Book Description
Welcome to the sixth volume of the Game Programming Gems series. With team sizes constantly expanding, developers are finding themselves pushed to become increasingly specialized. This makes it important to have cutting-edge, ready-to-use material in your specialization, as well as resources that you can call upon if you need to work outside your area of expertise. Volume 6 has been explicitly designed with your current challenges in mind. With the new generation of machines, players expect higher-fidelity models and animations, fancier physics and graphics effects, and more intelligent AI. All of these capabilities require robust teams and longer schedules, so to help ensure that your games are still delivered on time and on budget, you'll find 50 all new articles written by experts in game technology from many different backgrounds and over twenty countries. This volume also includes a brand new section dedicated to Scripting and Data-Driven Systems, which is focused entirely on the growing trend of removing the programmer from the data-tweaking loop. So, whether you're a new game programmer starting out on this exciting path, a grizzled, industry veteran, or a most welcome visitor, we hope that you will find inspiration, insight, and at least one or two true gems to use in your world!
Customer Reviews:
watch this trend.......2007-04-16
One interesting feature of this book on game programming is how graphics does NOT dominate the discussion. Most books on the subject are chock-a-block with every graphics tip you could imagine. But Dickheiser does not write for the novice. He has gathered a set of papers (chapters) that try to delineate the research boundary. It is a measure of the rising maturity of the field, and the complexity of many games, that graphics is relatively deprecated.
Though I hasten to add that there are still the pretty colour plates of renderings, and several chapters on these methods.
Why is the book symptomatic of the changing trends? In part because graphical methods are starting to saturate. The techniques are now good enough for near-photorealistic impressions. If you look carefully at the non-graphics chapters, you see that they tackle non-trivial problems arising from evermore intricate games. One instance is the use of AI-style decision making methods for how a game proceeds. When well coded, it can give behaviour of characters that is more intelligent, hence yielding a more interesting game. Another chapter looks at the learning process in AI, where a player might change strategies. Here, the research use of Support Vector Machines is suggested as apropos for commercial game development.
Professionally, you should pay attention to the book for the trend it exemplifies. You probably got into game programming because you were attracted by the graphics. But as graphics methods peak, the value added aspect of games is starting to shift towards the story line and how elaborate is the game logic.
Good bag of tricks for advanced game programmers.......2006-04-05
This is the latest volume in the game programming gems series that is now six years old. This book, like the others in the series, is a collection of articles written by industry experts for the advanced game programmer. Because it covers so much ground with little or no background information, I doubt that one reader will be able to appreciate the whole book. The book comes with a CD that has source code for all of the articles, which is very helpful.
I'm a multimedia programmer rather than a game programmer, and I found quite a few nuggets in this edition. Among them was the article on using OpenCV, which is the open source computer vision library, and also the article on CPPUnit, which can be used for unit testing of any type of software, not just games. The section on math and physics was the least helpful. It either set the bar too low with easy articles like "How to do floating point faster than hardware", or set the bar too high with difficult terse articles such as "Real-Time Particle-Based Fluid Simulation". However, if you are into game physics, this section might be something you really enjoy. In the AI section, it seemed like I had seen most of the material before. The last article though was really unique - "Constructing a Goal-Oriented Robot for UnrealTournament Using Fuzzy Sensors, Finite-state Behaviors and Behavior Networks". This is an outstanding article for those interested in robots in games. The whole section on scripting was worthwhile. I especially enjoyed the Script language survey at the front of the section, since this is a moving target with many languages to choose from. The graphics section is quite advanced, and unless "Realtime Rendering" seems like light bedtime reading to you, most of the articles will probably not make much sense. My favorite section of the book was the one on audio for two reasons. First, most game programming books ignor this subject entirely. Second, it is hard to find readable books or articles on the subject with the effects presented in plain language as this section did in all five articles. I notice that Amazon does not show the table of contents, so I do that here:
SECTION 1 GENERAL PROGRAMMING
Introduction 1.1 Game Object Component System 1.2 Closest- String Matching Algorithm 1.3 Implementing Lock-Free Algorithms 1.4 Computer Vision in Games using the OpenCV library 1.5 Using CPPUnit to implement unit testing 1.6 Visualizing Performance Data 1.7 Faster Loading with Access-Based File Reordering 1.8 Stay in the Game: Asset Hotloading for Fast Iteration 1.9 Geographic Grid Registration of Game Objects 1.10 Real-Time Continuous Profiling 1.11 Fingerprinting Prerelease Builds to Deter and Detect Piracy 1.12 The Dynamic Actor Layer
