Amazon.com
New from bestselling video game guru, André LaMothe, Tricks of the Windows Game Programming Gurus provides an incredibly rich tour of today's video game programming techniques for the Microsoft DirectX gaming platform. Filled with entertaining and challenging code examples in C, this book sets a high standard as a tutorial for getting started with game programming and will certainly earn a place on the bookshelf of any working (or aspiring) game developer.
The incredibly rich detail within this book on virtually all facets of game development on the DirectX platform is what sets it apart from other titles. The author, a truly legendary game programmer, conveys his expert knowledge with a sense of authority and flair in a massive format (nearly 1,000 pages). After a tour of basic Windows C programming, this book centers on Microsoft DirectX for game development. Though most of the printed book centers on DirectDraw (for 2D APIs), these APIs are used to render 3D worlds. (A wide variety of articles on Direct3D are included on the accompanying CD-ROM.) The author also shows how to get the most out of other Microsoft APIs for high-performance gaming, including sound (DirectSound and DirectMusic) and input (with DirectInput).
Rarely does the ordinary programmer get a glimpse into the high-powered world of video game development. That's what's offered here with plenty of techniques and tips for creating leading-edge game effects (such as simulating the laws of physics in your games, like gravity, or creating smarter characters with artificial intelligence). Whether you are an aspiring game developer or an interested game enthusiast with a programming background who wants a peek under the hood, Tricks of the Windows Game Programming Gurus shows you how it's done in an exciting, technically rich, and authoritatively told tutorial on how to use DirectX for creating realistic video games. --Richard Dragan
Topics covered: Game basics, history of video games, 3D modelers and graphics tools, Windows C programming primer, graphics, COM, DirectX and DirectDraw fundamentals, DirectDraw surfaces, double buffering, working with bitmaps, color-keying, vector rasterization, 2D transformations and clipping, input and DirectInput, sound effects with DirectSound and DirectMusic, binary search trees (BSTs) for 3D worlds, multithreading, artificial intelligence for games, physics modeling, gravity, bouncing effects and particle systems, and Direct3D and 3D programming (on CD-ROM).
Book Description
Tricks of the 3D Game Programming Gurus takes game programmers to the next level of programming, teaching them the latest techniques and tools: DirectX, 3D acceleration, Artificial Intelligence and explains, in detail, 3D algorithms including texture mapping and lighting.
Customer Reviews:
An Awsome Book.......2005-07-26
This is a really good book...and I enjoy reading it. I keep it as a reference in the process of creating games...and always gives me satisfactory results. If your planning to buy this book buy it. This book takes from GDI to the fundementals of 2D and 3D programming.
Simply the best.......2004-10-11
Lamothe is a genius. He explains well, knows what he's talking about, and gets straight to the point without missing important information. Lots of example and code. If you want results, this is the book for you.
Best Book Ever!.......2003-05-14
I love this book. I knew a little c++ and a little DirectX. I read this book and it gave me a great understanding of it all. I have already made a couple of pretty good games. If you want to know how to make games then I would definitly recomend this book to you. If it made me able to make games I am sure it will be great for you.
good book.......2003-03-14
excellent book, a must for anyone who's interested in game programming! great for beginners!
