Downloading and installing Cocos2d-x

All the examples in this book were developed in a Mac using Xcode and/or Eclipse. The example in the final chapter uses Cocos2d-x own IDE for scripting. Although you can use Cocos2d-x to develop your games for other platforms using different systems, the examples were built in a Mac and deployed to both iOS and Android.

Xcode is free and can be downloaded from the Mac App store (https://developer.apple.com/xcode/index.php), but in order to test your code on an iOS device and publish your games, you will need a developer account with Apple, which will cost you $99 a year. You can find more information on their website: https://developer.apple.com/.

For Android deployment, I recommend that you get the Eclipse and ADT bundle from Google, which you can find at http://developer.android.com/sdk/installing/installing-adt.html. You will be able to test your games in an Android device for free.

So, assuming you have an Internet connection, let's begin!