SECTION 2 MATHEMATICS AND PHYSICS
Introduction 2.1 Efficient Sequence Indexing 2.2 How to do floating point faster than hardware. 2.3 Solving linear systems by using the cross product 2.4 Real-Time Particle-Based Fluid Simulation 2.5 Exact Buoyancy for Polyhedra
SECTION 3 ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Introduction 3.1 Designing a Multi-layer Pluggable AI Engine Framework 3.2 Smart Scene Load Management using Fuzzy Logic 3.3 Achieving coordination with autonomous NPC's 3.4 Using a Quantified Judgment Model for Engagement Analysis 3.5 Short-term memory using support vector machine (SVM) 3.6 Applying Model-Based Decision-Making Methods to Games 3.7 Constructing a Goal-Oriented Robot for UnrealTournament Using Fuzzy Sensors, Finite-state Behaviors and Behavior Networks
SECTION 4 SCRIPTING SYSTEMS
Introduction 4.1 A Script language survey 4.2 Managing High-Level Scripts Execution within 4.3 Automatic Function Binding for Game Scripting and Networking 4.4 Programming advanced control mechanisms with Lua coroutines 4.5 Binding C/C++ objects to Lua
SECTION 5 GRAPHICS
Introduction 5.1 Automatic Realistic Idle Motion Synthesis for Interactive Characters" 5.2 GPU Terrain Rendering 5.3 Rendering Road Signs Sharply 5.4 Interactive Fluid Dynamics and Rendering on the GPU 5.5 Spatial Partitioning using an Adaptive Binary Tree 5.6 Enhanced Object Culling with (Almost) Oriented Bounding Boxes 5.7 Fast per-pixel lighted scenes with a high number of lights 5.8 Efficient Sky Rendering Techniques 5.9 High Dynamic Range Rendering using OpenGL Frame Buffer Objects 5.10 Skin Splitting for Optimal Skin Rendering
SECTION 6 AUDIO
Introduction 6.1 Real- Time Sound Generation From Deformable Meshes 6.2 Volume Control Through Chained Busses 6.3 Faking Real-time DSP Effects 6.4 A lightweight oscillator for ambient sound generation 6.5 Cheap Doppler effect
SECTION 7 NETWORKING AND MULTIPLAYER
Introduction 7.1 Complex High-Level Systems 7.2 Reliable Peer-to-Peer Gaming Connection Penetrating Firewall and NAT 7.3 Massively Multiplayer Online Prototype (MMOP): Utilizing Second Life for Game Concept Prototyping 7.4 Dynamically Adaptive Streaming of 3D Data for Animated Characters 7.5 Generating globally unique identifiers for game objects About the CD-ROM
Index
Programming Tips from the Pros.......2006-04-04
Intended for the intermediate to advanced game programmer, this is a book that will literally have something for everyone. It contains fifty-two 'gems' that is, articles on how to some particular aspect of game programming. Sophisticated game programming is probably the most complex programming there is. And this book goes into some pretty sophisticated programming details.
For instance:
1.2 Using Multicore Processors - New software that facilitates programming to make the most effective use of dual/triple core CPUs.
2.5 - Exact Buoyancy for Polyhedra - Your game character has built a raft. How does it look like it's floating realistically?
5.9 - Practical Sky Rendering - The sky is so simple, unless, of course you want it to look real. ==There is no question that the main driving force for faster computers is to make for more realistic gaming. And the faster computers allow more sophisticated programming to be done to make the grass wave realistically.
This is probably not a book you're going to sit down and read from cover to cover. You'll probably scan through and read the ones that are applicable to just what you need to do next. But then in a couple of weeks, in a couple of months....
Average customer rating:
- Too simple
- More Than Expected
- A decent beginners book
- hahaha ....................................magic
- Any of the Self Working titles are gold mines
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Self-Working Table Magic: 97 Foolproof Tricks with Everyday Objects
Karl Fulves
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
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Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic
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Tricks with Your Head: Hilarious Magic Tricks and Stunts to Disgust and Delight
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Self-Working Mental Magic
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Self-Working Card Tricks (Cards, Coins, and Other Magic)
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Modern Coin Magic
ASIN: 0486241165 |
Book Description
97 mystifying tricks done with ordinary objects that can be borrowed from the audience. Make coins appear or disappear; matchsticks jump into the air; classic cups and balls; pierce balloons without bursting them; plus tricks with dice, rubber bands, eggs, safety pins, pens and pencils, more. 185 illustrations.
Customer Reviews:
Too simple.......2007-06-26
This book is amusing but not spectacular, I would go for the street magic, Mindfreak and blaine books for something more espectacular. Decent for beginers.
More Than Expected.......2007-03-26
I purchased this book thinking that it would be a good beginning magic book for a group of middle schoolers interested in learning magic tricks. It seems that even though the objects are everyday, the tricks are not. This is a great book if you are willing to do the practice to master the tricks, but if you are looking for a quick trick, then keep looking.