The God of all Game Programming Books!.......2002-11-17
This book is by far, the very best game programming book I have ever read (and I have read a lot). Andre Lamothe covers every major topic a beginning game programmer could ever want (or need) to know. Please note the use of the word "beginner", however. This book is for the beginning game programmer. Your not going to learn to implement your own 3-D engine that has state-of-the-art particle effects, it's own depth buffer and z-buffer, and has support for volumetric fogging. Neither are you going to learn to implement the latest photon traces for lighting effects. Nope. Not in this book. If your looking for full-blown 3-D game programming, you should check out "The Zen of Direct3D Game Programming" by Peter Walsh, and "Special Effects Game Programming With DirectX" by Mason McCusky, both of which are excellent books on more advance, 3-D related programming techniques. This book focuses more on 2-D graphics, but for the beginner, it will be one heck of an experience. I can't tell you how well Andre LaMothe explains the topics covered in this book. He covers Window programming, teaching you so much that you might (keyword: might) be able to make a decent 2-D game using the Windows GDI. It would be extremely slow, because the Windows GDI is extremely slow, but that's life. After Windows programming, Andre LaMothe covers the basics of Microsoft DirectDraw. First, he teaches you the relationship between Microsoft DirectDraw and COM (component object model). Next, he actually covers the properties of Microsoft DirectDraw, and disects it piece by piece for you. After that, he covers advanced Microsoft DirectDraw usage and some bitmapped graphics in 8-, 16-, 24-, and 32- bit high color. Finally, he gets to advanced 2-D graphics programming, and even builds a complete 2-D graphics rendering engine just for you! You're still not even half-way through the book. He still completely covers Microsoft DirectInput, and Microsoft DirectSound/DirectMusic! But finally, the really really good stuff comes. He covers advance state-of-the-art artificial intelligence and real 2-D physics modeling. Andre LaMothe wraps this incredible book up with a final chapter covering the implementation of a complete 2-D Asteriods clone, but of course, Mr. LaMothe jazzed up the game therefore making it incredibly awsome. This book truly is a revolutionary work. If you're anxious to learn advanced 2-D game programming, then don't hesitate, get it NOW!!!
Amazon.com
To be an ordinary programmer is one thing: You need only learn how to interact with the computer on its own terms, creating buttons and combo boxes that have no significance away from the screen. To be a game programmer--particularly one that writes games with environments that appear three-dimensional to their players--is something else entirely. Such work requires that the flat screen simulate the real world, complete with light, shading, texture, gravity, and momentum. It's all quite complicated. Tricks of the 3D Game Programming Gurus helps its readers make great progress in creating 3D worlds and the action that goes on in them.
That this large, dense book manages to explain how to design and implement a 3D game while neither glossing over too many details nor swamping the reader with trivia is a credit to author André LaMothe. He opens by showing (and explaining) the C++ source code of a simple but full-fledged 3D spaceflight shooter game--a real boost to the reader's confidence. From there, he explains the complicated geometric concepts and mathematics that underlie realistic games (always with an eye toward software algorithms) and shows how to use the many APIs and libraries (including Microsoft DirectX 9.0) that make the world-builder's job easier. Make no mistake: Designing and building convincing games with 3D visuals and behaviors that convincingly approximate real-world physics is hard work. In this book, LaMothe helps you get it done and enjoy the process. --David Wall
Topics covered: How to design and build 3D worlds and the goings-on within them. Aside from mathematics and geometry, this book focuses on wireframe models, shading, rendering, and animation. Microsoft DirectX 9.0 gets special attention.
Book Description
Today is the greatest time in history to be in the game business. We now have the technology to create games that look real! Sony's Playstation II, XBOX, and Game Cube are cool! But, all this technology isn't easy or trivial to understand - it takes really hard work and lots of Red Bull. The difficulty level of game programming has definitely been cranked up these days in relation to the skill set needed to make games. Andre LaMothe's follow-up book to Tricks of the Windows Game Programming Gurus is the one to read for the latest in 3D game programming. When readers are finished with Tricks of the 3D Game Programming Gurus-Advanced 3D Graphics and Rasterization, they will be able to create a full 3D texture-mapped, lit video game for the PC with a software rasterizer they can write themselves. Moreover, they will understand the underlying principles of 3D graphics and be able to better understand and utilize 3D hardware today and in the future.
Customer Reviews:
Good source for beginners.......2007-09-27
This book provides excellent information for anyone who is looking to understand 3D game programming built from the ground up. It does not focus on coding styles and practices. Instead, it takes the reader step-by-step through the process of creating a 3D game engine and explains the mathematics and optimization techniques behind each system. If you've ever wondered how to make a 3D game from scratch, this book will teach you. Note that this book expands on code from LaMothe's "Tricks of the Windows Game Programming Gurus", which covers similar material in 2D.
Decent introduction to graphics programming........2006-11-14
Andre' LaMothe is a pretty big name in the game-development education market. I feel, however, this is mostly due to the fact that his stuff allows "cook-book" programmers to just rip the code right out of the book and use it for their own purposes, rather than just lay out the theory and allow the programmer to do what he or she is supposed to be doing: programming their engine and solving problems.
