AbsurdEngine

An XMLVM-based framework for building native Android and iOS games from the same Java code,
born of my frustration with the lack of ways to quickly test ideas on hardware

Features

• A multithreaded game engine with sprite graphics
• Seamless access to device-specific identifiers
• Cross-platform java.net HTTP networking
• Conditional compilation of Java and integration with C/ Obj-C code, if you need them
• A cross-platform implementation of the MobFox native advertising SDK

Game Engine

Based on the Android surface/ runner thread pattern:

• Extend GameView to implement game logic and drawing
• A RunnerThread executes the GameView's logic and instructs the main thread to render it at a specified FPS

Framework

Uses XMLVM to cross-compile Android Java code to native iOS code:

• AbsurdEngine Java code compiled against the XMLVM Android compatibility library
• Java byte code converted to C source code
• iOS Xcode project created with generated C code, AbsurdEngine C code, and XMLVM iOS compatibility library

Starting an AbsurdEngine project

The AbsurdEngine depends upon the Android SDK and a modified version of XMLVM

I write my AbsurdEngine code in Eclipse and test it on Android with the ADT plugin,
updating the corresponding iOS project from the command line and running it with Xcode

Before starting, make sure you have Xcode installed and an Android development workflow running

Install xmlvm-AbsurdEngine

• Clone the source code
  • hg clone https://smpsnr@bitbucket.org/smpsnr/xmlvm-absurdengine
• Set the installation directory
  • Create the file local.properties in xmlvm-absurdengine/properties
  • Add xmlvm.install=your_xmlvm_install_path to local.properties
• Compile and install xmlvm-AbsurdEngine with Ant
  • cd xmlvm-absurdengine
  • ant
  • ant install
• Add your_xmlvm_install_path/bin to your path

Install the AbsurdEngine

• Clone the source code
  • hg clone https://smpsnr@bitbucket.org/smpsnr/absurdengine
• Add the Android library project to your Eclipse workspace
  • File -> Import -> Existing Android Code Into Workspace

Installing the Advertisement SDK

On Android, the AbsurdEngine requires Google Play Services and OpenUDID (included) to retrieve the device advertising ID
These services generate code in the Android resource file (R.java) and require references in the manifest (AndroidManifest.xml) that will not resolve on iOS

If you do not need advertisements, simply remove the irrelevant code from the AbsurdEngine's build path in Eclipse:

• Exclude the ad SDK from the build path
  • AbsurdEngine -> Project -> Properties -> Java Build Path -> Source
  • Select AbsurdEngine/src, choose Edit, then Next
  • Add the following exclusion pattern: com/adsdk/
• Exclude the OpenUDID library from the build path
  • Select AbsurdEngine/src_android, choose Edit, then Next
  • Add the following exclusion pattern: org/OpenUDID/

If you do plan on using advertisements, you must first reference the Google Play Services library:

• Install Google Play Services
  • In the Android SDK Manager ( sdk/tools/android ), install Extras -> Google Play Services
  • Make a copy of the Google Play Services library project ( sdk/extras/google/google_play_services/libproject/google-play-services_lib ) to use in Eclipse
• Reference the Google Play Services library project from the AbsurdEngine
  • File -> Import -> Existing Android Code Into Workspace
  • AbsurdEngine -> Project -> Properties -> Android
  • Add the google-play-services_lib library project to the list of references

If the Google Play Services library gives strange errors, make sure that its Java compiler compliance level (in Project -> Properties -> Java Compiler) is set to 1.6

See the next section for instructions on enabling the advertisement SDK in an AbsurdEngine project

Create a new AbsurdEngine project

• Generate an xmlvm-AbsurdEngine skeleton project
  • Run xmlvm from the command line with the following parameters:
    • --skeleton=absurdengine
    • --out= the directory you would like to create your project in
    • --app-name= the name of your project
    • --androidsdk= the path of your Android SDK installation
    • --absurdsdk= the path of your AbsurdEngine installation
• Don't worry about the InputProcess warning
• Add the generated Android project to Eclipse
  • File -> Import -> Existing Android Code Into Workspace
  • If you are using the ad SDK, follow the instructions in the next section
  • If not, reference the AbsurdEngine from your new project:
    • MyProject -> Project -> Properties -> Android
    • Add the AbsurdEngine library project to the list of references

Enabling the Advertisement SDK

To use the ad SDK in your new project, you must create iOS-compatible copies of the Android manifest and generated resource code
before adding Android-specific Google Play and OpenUDID references

• Reference iOS-compatible Android resources from the XMLVM project
  • If the gen folder does not yet exist in your project directory, clean and build the Android project from Eclipse (MyProject -> Project -> Clean)
  • Copy AndroidManifest.xml and gen/yourpackagename to new directories, perhaps androidmanifest_ios and gen_ios respectively
  • In local.properties, set the following properties:
    • src.gen.dir=gen_ios
    • manifest=androidmanifest_ios/AndroidManifest.xml
• Reference the AbsurdEngine, Google Play Services, and OpenUDID libraries from your Android project
  • MyProject -> Project -> Properties -> Android
  • Add the google-play-services_lib library project to the list of references
  • Add the AbsurdEngine library project to the list of references
  • Add the following to AndroidManifest.xml, within the <application> element:

    • <meta-data  
           android:name="com.google.android.gms.version"  
           android:value="@integer/google_play_services_version" />
      

    • <service 
            android:name="org.openudid.OpenUDID_service" >
      	<intent-filter>
      		<action android:name="org.openudid.GETUDID" />
      	</intent-filter>
      </service>
      

Note - further changes to AndroidManifest.xml or R.java that should be present on iOS (for example, adding permissions or drawable resources)
must be copied manually from the Android files to their copies in gen_ios and androidmanifest_ios

Running your project

• Android
  • Build and run in Eclipse like any other Android project
• iOS
  • Run ant in in your project directory
  • The Xcode project created in myproject/dist is opened automatically; build and run like any other iOS project

The template project should display the Arcade of the Absurd logo bouncing around the screen

Notes

AbsurdEngine (c) by Sam Posner (http://www.arcadeoftheabsurd.com/)

AbsurdEngine is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. For more information, see LICENSE.txt
Individual licenses apply to all third-party libraries used by AbsurdEngine. For more information, see the 3rdparty-license folder

You can contact me at sam@arcadeoftheabsurd.com