A decent beginners book.......2005-10-28
Karl Fulves has been putting out these kinds of books for what seems like an eternity. They are good books for kids and even a skilled performer can pull some good material from these books.
[...]
hahaha ....................................magic.......2005-09-15
i think that this is a great book and it rocks my socks
Any of the Self Working titles are gold mines.......2002-05-22
Many beginners to magic (and others who should know better) are of the opinion that a magic effect has to be difficult in order to be worthwhile. While there are many killer effects that take months or years of practice, there are equally wonderful tricks that rely on psychology, subtlety, and/or advance preparation. The Self Working series of books are a treasure trove of great magic. This book is no exception. Many of the included tricks are used by successful professional magicians. Admittedly, these are best used in a program with other, more elaborate tricks, but for those moments in your act where you need a short, sweet effect, something in this book might just fill the bill. And as you get more proficient in magic you will find ways to further embellish these tricks and make them your own private miracles.
Average customer rating:
- Lacking an Implementation Perspective
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Warping & Morphing of Graphical Objects (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Computer Graphics)
Jonas Gomes ,
Lucia Darsa ,
Bruno Costa , and
Luiz Velho
Manufacturer: Morgan Kaufmann
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ASIN: 1558604642 |
Book Description
Warping and morphing permeate the realm of computer graphics. This classic book defines the field: it presents a unifying view of warping and morphing, combining a conceptual framework with a consolidated view of the state of the art. Coverage includes deformations of various graphical objects such as plane curves, images, surfaces, and volumes.
The authors developed a full-featured warping and morphing system, Morphos, where several types of graphical objects and computation techniques coexist. Morphos is included on the companion CD-ROM.
This book and CD-ROM offer the most comprehensive professional reference available on warping and morphing techniques. Together they are the complete source for both researchers whose main interests are in the mathematical and conceptual foundations and computer graphics professionals who need to incorporate more warping and morphing techniques into their applications.
* The latest warping and morphing techniques and examples
* An entire chapter on image-based rendering techniques and how they relate to warping and morphing
* Companion CD-ROM containing source code and documentation for the Morphos system
* Links to www.visgraf.impa.br/morph/, which provides an online bibliography and pointers to other regularly updated morphing Web sites
Customer Reviews:
Lacking an Implementation Perspective.......2001-10-01
I felt that the book was lacking in details that
would have led to implementation of some of the
algorithms presented. Often I felt that the math
was not providing any insights into what was acutally
going on behind the terminology.
The code on the CDROM has virtually no comments
and was useless to me when taken out of context.
I was disappointed in the end with the price/performance
of this book. It might be right for you, but flip through
it before buying!
Book Description
“Agile Software Development is a highly stimulating and rich book. The author has a deep background and gives us a tour de force of the emerging agile methods.”
–Tom Gilb
The agile model of software development has taken the world by storm. Now, in Agile Software Development, Second Edition, one of agile’s leading pioneers updates his Jolt Productivity award-winning book to reflect all that’s been learned about agile development since its original introduction.
Alistair Cockburn begins by updating his powerful model of software development as a “cooperative game of invention and communication.” Among the new ideas he introduces: harnessing competition without damaging collaboration; learning lessons from lean manufacturing; and balancing strategies for communication. Cockburn also explains how the cooperative game is played in business and on engineering projects, not just software development
Next, he systematically illuminates the agile model, shows how it has evolved, and answers the questions developers and project managers ask most often, including
· Where does agile development fit in our organization?
· How do we blend agile ideas with other ideas?
· How do we extend agile ideas more broadly?
Cockburn takes on crucial misconceptions that cause agile projects to fail. For example, you’ll learn why encoding project management strategies into fixed processes can lead to ineffective strategy decisions and costly mistakes. You’ll also find a thoughtful discussion of the controversial relationship between agile methods and user experience design.
Cockburn turns to the practical challenges of constructing agile methodologies for your own teams. You’ll learn how to tune and continuously reinvent your methodologies, and how to manage incomplete communication. This edition contains important new contributions on these and other topics:
· Agile and CMMI
· Introducing agile from the top down
· Revisiting “custom contracts”
· Creating change with “stickers”
In addition, Cockburn updates his discussion of the Crystal methodologies, which utilize his “cooperative game” as their central metaphor.
If you’re new to agile development, this book will help you succeed the first time out. If you’ve used agile methods before, Cockburn’s techniques will make you even more effective.
Customer Reviews:
Well Deserved Jolt Award.......2007-06-28
I picked this book up because of the Jolt Award. I was amazed as what I read. I give kudos to anyone who tries to apply game theory to their decision making process. This has grown to be the accepted way economists discuss decisions between agents, so why shouldn't we apply that to architecture or project decisions?