It begins with a pretty fair introduction to REALLY basic mathematics (high-school pre-calculus level stuff), and then follows it with a section on how to build a math library. The problem with sticking in a math section such as this into a book, is that there are really no supplementary problems for the reader to figure out on her/his own. It just lays out the tools without giving the reader a chance to use them on their own (later in the book he shows how to use the math to derive things, but, again, the reader isn't using his/her mind much...just being handed the algorithms on a $40 platter).
Then, the book goes into 3D concepts, describes various graphics algorithms, shows implementations, and then eventually, by the end of the book, LaMothe has written a cheap, Quake-style renderer which the user can then, presumably, use to build a game on top of. Or the more interested reader can even try to learn how everything is put together from the source. There's one problem here:
If you're looking to learn from example, then this book isn't a very good one. John Carmack has released his sources for Quake, Quake 2, and Quake 3, and are truly professional game engines (the best in the industry, according to some). If you're not willing to solve problems yourself and want to study somebody else's work, then just go download the Quake sources...they're free.
I probably sound overly harsh on this book, but perhaps it's due to the fact that I'm the kind of person who likes to be given theory (even sometimes I'll figure it out on my own) and be left to come up with my own, personalized code. Now, this book allows for that, but it does spend a good deal of pages on implementation, flat jokes, and massive code-dumps.
Speaking of flat-jokes, LaMothe's writing style seems rather bloated with unnecessary colloquialism. It takes quite a few paragraphs to wade through his egotism and "cool" talk before you get to the meat.
In short: If you're a newbie game developer and want a "quick-and-easy" introduction to software rendering (everybody should start with a sw renderer -- or at least understanding 3D graphics theory), then by all means, buy this book. It's useful.
However, if math is one of your best friends, and you like solving problems on your own and implementing things your way, then I suggest just buying a 3D graphics textbook (Alan Watt's is nice) and writing your own real-time software renderer (or even a realistic ray-tracer).
too much contents with little highlight.......2006-04-17
writer talk about too much basic knowledges which are used for 3d game programming , but most of them like knowledge of math and windows programming we can find in other books even in the course we studied long long ago.
wish writer take the 3d as the point and talk more about the newest technolegies arised this years.
The Best Book in the World!.......2005-11-23
Okay, maybe not the best book in the world. But it does do exactly what it says it is going to do, plus Andre Lamothe both knows what he is talking about, and presents all of the information in a logical and easy to understand way. A must have for all learning game programmers. After you read this book (which takes awhile) everything that you would need to know to write a full fledged 3d game is in your head. Long yes, but that is because the collosal amount of information in it. The CD contains source code for everything in the book. So not just do you have an explanation, but you have samples to play around with and learn from. Great book! But I would advise first reading his first book in the series, Tricks of the Windows Game Programming Gurus, and then just skip the first three chapters of the 3D game programing, that way you get the whole deal. I have read both books and have made several games using his information.
Best Lamothe's book ever.......2005-10-01
This book rocks for sure, anyway, i've to warn about some odd things that may bother you as they bothered me.
I think 70% of the printed-code isn't useful at all, some snippets would be good enough to express the concept, for more code there is the companion CD but, anyway, you can always skip those code-filled pages on your own.
Explanations are really well organized, but you need a solid background in order to follow the book completely, some concepts need experiments on-your-own rather than running-a-demo: for example, the "Perfect Perspective Correct" algorithm is well explained, but the demos "as is" doesn't give you the chance to see the really perfect mapping at all: just move close to the objects and you'll see bad textured polygons here and there, BUT those are demos, not full-games.
There are some math errors here and there but the most hard-to-find one is surely about this texture mapping stuff: you can crash the demos too while getting close to some of the objects with perfect texture mapping activated and this is due to wrong FIXED_POINT math used for making it running faster: if you already own the book, at page 1230 (fig. 12.22) you are going to line up the fixed points, this is correct, however shifting this way you are losing precision on the leftmost bits causing math overflows and wrong calculations (from a 10.22 to a 4.28 you are throwing away "pag. 1228, paragraph 1"'s efforts ;).
And note, there is NO 4.22 fixed-point format, Zi is a 4.28 one, fig. 12.22 is correct but pag. 1228/1229 states wrong, while pag. 1230 states at the last paragraph is correct again.
