The BlackBerry® Native SDK for Tablet OS gives you the power to create rich C/C++ games. For those of you just getting started with developing for the BlackBerry platform, these links will help you quickly get a jump on making your own games using the BlackBerry Native SDK.

• Download the BlackBerry Native SDK for Tablet OS for Windows®, Mac OS X or Linux.
• Get started with the BlackBerry Native SDK for Tablet OS by creating and deploying your first OpenGL ES application.
• Learn about the QNX® Momentics® IDE with full suite of debugging and profiling tools.

Once you’ve gotten a good start, be sure to check out the Developer’s Guide, Tutorials and Libraries available in the BlackBerry Native SDK including:

• STL and POSIX library support
• OpenGL ES 1.1 and 2.0 for 2D and 3D graphics
• OpenAL for cross-platform 3D audio
• libpng and libjpeg for encoded images
• FreeType for fonts
• Scoreloop SDK for integrating social gaming capabilities

Read more at the Inside BlackBerry Developer’s Blog »

[ YouTube link for mobile viewing ]

Our friend Victoria from the Developer Relations team sat down with Jane McGonigal, one of the featured speakers at BlackBerry® DevCon Americas 2011, to chat about game development as well as “gamification”: how gaming concepts can apply to real world challenges. Jane highlights the growth of a gaming generation, and looks to the future when this group will become the majority of the workforce. Lastly, she touches upon the importance of exploring the applicability of gaming early on in order to fully understand this trend. Check out a full video of the interview above!

How do you see gaming concepts applying to everyday life? Reply in the comments below.

[ YouTube link for mobile viewing ]

Since the launch of the Native SDK for BlackBerry® Tablet OS closed beta, game developers have been able to leverage rich tools to take advantage of the power within the BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet. With the general availability launch of the NDK, along with the Scoreloop NDK beta availability, leveraging the full capabilities of the BlackBerry PlayBook is now easier than ever.

The video above highlights some great examples of gaming experiences on the BlackBerry PlayBook, including apps like Dead Space for BlackBerry PlayBook, Asphalt 6: Adrenaline HD, and N.O.V.A. 2 HD (full list below).

Spacelings by HotGen Limited
BattleBallz Chaos by Pocketeers Limited
Raging Thunder by Polarbit
Bejeweled 2 for BlackBerry PlayBook by Electronic Arts Inc.
THE GAME OF LIFE for BlackBerry PlayBook by Electronic Arts Inc.
Dead Space for BlackBerry PlayBook by Electronic Arts Inc.
Asphalt 6: Adrenaline HD by Gameloft Inc.
N.O.V.A. 2 HD by Gameloft Inc.
Let’s Golf 2 HD by Gameloft Inc.
ToFu by HotGen Limited