Still more kudos to any author who heavily references 'philosophy' and then correctly references a real contemporary philosopher (Wittgenstein)!
Sadly though, I would have loved to see cooperative game mapped out a bit more. The tools of game theory are there, so we should use them.
My favorite take aways: ShuHaRi analogy, Cooperative Game analogy, Selection of *implemented* project methodologies as starting points, and a methodology to create methodologies. All in All this is an excellent book to get you started in Agile or to bring you up to date with the 'why' questions of Agile.
Any needing a basic introduction to Agile principles, history, and construction must have this........2007-02-04
The agile model of software development has become an industry leader, making the second updated edition of Agile Software Development: Cooperative Game an even more essential reference. Agile's pioneering developer updates his Jolt Productivity winner to cover all aspects of the agile model, from its applications in an organizational structure to how to blend agile ideas with others. Any needing a basic introduction to Agile principles, history, and construction must have this.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
useful if you don't get into XP.......2006-10-28
Cockburn emphasises a flexible approach to writing code, especially when you have a team of programmers. Unlike other approaches, like CMMI, the methodology advocated by the book seems deliberately informal. Now, certainly, the book does enumerate various steps typical in an agile approach.
For example, we see a list of methodology design principles. One of which is independent of whether you use Agile or not, and which especially caught my eye. It says that larger teams need heavier methodologies. There are several methodologies floating around in the IT industry. And Agile is only one of these. But that particular principle can be very useful. As the text explains, with 6 or less people, say, you can put them in one room, and have little or even no methodology. Because people can just talk and plan things together. But as teams get bigger, and they get dispersed over different rooms, buildings and cities, then you need more elaborate methodologies. And your choice need not even be Agile.
The book also has a writing style with lots of little side notes or anecdotes, that can help some readers assimilate the ideas in the main narrative.
The biggest problem to me with the book is its relatively uncritical acceptance of XP (Extreme Programming). It quotes that the first XP project was successful, in delivering results, compared to a larger team that had failed. But the first XP project that I am aware of, from another text, "Extreme Programming Refactored", was at Chrysler, and it failed to meet its deliverables. That book gave a far more plausible analysis of XP and its brittleness. Cockburn's text does allow that XP can have its limitations if the team gets too big. Because both admirers and critics of XP generally acknowledge that an XP team must intensively share knowledge and coordinate actions, and this just does not scale.
But if we put XP aside, then the Agile approach can be useful.
Book Description
Here again is the fascinating world of marbles, newly revised. Indians, Aggies, Steelies, and more...every major category of marble is presented in this new and exciting guide. Included are old handmade marbles of glass, earthenware, minerals, and steel; machine-made marbles and their manufacturers; and contemporary handmade glass marbles by artisans recapturing the old styles and creating exciting new styles all their own. Marble pricing is explained in detail. The author describes the four factors to look for when determining the value of a marble, and presents an accurate guide to today's market.
Customer Reviews:
Great Marble Book!.......2000-08-03
Easier to use than some of the other marble "standards." It is well organized and the values, based on the condition of the marble, are with the marbles. Some of the other books have you constantly flipping from back to front to find a value. The different types of antique handmade marbles are logically grouped for the most part and the machine made marbles are divided by manufacturer.There is even a section with examples from contemporary marble artists. My one complaint would be that there should be an index to make finding of the great many types of machine made marbles easier. Until something better comes along, I carry this with me to auctions, flea markets, antique shows or anywhere else I think there might be an opportunity to buy, sell or trade marbles.
Book Description
This practical, nuts-and-bolts toolkit puts theory into practice with ready-made answers to common Flash development questions. It's the perfect resource for Flash developers, as well as designers who are ready to start doing development work.
Flash 8 Cookbook offers quick look-up (and cross-referenced) recipes in four main categories:
- Creating Flash Content
- Building Interactive Flash Interfaces
- Adding Multimedia and Data
- Planning Flash Projects
Using O'Reilly's popular Problem/Solution/Discussion Cookbook format, this book offers 280 standalone recipes that include a brief explanation of how and why the solution works, so you can adapt it to similar situations you may run across in the future. For people who say, "I understand everything in theory, but I don't know where to start in practice," this book offers ready-to-use answers to real-world problems.
Joey Lott is the author of
ActionScript Cookbook (O'Reilly) and co-author of
Flash MX 2004 ActionScript Bible (Wiley). He's a leading speaker and consultant in the Flash development community.
Customer Reviews:
Start Cookin with this one.......2007-03-28
I am not keen on any book that has Cookbook in the title. This book however is more of a Hanes manual for your old Volvo 240. You will have lots of shop spills (coffee not oil) and dog eared pages on this when you finally move on to a future version of flash. Even then this will become a great tool.
