Looking for advice for getting started in developing apps

[George Nsd]

Ι recently graduated from a university with a computer science degree and i decided to try to go solo on creating apps on Android, mostly games i guess, at least create a few and see where it goes. I have read a bunch of articles on google about starting up but i was wondering what recommendations people over here would give to a beginner on the subject. I was thinking of something like reading a book or watching some video courses that would contain most of the info i would need in one place, something like a guide that would include all the steps i need. However, it should have been made sure that the info should be up to date. From what i searched Java is the language i will be using, i can code in Java so thats cool, i am more worried about which tools i will be using and generally whatever i need to know from the technical aspects of the whole app creation thing. Also, i would like to know about your opinions about how likely it is to earn a proper salary by creating apps on your own if you have a few good ideas and creating passive income from them without actually needing to overwork yourself to death just to make a few dollars.

[Tim Moores]

Games are tough. There are so many well-produced (and free or freemium) games from major game companies out there that I don't think anyone could be successful with something done in their spare time.

As to development in general, get acquainted with Android Studio. It's got everything you need as far as Android tools are concerned (including a huge learning curve :-) Personally, I'm doubtful about the usefulness of videos. For introducing some small topic, sure. But for picking up Android development in general, not feasible. Maybe a series of 1000 videos could do it. There are introductory books out there, but they can only take you so far - Android development is a huge topic by now, and a single volume can't begin to go into all the details.

Take a look around developer.android.com, it has tons of learning material and example apps that you can start from. Make a small app you think is useful, put it out there in the Play Store, and see what happens.

[salvin francis]

George Nsd wrote:... From what i searched Java is the language i will be using, i can code in Java so thats cool, i am more worried about which tools i will be using and generally whatever i need to know from the technical aspects of the whole app creation thing.

The Android platform allows you to develop games using both java or kotlin as the programming language. Alternatively, if gaming is your prime interest, then have a look at gaming engines instead. I use Godot and I find it quite good to develop basic games. There's also Unity and Unreal game engines.

George Nsd wrote:Also, i would like to know about your opinions about how likely it is to earn a proper salary by creating apps on your own if you have a few good ideas and creating passive income from them without actually needing to overwork yourself to death just to make a few dollars.

Income should not be the prime focus if you are just beginning with the learning phase. A lot of games posted on the playstore begin without any ads. Once they gain popularity, they start concentrating on income.

[Adrian Grabowski]

Godot looks pretty cool, especially for 2D games, will have to play with it in my spare time.

When it comes to games and making money I think that the best way is to focus on educational games for little kids, I think twice about spending any money on games for myself but when I find something that might be useful for teaching my little rascal reading or maths I don't care how much it costs. Also, don't neglect Amazon Appstore as Fire tablets don't have access to Play Store so that's a nice niche I think...

[Sarbjit Grewal]

George Nsd wrote:Ι recently graduated from a university with a computer science degree and i decided to try to go solo on creating apps on Android, mostly games i guess, at least create a few and see where it goes. I have read a bunch of articles on google about starting up but i was wondering what recommendations people over here would give to a beginner on the subject. I was thinking of something like reading a book or watching some video courses that would contain most of the info i would need in one place, something like a guide that would include all the steps i need. However, it should have been made sure that the info should be up to date. From what i searched Java is the language i will be using, i can code in Java so thats cool, i am more worried about which tools i will be using and generally whatever i need to know from the technical aspects of the whole app creation thing. Also, i would like to know about your opinions about how likely it is to earn a proper salary by creating apps on your own if you have a few good ideas and creating passive income from them without actually needing to overwork yourself to death just to make a few dollars.

Android app developer is quite good career for you. In fact, you would enjoy while developing the android apps. If you ask for the android app development tools, then you can use the tools like android studio, visual studio with xamarin., etc.