Personally, i think even these errors alone (chapter 12) would worth an errata, because some new-comers couldn't figure out what's wrong, but let me say this book is the most complete work i've ever seen on software rasterization: if you are serious about 3d graphics, buy it!
Book Description
Develop 3-D walk-through games, and discover how to add music, art and multi-player capabilities to your programs with Tricks of the Game Programming Gurus. You'll get all the tips, tricks, and advanced techniques from Professional Game Developers who have designed and programmed combat and war games, as well as game textures for walls, grounds, and skies. In not time, you'll master programming techniques and discover how to combine them to create spectacular, real-world games.
- Create your own exciting, action-packed, award-winning interactive games
- Master advanced bitmap graphics, artificial intelligence, 3-D graphics, I/O basics, high-speed 3-D sprites, and character animation
- Develop dazzling art, design textures for walls, use music, and add multi-player capabilities to your games
- CD-ROM includes source code, game development tools, shareware games, such as Doom 1.2, and utilities for game design and image manipulation
Customer Reviews:
The coolest author!!! A world of discovery..........2004-06-25
This is the best introduction to DOS games programming there is. And this author knows how to get your attention.
It is a world of discovery into the art of plotting pixels in video memory to create graphics, animation and 2D games. It teaches you to program your sound card, joystick and other I/O devices.
The examples are in C, not C++; so they are easily digestable. No 'hidden' classes to decipher - you get everything straight.
I really enjoy reading the book and I would recommend to anyone who wants to learn to program games.
It's a good introduction........2001-08-29
Tricks of the Game Programming Gurus is a good introduction to creating 2D games for the PC. The techniques used describe the standard DOS libraries for the C programming language. The demonstrations are very thorough, and the descriptions are well written and easy to understand. New concepts, such as fast-drawn pixels, lines, sprite animation, and sound, are learned with ease. This book isn't a walk in the park for the novice, however. Although the descriptions are thorough, the authors expect the reader to have some understanding of 'C' and general programming concepts. The chapter on artificial intelligence contains more theory than demonstration. For someone designing a standard, DOS 2D game engine, I would recommend another Andre LaMothe book--Teach Yourself Game Programming in 21 Days. If you're more interested in what the concepts mean and how to perform tasks, this book is great. Where "Teach Yourself..." is more of an instruction manual, this book is more of an encyclopedia.
Where once I was blind, now I can see!.......2000-05-09
After reading this book cover to cover, I felt confident that I could both grasp and program the essentials of what went into a game from the DOS-era. Though familar with C, it took two months to read the volumous book, but it really is a delight to read. The code is commented superbly (after a while, you almost don't even have to read the code to understand it) and I would recommend running the conveniently provided demo *.exe files for each example to get a better idea of how it works after reading each one.
The first few chapters on I/O and 2D and the later chapters on AI and interrupt handling provide more than enough to begin programming your own games using C in DOS (DJGPP compiler is great for this - the web of course provides the rest).
The chapters on 3d ray-castering, etc, provide a good understanding for how Wolf-3D might have worked, but falls slightly short of Doom. This is not such a bad thing if you are new (as I was) to games programming. Less forgiving though, was the disappointment to find that after reading the whole book, the final chapter does not deliver on coding a 3D game with monsters, etc. I can understand that after the effort of all the previous chapters with their carefully-coded examples, the author may have been keen to finish the book, but it was like a finishing a game without a "Hey you just won now watch this ultra-cool sequence" ending.
That aside though, this is an exceptional book for beginners to game programming. After reading it, you will be able to look at any game and start to see the cogs ticking behind the scenes. If nothing else, it will give you an appreciation of the programming effort put into games. For those seeking instant gratification with Windows/directX games, this book can be skipped. But for those with an interest in learning games programming, I couldn't think of a better place to start.
Superb........1999-08-04
Although dated now, this book is still one of the books I love the most in my collection.
Lamothe starts in each chapter with a new topic and gradually solves the problems as they arise with summaries and other notes. A basic knowledge of C and how to work computers obviously will stand you in good stead but even an amature, with determination can pick this book up and really learn from it. Lamothe tends to spring little details on you at the last moment so be sure to read every chapter at least twice.
