This session will go through the basics of setting up your environment ready for Android development, building a very simple Hello World application to illustrate how you build interactive user interfaces. It will also cover what types of resource are used in Android apps, how to draw graphics using a variety of techniques, and how to skin and theme components.

We’ll also cover the subject of screen resolutions and the hugely important screen density problem that will be important to all mobile developers as new devices come out with different size screens, so that your app can scale from phone to tablet without any modification at all. Animation and timing will be explored, those familiar with Tweens in Flash should find themselves at home here. We’ll then move onto the sometimes prickly subject of Threads and Handlers, two very important concepts for keeping your application and games responsive. Finally a look at a couple of game engines that make use of OpenGL ES for blazing performance, and some tips throughout.