Sony Ericsson announced its first mobile Java 3D-enabled phones in March 2004. A lot has happened since then. Sony Ericsson has to date introduced “mobile Java 3D” (JSR-184 Mobile 3D Graphics) in 21 of its mobile phones, showing its commitment for this emerging technology and firm belief in mobile 3D gaming as one of the key drivers of mobile entertainment. This is the broadest portfolio, from entry-level to high-end segment, that any GSM/UMTS handset manufacturer has with 3D today.

On Sony Ericsson Developer World’s dedicated Mobile Java 3D web section (www.SonyEricsson.com/developer), a series of tutorials have been published complete with source code and application packages to help you get started with Mobile Java 3D development. The fourth tutorial has just been released, so there is plenty of comprehensive material to now go through. The tutorials have been created by Mikael Baros, senior programmer at Redikod. Mikael is a regular contributor to the Sony Ericsson Developer World discussion forums. Redikod from Malmo in the south of Sweden has been developing web and mobile games since 1997, and this small company is now one of the leaders in the Nordic games industry.

Check out the JSR-184 tutorial series below.

Part One: Quick jump into the world of Mobile Java 3D programming
http://developer.sonyericsson.com/site/global/techsupport/tipstrickscode/mobilejava3d/p_java3d_tutorial_part1_compliments_redikod.jsp

The goal of this tutorial is to teach you how to set up your own 3D Canvas and make it render stuff on screen. To render models, you are first shown how to load them and about the tools that are available to create M3G models. The tutorial finishes by manipulating the camera some so that you can walk around in your scene.

Part two: Light 3D theory and orientation
http://developer.sonyericsson.com/site/global/techsupport/tipstrickscode/mobilejava3d/p_java3d_tutorial_part2_compliments_redikod.jsp

The goal of this tutorial is to give you a good enough understanding of 3D math for you to be able to utilize JSR 184’s translation and orientation methods. You are guided through 3D coordinate systems, translation in 3D space and orientation around a vector. Also, you’ll be able to use this newfound knowledge at the end of the tutorial to rotate meshes in code and place them in 3D space.

Part three: Particle systems and immediate mode rendering
http://developer.sonyericsson.com/site/global/techsupport/tipstrickscode/mobilejava3d/p_java3d_tutorial_part3_compliments_redikod.jsp

The goal of this tutorial is to go through how to gain total control over the rendering process (immediate rendering) and how to create a very nice particle system. The tutorial will show you how to render the same object several times, with different transformations. This is called immediate mode. You’ll learn how powerful such a mode is for a great many things. Also, this tutorial will be the base of the more advanced tutorials to come, since you’ll almost exclusively be using immediate mode for rendering from now on.

Part four: M3G built-in collision, light physics and camera perspective
http://developer.sonyericsson.com/site/global/techsupport/tipstrickscode/mobilejava3d/p_java3d_tutorial_part4_compliments_redikod.jsp

This tutorial will teach you some very important things regarding the dynamics of any 3D game, namely collision and physics. You’ll aalso be shown how the camera perspective matrix works and what you can do by manipulating it. This is what you’ll hopefully accomplish by reading and practising this tutorial:

Learn about the perspective matrix and camera manipulation
Learn how to use M3G’s built-in mechanism for fast collision detection
Gain a basic understanding of how physics can alter a game’s feel towards being more realistic
Implement a very simple pong-like game in 3D

Mobile Java 3D game gallery
Also check out the Mobile Java 3D game gallery at http://developer.sonyericsson.com/site/global/newsandevents/campaigns/java_3d/game_gallery/p_java3d_gamegallery.jsp.jsp. Partners with launched Mascot Capsule v3 or JSR-184 game titles for Sony Ericsson phones include: Bandai Networks, Com2uS, Digital Chocolate, Exit Games / Fishlabs, Gameloft, Infospace, I-play, Microforum, Mitsui / Zapptrio, NotTheFly and Superscape.

Sony Ericsson Developer World is a global support program and web portal totally dedicated to helping serious, wireless developers achieve business success by providing the documentation, tools, training, technical and go-to-market support they need in their development process. Sony Ericsson Developer World helps developers get on the fast track from mind to market, thereby ensuring that a constant stream of fun, useful and innovative content and applications is available for Sony Ericsson’s Java ME and Symbian OS based phones. www.SonyEricsson.com/developer