A Night With Java ME

I decided I needed a change of pace last week, so I sat down with Eclipse, the Mobile Tools for Java (MTJ) plugin, and MPowerPlayer on the Mac, and cranked out a little toy game using the Game APIs. My only reference was the Beginning J2ME: From Novice to Professional ebook and previous experience.

Starting up the mobile project was never easier -- the stack finally works nicely, even on a Mac. Within about 7 hours of coding and interruptions, I had a working platform-style game with a little backhoe that can be driven back and across the screen, and you dig for little jewels. It's dead simple and the kids find it amusing. It looked good in the MPowerPlayer emulator, and it worked even better on my SonyEricsson W810i.

The next day, I spent 2 more hours or so adding some trees to plow over. It still needs a few finishing touches and features, but you can grab Ben's Backhoe and amuse your kid in the grocery store or something with a simple little game. I hope to be able to put together a few more little mini games like this -- Paige is already making requests.