The book has four main solution sections: creating content, building interactive interafaces, using projects (I never get around to actually doing that!) and adding multimedia and data.
O'Reilly put a lot into this book, with a load of solutions, with the if, how, why and here you go.
Best if your up to speed and know your way around Flash well. For me, its a matter of understanding and implementing solutions as I encounter them. "Damn, how do I best deal with that problem? - Dunno? Read the book".
Short and too the point, you will need this if your a professional - either from the design side or the programming side of Flash. Not much use to students, though educators should read it through and get up to speed to increase the amount of knowledgeable students coming out of courses (enough of the bouncing balls already).
Cooking with Flash 8??.......2007-02-15
Flash 8 Cookbook
Joey Lott ISBN: 0-596102402
Cooking with Flash 8??
Reading the Flash 8 Cookbook is a painful experience considering you pay $44.95 for it. If you need answers to real-world problems don't look here. This book is a semi-helpful reference guide for those designers who are just beginning to branch out into Action Script. They try to make everything in the book very easy for you to the point that some of the chapters talk down to the reader.
The meatiest information is concentrated from page 200-340 of an almost 500 page book. Some of the information in this section is about fading movie clips in and out, the key word "this", working with Java Script in Flash, and adding event listeners.
This book features one of the best explanations I have seen on how to create a listener object and add an event listener on page 346. They break all the code down there with samples.
A bonus to reading this book is that you can download a number of great low file size components written by Joey Lott . Some of the unique components are the form controller, slide show, and window controller.
This book even introduces you to 3d Max and how to use it in conjunction with Flash. There is info on video and mobile but, surprisingly no chapter on Office Yoga for the Flash Action Scripter. They lumped together a number of topics that could have individually comprised a number of 500 -1000 page books.
I think too many cooks spoiled the Action Script in this case. I consider this to be an easy fast read. Great to take to the gym or the beach. If you had to buy just one book on Flash 8, this wouldn't be the one you would choose.
I should have listened.... Very basic!.......2006-09-19
This is a book for beginners, not even intemmediate level readers. If you are familiar with any other design software like Illustrator, Photoshop, CorelDraw, etc. you will find that much of this book is useless since you already know it! This is a perfect exapmple, quoting the book:
"1.1 Drawing Straight lines
Problem: you want to create a straight line segment or a shape made out of multiple straight line segments.
Solution
Use the line tool[...], the pen tool[...] or the pencil tool."
This is by no means a "cookbook" and I'm very disappointed with O'Reilly being the publisher, since most of the time their books are great.
The book probably focuses on REAL ACTIONSCRIPTING up to 15% its entire content!
Only consider it if you never worked with a design application in your whole life and don't have the time or patience to read more than 2-page long chapters.
Excellent source.......2006-06-29
As an intermediate Actionscripter, I find this book incredibly useful on a daily basis. It's well-organized and well-written, with several juicy tips and tricks.
Basic Flash information presented as a 'cookbook'.......2006-06-08
Hardly any information that would constitute as worthwhile if you have a decent grasp of Flash. There is entirely too much elementary information here. One recipe is a small excerpt on how to create an invisible button by only putting content in the hit state of the button. Also, although the cover reads "Using the Flash IDE to build Flash animations and applications", it includes entirely too much information on Swift3D in a Chapter discussing 3D in Flash. The chapter should probably have been renamed "Creating 3D in For Flash using Swift 3D" instead of the misleading name "Simulating 3D in Flash".
Book Description
The hobby of marble collecting is still in its infancy, with plenty of room for growth in all areas and for new collectors. Marble Maniar is the definitive photographic guide to collecting. This book incorporates over 1,300 color photographs, as well as an in-depth text covering the main areas of interests and information on marble manufacturers. Here are marbles made of stone, minerals, and materials other than glass; early handmade, machine-made, and contemporary handmade glass marbles; games, toys, and other uses for marbles. A glossary of terms; bibliography; lists of clubs, societies, marbles shows; and a list of museums with marble collections are included as well as a list of winners of the U. S. National Marble Tournaments since their inception. A value guide is included for each marble shown.
Customer Reviews:
lovvvvvvvvvvvveddddddddddddd it.......2006-05-24
i loved this book because it gave you funny expample of how to play i also loved it because it gave you marbles that you can play with.
from,
caroline
Marble Mania is catching!.......2000-05-19
Marble Mania has fine photographs of every imaginable marble from pebbles found alongside streams to the Industrial Revolution in Germany & Austria. Here the cutting of agate cubes & polishing them into marbles for export all over the world became a huge cottage industry. You have to see the beauty of all the clay, pottery, crockery, china & porcelain globes. It was fun to read this big book. Found myself chatting at the local recycle shop about the blue canning jars in their windows filled with marbles. Eyeing them eagerly, with a little more knowledge & a few more names.
