular android game engines (such as Andengine, Rokon, etc.) that include physics engines, almost all use LibGDX. If one’s game (especially for the Android platform) will use a physics engine, Libgdx should be prioritized.

5. Rich tools

Libgdx also has a large number of development tools — Particle editor (Particle Editor), Hierobitmap font generator (Text Generation Tool), Texture packer (Image Merge Tool), and TWL layout editor.

Conclusion

In conclusion, developers can create modern cross-platform games using the LibGDX Java framework.

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About the Author

Eugene is a Full-Stack Developer. He enjoys working at Swan with some of his favorite aspects being the people, atmosphere, and team-building exercises with colleagues.

Eugene keeps busy with a variety of hobbies and activities some of which include, judo, playing the guitar, and exploring the beauties of nature. He is proud of the family he has and the programming speciality he has achieved.

We’re glad to have Eugene on the team at Swan and are grateful he took the time to share.