Hi everyone,

Recently a myself and a small group of friends became interested in developing a game for a mobile platform. Originally we considered the iPhone but none of us use macs, so we decided Android would be a more realistic platform to use. Before we get started, I was hoping that I might find some answers to a couple questions so we don't waste our time if this project isn't feasible. Any help is appreciated!

1. I can't find out which programming languages Android supports. Java is obvious, but what about C+? It seems that Android supports C and C++ through Eclipse, but is that it?

2. Our game involves the use of two digital analog sticks (it's not a twin-stick shooter but it's a similar concept). It would seem that most Droid devices unfortunately don't use multi-touch though... Are there any devices out there right now which support this functionality, or should we possibly consider the development of a different game that would only use a single input?

3. Assuming there's no hook-ups following those first two questions, what would you consider the best resolution to develop in? It seems like there are a variety of resolutions out there right now and we can't decide which is the best to use.

DarkMirage wrote:1. I can't find out which programming languages Android supports. Java is obvious, but what about C+? It seems that Android supports C and C++ through Eclipse, but is that it?

The vast majority of your Android app will be in Java, I don't think there's any way around that. It's worth having a look at the Native Development Kit (NDK) though to see if it's appropriate for what you're developing.

DarkMirage wrote:2. Our game involves the use of two digital analog sticks (it's not a twin-stick shooter but it's a similar concept). It would seem that most Droid devices unfortunately don't use multi-touch though... Are there any devices out there right now which support this functionality, or should we possibly consider the development of a different game that would only use a single input?

Perhaps you can make use of both the touch screen and the trackball/D-pad? If you take a look at games like Replica Island (absolutely brilliant game btw), they implement a combination of touchscreen and physical buttons very well.

DarkMirage wrote:3. Assuming there's no hook-ups following those first two questions, what would you consider the best resolution to develop in? It seems like there are a variety of resolutions out there right now and we can't decide which is the best to use.

Most Android handsets use HVGA, so I'd say that would be the best place to start. Any higher-resolution devices can downscale to this resolution, and the app could always be adapted for QVGA in the future. There's a good guide about this on the Android Developers guide.

Hope that helps