An "Industry Standard".......1999-04-06
I bought this book for my husband (from Amazon) for Xmas. Not only is the book very beautiful, but he has become an expert in his own right. With a year-2000 interest in things retro, marbles are enjoying a boom. We now have jars of them everywhere, looking great and, according to this great book, appreciating in value as we watch. With the help of the pricing guides we discovered that we already owned some very valuable marbles, and have since acquired more. In fact, the book paid for itself about 10 minutes after we got it, with the discovery of an unrecognized treasure.
A delightful and comprehensive view of marble collecting........1998-07-28
Marble Mania will prove to be the standard to which other marble related books will be compared to. A thorough, comprehensive view of all aspects of marble collecting. Graphically superior with detail that will be utilized by not only the beginning collector but the advanced collector also. Mr. Block has taken the time, performed the research and compiled this vast amount of information into an enjoyable, eye and mind satisfying beautiful book. Mr. Block is clear in his intentions to continue to be the leader in an area of great challenge, I can't wait for Mr. Block's next marble book. The bar has been raised!
Book Description
Basic Game Design and Creation for Fun & Learning teaches you how to make your own computer games-- no programming skills required! Whether you're a game player who wants to try making your own games or a teacher who wants to provide a new way for students to learn, you'll find everything you need to get started! Basic Game Design and Creation for Fun & Learning breaks the complex process of game design into an easy-to-follow, step-by-step format. Each chapter helps you create a 2D game using the popular game development software, GameMaker 6.1, and each game project provides reference figures and sample demonstrations, so that you can track your progress as you go. Throughout the book, you'll find real-life examples to explain advanced concepts that would otherwise frustrate beginning game designers. This storybook approach allows you to learn just what you need to get started making your own games quickly, while giving the basic skills you need for creating any kind of game. So if you want to get started turning your own game ideas into reality, or you're thinking about a career in game creation, this is the place to get started!
Customer Reviews:
Good starting book to learn GameMaker.......2007-08-06
I bought this book for my kid to learn GameMaker. A very good book for beginners.
Book VB.......2007-02-18
The book did finally arrive 3-weeks after school began., which at that point it was not help to me. It did arrive in good condition as stated, but the shipping was ridiculous. I would not order from this seller again.
Good Way to Get Started.......2006-03-28
This is a welcome addition to the game development bookshelf. It is oriented to having youngsters begin designing games. If you have a young boy or girl, and they are into playing games on a PC, this book is intended to get them into designing their own games.
The book uses, and supplies a copy on the CD-ROM, Game Maker software. This is a 2D game development system that allows for the creation of games without requiring programming. Building a game, hoever, is not unlike programming. You have to define what the characters look like, you have to define what they can do. You are doing a lot of the same logic that programming requires.
Perhaps your little game player can be made into a game maker. And just possibly he or she will learn something about computers while they are developing their own game. Possibly this will give them an introduction into what they want to do later in life, not necessarily design games, but almost any task in the computer industry.
I know of no other books that take this approach, and I like it.
Excellent Book.......2006-03-23
Tired of your kids playing video games? Buy this book.
Easy to follow, my 10 and 14 year olds are using this book and having a great time. It is has step by step instructions. They are having fun designing and creating their own game.
No prior experience necessary.
I hope that more books like this are in the works.
Book Description
Java Programming, Fourth Edition provides the beginning programmer with a guide to developing applications and applets using the Java programming language. Java is popular among professional programmers because it can be used to build visually interesting GUI and Web-based applications. Java also provides an excellent environment for the beginning programmer - a student quickly can build useful programs while learning the basics of structured and object-oriented programming techniques.
Customer Reviews:
Works for me! .......2006-05-30
I used this book for a Java development class. I felt that it was a good book and overall I have little ill to say about it. The examples are well written and do a good job of reinforcing what you read in the chapter. You read a little then do an example, then read some more, then add to the example and so on. You don't need any Programming experience to use this book just a decent understanding of programming logic.
The only criticism I could offer is that the editor should have used arrows when content is being continued on a new line for reasons of page space so that readers will know and understand (beginners can have trouble with this). It's a good book for learning the whole language from the ground up and for this reason it's worth the money. It's not an overnight crash course (if that is what you are looking for).
Java for Dummies or any other book is better than this.......2004-10-27
First off... I am not a natural programmer. 70% of the class I am in are. Let it be known that I am not dumb either. I graduated with my first college degree in Biotechnology Magna Cum Laude. That's a 3.78 gpa for me, and pretty good for those who don't know the term. At least half of the students in your class already know how and why these programs work and function. That is where this book totally falls apart. I approach everything as a scientist would. I have to know the how, but more importantly the "WHY" and the thought process behind each new idea. Why do we set up the program this way? What is the reason for jumping around back and forth in every chapter??? She leads us through the exercises by the nose, but never shows the whole code or comments about the program as a whole.