As I said it is a bit old but helps you understand the basics of the VGA card mode 13h, yadda yadda.... Graphics and all other games aspects are covered, even 3D has a little coverage.
The Video Games Industry is an impossible thing to follow as advances are every where and a new book is an old book overnight but Lamothe has made a brilliant stab at this.... and succeeded.
A Great book.......1999-06-16
I thought this book was good. It was easy to understand and it didn't bore me. The only problem I had was that before I bought the book I didn't know that you had to know C. So then I had to buy a book to teach me C. Other then that I thought the book was good. But if you don't know C then you should read Absolue Beginner's Guide to C, then Teach Yourself C in 21 Days. Then you should know C good enough to get this book.
Book Description
Tricks of the Windows Game Programmin Gurus, 2E takes the reader through Win32 programming, covering all the major components of DirectX including DirectDraw, DirectSound, DirectInput (including Force Feedback), and DirectMusic. Andre teaches the reader 2D graphics and rasterization techniques. Finally, Andre provides the most intense coverage of game algorithms, multithreaded programming, artificial intelligence (including fuzzy logic, neural nets, and genetic algorithms), and physics modeling you have ever seen in a game book.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent starting point for game programmers.......2007-09-27
This book provides excellent information for anyone who is looking to understand the fundamentals of game programming. Inside, the reader is taught how to make a fully-functional 2D Windows game, complete with graphics, audio, input, AI, and physics. The software in the book is created step-by-step from scratch, allowing the reader to see how everything works together. It uses DirectX 7.0, which is antiquated these days, but still provides a plethora of material for the reader to learn and expand upon.
Met My Needs .......2007-03-04
I have just read all the Amazon reviews of this book going back three years, and one things stands out -- nobody recommends any other book to replace this one. That tells me a lot.
I am a software developer who hasn't done any Windows interface programming in several years. During those years I've done some Java programming, but mostly low level C programming on Linux and embedded systems. Recently I needed to do a custom Windows interface for an embedded system, sort of a "dashboard" that would display data from the embedded system and allow the user to interact with it. I needed a quick refresher course on basic Windows programming, plus some ideas on how to do the custom controls I wanted (e.g. speedometers, scrolling line graphs, sliders, etc.). I went looking for the right book, and on the third try I picked up this one.
For my purposes, this book is almost perfect. It covers the basics of Windows programming in the first three chapters, at exactly the level I needed, then moves quickly into Windows graphics programming. By the end of the first seven or eight chapters (about 400 pages, which took me two days to read), I was convinced that I should write my program like a simple 2d game, and I had enough information and explicit examples to do it. Within another three days, I had a working version of the dashboard.
In my experience, most Windows programming books get lost in the bottomless pit of Microsoft gobbledygook. Once the author goes there, the reader is truly lost. This book is different. LaMothe has exactly the right attitude about it -- he cuts through the immense Windows overhead, shows exactly how to use a minimal set of necessary Windows functions, and encourages the developer to get on with creating their own software the way they want it to look and behave.
It's true that this book is five years old, and uses an old version of DirectX. But programs built with that version are still supported by the latest DirectX runtime. Since the number of DirectX calls used by the end of Chapter 8 is quite small, it should be trivial to convert them to the latest version, which is my next project. If anyone knows of a better book, or an equivalent book that is current, please tell us about it.
Decent Introduction on to write and structure a game .......2006-12-07
This is a decent introduction to how games are written. If you already have an understanding of windows programming and COM, you will get a lot from this book. The point of the book is to teach you how games are structured. As a software professional I am well versed in object-oriented design, design patterns, software methodologies, etc. I can read and make sense of the MSDN documentation on the latest version of DirectX. What I lack is domain knowledge of how to actually write a game. This book teaches you that!! This book takes all the information from other disciplines, calculus, physics, linear algebra, AI, software development, and shows you how to integrate them and build a game. A remarkable achievement. The code itself is not very good, but I can figure out how to write code. What I didn't know was how a game was structured.