She never goes through the following: This section of code will do this, we need a section to do that and a section to do this other thing. This feeds off that... etc.. What it totally misses is that logic involved with programming. When a problem is put forth, you stop and think about it. You lay out what this program needs to do. List all the variables you'll need, etc. Get the sections of programming ideas down, then start turning them into code.
This book ignores this thought process completely. I'm no slouch either. The exercises tell you to place your cursor here in the method of the class of the main... (if you can find it... there's no actual code listed in its entirety so good luck)
press enter... okay, now type this... Why??? Who knows, she never tells you why you want to place this little piece of code in this other part of the program... Then, you go to a totally different part of the program and type this... little snippet of codeWhy??? Who knows. You know what the individual line of code will do, but not WHY you put it in this particular part of the program. What makes it worse is half the time you're looking at the sections of code she had you make and you think to yourself, 'Self, What was she thinking, I wouldn't make it like that, who places code in that order?' What's the thought process behind these chunks of code?
If real programmers make their programs the way she takes you through them I gaurantee they'd all kill themselves by the age of 30.
At times you'll bounce around so much, you will go bonkers, I'm telling you.
I am learning more from the Java for Dummies books than I did in a class with an actual professor using this horrible book. Bring a different book to class, use the different book. If the programs your instructor wants you to write don't have to be done using this book, then, don't get it. Or at least get it but get another book and read them both. Trust me, it sounds like more work, but it's acually a lot less work as you won't waste hundreds of hours interpreting this confusing book.
I wonder if she made it confusing to maintain her own Job Security...
Thanks,
this book needed a proof reader.......2004-09-04
Even if this were a first edition, which is not, there are too many egregous errors that should have been caught before this book went to the printer. If this is the only book being used by a student, if the examples don't work, the student might not realize that it the book's fault, not theirs. Don't waste your money on this one.
Good for beginners, but not for serious study of Java.......2004-06-21
This book is good for people who are beginners to programming with its simple style, but it should not be used for serious study of Java programming. This book does not cover Java in detail enough for you to use it for serious study. Beginners should use this text as a precursor to Java - How to Program and professionals should use this as a reference book. This book is more like a summary of the key features of Java. The price should be reduced to more like $19.99US.
Awesome Primer.......2004-05-24
Overall good. End chapters were a little weak but great to get up to speed for other books.
I have been programming for 9 years with Microsoft. I found this book a piece of cake and was required to use it during a college course.
The instructor recomended to do this with each chapter
1. Read the review at the end of the chapter
2. Read and try and answer all the questions
3. Read the chapter
4. Do the excercises
It was very methodical but it worked to get up to speed fast. I was done with all the chapters in about 4 weeks.
Amazon.com
Game writers have a hard lot. In order to compete, they're expected to write fantastic works of art and action that feature spectacular visual and physical effects, and which can render those effects with great speed. If they don't write for the latest hardware (which is often barely stable), the designers end up with something that looks antiquated. In the end, as well, there is the target market: Mostly males between the ages of 15 and 30, who have sharpened their volatility of taste to a fine edge. Game Architecture and Design is a protracted meditation on what makes a game (and a game development company, and a game developer) good.
This is not a programming book; it is a design book. Andrew Rollings and Dave Morris do talk about game architecture, and pick apart some top games with state diagrams and sketches of class hierarchies, but that sort of content is in the minority. Mostly, the authors provide informed opinions about bigger engineering decisions, such as the question of whether to use Microsoft DirectX or OpenGL, or how to spread processor cycles across artificial intelligence and rendering operations. They make frequent reference to successful (and failed) games, explaining why each might have worked out as it did. --David Wall
Topics covered: How to write good games, and other entertainment software. Overall, emphasis is on developing an idea into a product, with long and carefully considered digressions into architectural decisions (such as gameplay and visual effects), implementation choices (languages, libraries, and algorithms), and team management.
Book Description
Game Architecture and Design: A New Edition is a revision of the classic that you have been waiting for! This is a detailed guide to game design and planning from first concept to the start of development, including case studies of well known games. Originally published in 1999, Game Architecture and Design, has been updated by the original authors Andrew Rollings and Dave Morris. They tap back into what they teach so well and update this classic with skills and techniques found in the industry today. With more than just re-usable code, it's a comprehensive study that deals specifically with the issues of game design, team building and management, and game architecture. Through the use of real-world experiences and case studies, Andrew and Dave share it all. They show you what's worked and why as well as what to avoid and how to fix any errors. This intelligent and well-argued book is a glimpse into the often-disordered world of game development. Readers will gain solid advice and know-how that can bring some order to the often-chaotic world found in game development.