Part 1, chapters 1-4 cover windows programming. Most of this isn't very interesting. Except that it covers how a game is structured: 1. Initialization; 2. Enter game loop; 3. Retrieve Player Input; 4. Perform AI and Game Logic; 5. Render Next Frame; 6. Synchronize Display; 7. Loop; 8. Shutdown.
Part2, Chapters 5-10 cover DirectX and 2D Fundamentals. This stuff is very interesting. Remember that algorithm you read on how to draw a line. Well you can see it here in action. Remember reading about collision detection. It's covered. You may want to look at other books with more detailed explanations, but this book shows that stuff in action.
Part 3, Chapters 11-15 cover Hardcore Game Programming. This section shows how AI, and physics are involved. For a better understanding of AI, you may want to read Programming Game AI by Example by Mat Buckland. That book is inspiring. The last chapter puts it all together to actually make a simple asteroids game.
In college I took a calculus class here, a physics class there. Each class was taught in a vacuum. It wasn't until I read this book that I saw how all the material I learned in college was interconnected. Sure you'll have to read a book on Physics, and another on AI, but this book shows you how to put them together and build a game.
Outdated........2006-10-23
To offset all the reviews I saw, I rated this book 1 Star because it is simply outdated. Many of the examples don't work and the current version is DirectX 9.0c rather than the book's DirectX 7.0.
It was probably once a good book but not now.
As a beginner to DirectX I found it particularly hard to learn.
Clearing up Phillip Vaira's misinformation.......2006-06-18
First of all I have a master of science degree in computer graphics. Second, Phillip Vaira, this is the only review that you wrote, and not only you but also many people who gave this book 5 stars, they only have one review. Therefore it is very suspicious whatevere you are writing. But apart from that, I can give you many good reasons why you should avoid Andre Lamothe's books:
- this book is a recycle of his earlier books. with every new book he always recycles the same things
his new book: Tricks of the 3D Game Programming Gurus-Advanced 3D Graphics and Rasterization
also uses directx 7.0 :lol: - i told you about recycling
- his uses global variables all the time as optimization tehniques :lol:
- he is a terrible programmer
- his friends write fake reviews for him
Phillip Vaira says: Best book for any graphics programmer
are you kidding me ??? shut up man. you and all others like
Daniel Smektala.
trust me people all andre's books are terrible.
I agree with you IQ160. Avoid andre lamothe. Man if you value anything you would wrote at least one good game in your 25 years of career. Do yourself a favour. Retire.
Average customer rating:
- this is the perfect doom editing book
- Great book, easy to understand!
- An excellent book and easy to understand
|
Tricks of the Doom Programming Gurus/Book and Cd
Steve Benner , and
David Bruni
Manufacturer: Sams Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Doom
| Strategy Guides
| Games & Strategy Guides
| Computers & Internet
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Puzzles & Games
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Role Playing & Fantasy
| Puzzles & Games
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Sports
| Subjects
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Knee-Deep in the Dead (Doom, Book 1)
ASIN: 0672307170 |
Customer Reviews:
this is the perfect doom editing book.......2003-05-02
i got this book waaaayy back when it first came out and it has been a companion for me for editing doom which i still do as a hobby today. doom has to be the easiest game to edit on the planet and the possibilities are endless. this book is huge first off and theres a reason why. it gives you step by step instructions on level editing, graphics editing and miscellaneous editing to make your own custom doom. every chapter explains how to use the editors and also surprisingly tells how they work and how they can work for you. theres also another book that came out which is newer, 3-D alcemey however you spell it which is a continuation of this book. i recemmend this book to anyone with barely any computer programming knowledge who wants to make their own game out of doom.
Great book, easy to understand!.......1999-09-18
Now that Doom has become 3d with all these new ports (DosDoom, Zdoom, DoomGL) people really want to learn how to edit levels, quickly and beutifully. This explains step by step. A very good book! I'd suggest it to anyone that wants to male there own Doom levels!
An excellent book and easy to understand.......1998-04-26
Tricks of the DOOM Programming Gurus is an excellent book due to the fact it is easy to follow and *all* lessons are required to do otherwise the end WAD will not be complete (unlike some other how-to computer books) Pictures, Diagrams and tables are included to help the reader understand the various elements in Doom. An excellent feature of this book is that when you finish reading it you will be fully qualified to make excellent WAD files without ever needing to refer back to the book, and its another point of its easy-to-understand feature. Overall, the book is an excellent work and good. However, its only let-down is that Doom gets out-of-date very quickly with more modern games, and it doesnt teach you much for the future; however, this is of no fault of the authors.
Customer Reviews:
If you want to code Games on the Mac, you need this book........1999-05-01
This is an essential guide to the tricks and finer points of Macintosh game programming. This book has the best examples I've seen in any programming reference. The concepts and programming tips are taught in a manner that help you go beyond what the book contains and develop your own methods as well.
The writing is excellent (you can read this book like a novel, rather than just use it as a reference), and the topics covered are just what a beginning or slightly seasoned programmer are looking for - from sprite blitting routines that blow away what the toolbox has to offer, to multi-channel audio tips, to networking and AI development, and a great chapter on porting from Windows.
I cannot stress highly enough how much help this book is to a MacOS game programmer.
Excellent book for learning game programming on the Mac........1999-01-01
This book is by far the best book I've ever read on Macintosh programming. You should have knowledge of basic C programming on the Mac (buy Dave Mark's Learn C on the Macintosh) and then you can just jump right in.
I have taken two classes on C++ programming (for UNIX) and I had virtually no experience programming for the Mac. This book covers absolutely anything you want to know about making games; from an excellent chapter on networking (written by Stuart Chesire, creator of Bolo) to an even more impressive chapter on PowerPC optimization. It covers basic sprite animation, advanced sprite animation, and it also has a great chapter on audio... this is the MUST GET Mac game programming book.
Above all this, it is an absolute joy to read. It contains interviews with other big names in the mac industry - for instance, Jason Jones of Bungie - and gets their tips and tricks for making killer games.
This is one of those books that you will consult every day in the development of a mac game.
Excellent Mac programming reference.......1997-02-01
This book gives many insights into practical programming for the Macintosh. Game
programmers typically have unique obstacles to overcome. This book describes many programming techniques not
described in other books on Macintosh programming.
One of its strengths is that it's written by experts in their field. The chapter on porting games from other platforms, for
example, was written by people who have ported many popular games to the Macintosh platform. Thirteen authors are
listed in the book, each covering topics they know well.
Modern topics, such as QuickDraw 3D and optimizing code for PowerPC are covered. Enjoyable reading and an
excellent reference. CD-ROM included.
Customer Reviews:
A Good Tutor.......2000-02-26
This is a good book for Average Game programmers who always insist on learning more and more.
Books:
- Twelve Kingdoms, The - Hardcover Edition Volume 1: Sea of Shadow
- Ultimate Disney Trivia Book 3, The (Ultimate Disney Trivia Book)
- Ultimate Spider-Man Vol. 2: Learning Curve
- Vampire : The Masquerade (Revised Edition)
- What's A Ghoul to Do? (Ghost Hunter Mysteries, Book 1)
- When I Lay My Isaac Down: Unshakable Faith in Unthinkable Circumstances
- Winning Chess Strategies, revised (Winning Chess - Everyman Chess)
- Wizards' Conclave (Dragonlance: Age of Mortals)
- Wolf's Blood (Wolf)
- World of Warcraft The Role Playing Game: More Magic and Mayhem (Warcraft)
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Firebrands: Building Brand Loyalty in the Internet Age
- A Living Architecture: Frank Lloyd Wright and Taliesin Architects
- The Producers: Money, Movies And Who Calls the Shots
- The Grandmother of Time: A Woman's Book of Celebrations, Spells, and Sacred Objects for Every Month
- This Business of Television
- A Woman's Way Through the Twelve Steps Workbook
- The Waratah
- Booklet to accompany California Income Tax Fundamentals
- The Natural Step for Communities: How Cities and Towns Can Change to Sustainable Practices
- The October Horse : A Novel of Caesar and Cleopatra
Programming Role Playing Games with DirectX w/CD (The Premier Press Game Development Series)
Beginning C ++ Through Game Programming, Second Edition
Tricks of the Windows Game Programming Gurus (2nd Edition)
Multiplayer Game Programming w/CD (Prima Tech's Game Development)
Tricks of the Game-Programming Gurus