Customer Reviews:
Not what I expected but certainly worth the effort........2007-08-28
I began reading this book expecting to learn something about game programming and architecture but what I came out with was less about programming and specific technical advice (though there was some of that) and more about the process of creating games, including how someone might attempt to manage a game development project. Even though my expectations were not met I can honestly say that I was not disappointed. The book was very well written and thorough in many ways (e.g., project management, "what is a game?") and weak in others (e.g., programming tricks, guidelines).
The first half of the book was dedicated to the process of creating games. The project management side of game creation. There are plenty of books about gaming programming with API X with Language Y. In my opinion these books are frequently unfulfilling because they concentrate on tiny details (such as a specific method in DirectX). Things you should be able to glean from help documentation such as the MSDN or user forums. They rarely show the larger picture. Game Architecture and Design introduced me to a side of game development I had never considered and this was easily the most interesting and well thought out portion of the book. I've often thought about what kind of game I would like to create but I never asked myself: What is a game? What makes a game fun? How do I design a game specification document? What sort of project management pitfalls might I come across and how can I void them? This book constantly asks these sorts of questions. Interestingly, while reading through this section I found myself asking the same questions when playing through some professional big budget games and found that even the professionals could have used this book to improve their games.
The latter half of the book touched upon the actual game architecture. I found this part rather weak. Though it promotes the idea of abstraction, modules and flexibility these are not new concepts to software development in general and are covered in better details in books dedicated to software design patterns, techniques and technologies. Some of the suggestions are more suited to company policy such as variable naming guidelines, commenting etc. That's not to say that these things aren't important (I personally try to adhere to a particular style), but I'm not convinced these sorts of opinion driven items will fit everyone's coding style.
Overall I found the book incredibly engaging, especially the first half of the book. I've always thought about game development in terms of classes, variables, source control etc and I never questioned what happens before coding begins. I would highly recommend this book to any budding game developer in so far as understanding the entire game development process, from inception to documentation to creation. Though not the Rosetta stone for game developers it is an excellent resources for beginners and experienced developers alike.
I don't recommend this book.......2006-09-13
The authors often lose plenty of time talking too much.
I do not recommend this book to anyone, although one can find anything interesting it is not necessary to read the whole book to learn the new concepts.
A great book, a must for new game designers........2005-07-18
This book should be on the shelf of every game developer and designer. It's a relatively complete guide to the development/design process of a video game and will give excellent insight into the techniques and approaches used by the professionals of the field. It covers a lot of topics so it ends up not being (nor pretending to be) a specialized "textbook", but it is a very high quality overview of the creative phase with many great tips and guides. Placing an example game design document at the end of the book was a classy and very appreciated decision :)
If you're interested in game design or game development in general, please, do buy this book. If you're interested in a specific area of development, such as general coding, buy game programming gems or game programming graphics gems if you're into gfx. If you're looking for a hardcore game programming guide, this is not what you want.
Interesting Insight into the Game Industry.......2005-03-18
I found this book to be very interesting in designing a game from start to finish. However, finished in this case means the design document. The book sparcely covers the technical and programming aspects of game design and instead considers designing the game completely on paper.
It covers various topics including concept, character creation, play balance, and working with the programming team. The examples included are simple rock-paper-scissor rules with other interesting variations. It covers how to document object attributes and the game effects they have. By following the book the new developer should realize the author's ideal development environment, where the developer(s) make a design document that is sufficient for the programmers to code without requiring constant attention from the designer(s), and thus freeing designer(s) to work on a new game (with a new programming team) while the current one is programmed. This approach is explained more fully in a rather lenghty section near the end of the book. Additionally, the author comments on the industry's currently development model, and compares it to his model.
There appear to be several flaws with the book. For example, the author favors first-person perspective shooters as the most interactive type of game and therefore the most fun. The emphasis placed on interactivity seems to be mostly in the form of different ways of doing the same task (i.e. shooting different guns, etc.). To me this seemed to be adding features that did not radically affect gameplay, something the author warns not to do. Also, it is mostly written in the form of experience and ideas applied to real world examples and not general game theory. While general game theory is not completely neccessary, serious developers should learn general game theory and not just a few working examples, if they want to innovate and not derivate.
Overall, this book succeeds in its goal to provide a beginner with a basic idea of game development and does it without complicated theory and math.
Original edition was great.......2004-11-06
I haven't read "A New Edition", but I did read the 1999 edition of Game Architecture and Design. I've just recommended it to the Game Designers mailing list as a valuable book. I've been a professional game designer since 1988. GA&D had a different perspective on design and has been really useful to me. I'm sure the updated edition is even better.
Corey Cole (co-lead designer of Quest for Glory, Shannara, Castle of Dr. Brain, and others)
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