Book Description
What is it that sets games apart from other forms of entertainment, keeping players coming back for more? Interactivity. The ability to control the outcome. Programming is an integral part of that interactivity, and C++ is a vital skill in programming for games. Beginning C++ through Game Programming, Second Edition will provide you with the core skills you need to begin programming with C++ specifically as it relates to games. You'll reinforce each new skill by creating small games along the way, and you'll put these skills to the test with one ambitious game project at the end. By the time you finish, you'll have a solid foundation in the programming language of the professionals!
Customer Reviews:
Perfect choice.......2007-09-28
hi all,
I bought this brand new book for 21$ including delivery charge.(New one is 31$) Once i ordered it, It comes to my apartment door in 4 days. I feel its the easiest way to buy book. Event i dont have to worry about going to store.
Need more explanation.......2007-06-03
This book doesn't explains well the fundamental of c++. What this book does is basically gives you a piece of code to copy and tells briefly why it works.
Everything's useless unless you know how and why does that code work. And the how and why is lacking on this book.
Great Review of C++ for Simple Games Logic.......2007-06-01
I have to say, I have had my fill of programming books over the years. And, C++ books were so boring that I never wanted to read them and do the homework. I worked at Borland Tech Support for one of the programmming language products and had a mentor in the C++ Builder department. I picked up this book because I had been working out some issues with Random Number Generator and other design issues involved with mathematical logic. I was looking at C++ because I had previously prototyped my project in FORTH. Since I do not have a graphics library for FORTH, I need to port my prototype to another language. It seemed that I had to finally do some C++. I would say that reading this book helped to figure out the simple issues of restating a problem for C++ syntax.
very basic.......2007-04-11
This book is very, very basic.It's for beginners. It not contains graphics
or videogames programming.
an ok book.......2007-02-15
I teach c++ and while I could use this as a text book or for demonstrations, I think there are really too many details left out for someone to read this on their own and learn to program.
Book Description
You can start game programming in a flash
Here's how to create five different cool games - no experience necessary!
Ever think you could come up with a better computer game? Then this book is for you! No boring programming theory here, just the stuff you need to know to actually make something happen, and all in plain English. Build a brain-teasing math game, go classic with Pong, create monsters and mayhem, and much more.
Discover how to
* Build and control basic movie clips
* Make text appear and change
* Generate random numbers
* Add sound effects
* Create cars and space vehicles that move realistically
* Blow up stuff onscreen
Customer Reviews:
Beginner Flash Gaming for Dummies.......2007-09-12
I thought this book was very well done. The writer was very thorough with his directions. His explainations were great. I have tried to learn actionscripting for games in the past, bought a lot of books. But, this one has been the most helpful.
Great for Beginners. Highly recommended.......2007-09-11
I bought about 4 books about getting started in flash and gaming, and this one was far and away the best. Great examples, step by step walkthroughs. I actually still use some of the examples as referece in creating new games.
Highly recommended for beginners.
A solid foundation.......2007-08-17
Upon buying this book, I had dreamed of being able to write powerful flash games. Although I felt that there was more to be desired form the areas involving actionscript, overall I felt that that it delivered exactly what it promised; a strong introduction to flash game "programming."
Beginning Flash Game Programming For Dummies.......2007-07-29
It is perfect for beginner like me, just as title described. I enjoy reading this book and learn the concept of flash programming. The examples are straightforward and self-content. I am planning to write my first flash game with this book.
Picked it up in a FLASH!.......2007-07-12
I'm a graphic designer by trade. I recently took on a school based apprentice who is doing a certificate in Multimedia. She had to cover certain "Flash" units, so I thought it beneficial to at least know a little bit about the program.
The book was easy to follow, clearly explained and well presented. It provided the ground work to getting around the interface as well as basic programming. I enjoyed working through the tutorials and hope to finish my very own BASIC flash game very soon.
Book Description
This book provides new game programmers with a complete introduction to 3D game programming using OpenGL. All of the basic elements of OpenGL as it applies to game development are covered. Readers will learn how to apply these elements to games. The material is presented in an easy-to-learn manner, completely accessible to beginning programmers, with complete but concise coverage to ensure the highest value to readers.
Customer Reviews:
Platform DEPENDANT OpenGL.......2007-06-27
If you are interested in cross-platform OpenGL programming then DO NOT buy this book, it is M$ Windows Dependant. The title should have been "Beginning OpenGL Windows Game Programming".
Well explained.......2007-05-16
On comparing this text to other OpenGL textbooks, I would like to point out that the explanations of graphical techniques in this text are very well done. The CD bundled with the book have excellent code examples of things like using height maps and input from DirectX. There are bonus chapters that cover advanced topics like curves and surfaces that obviously weren't in the actual book, and thus kept the final press cost down.
If you are starting out with OpenGL, then this book is the best I have seen to get you up and running.
Great book.......2007-04-05
Overall this book was an excellent resource for getting on your feet with OpenGL.
It covers pretty much every basic topic conceivable along with touching on the some advanced uses of basic concepts. One thing that I found particularly annoying, however, was that the book claims to go into "much greater detail" concerning models later in the book, but after that line I found nary a reference to them. The author just uses the MD2 file format in the concluding "End Game" sample on the CD without ever having mentioned it in the book. Writing any useful graphics application requires using a model format, and it irks me very much that the book didn't cover it.
One other problem with the book is its age - it covers version 1.5 of OpenGL, while 2.0 has been out for a while now. But like I have already stated, it's a great book to jump into GL with.
Great Book for a 3d programming beginner........2007-03-21
The first two chapters of this book are pretty daunting, showing you a lot of stuff at once, but as the book goes on it goes back to the basics and builds up, so the stuff you saw earlier makes more sense. The book uses mainly the windows library for an interface and interaction, but if you search google for "glut tutorials" you can port the examples in the book quite easily. The CD is your best friend, it has introductions to a lot of stuff in the corresponding chapters that were taken out, like matrix operations and principles of 3d, there are more as the book goes on, I suggest you have these chapters on you when you're bored. It also has a great introduction to windows programming, once you learn that then you pretty much have what you need to make windows for your gl programs.
A little misleading.......2007-03-08
Yes it is a beginers guide to OpenGL, but you need to be experienced with C++, and have all the necessary software to do the exercises.
Book Description
If you are hooked on video games and have a basic knowledge of C++ and visual programming, you will be hooked on Beginning Game Programming. Clear, practical lessons based on C++ programming are the basis of this book's lessons. By focusing on the Windows API to construct games, you will learn game theory in double-buffered graphics, sprite animation, digitized sound effects and music. A fully functional game engine provided on CD, along with tools, code and graphics, will give you the ability to create your own games in the future. Learn the art and science of game programming with help from Beginning Game Programming.
Customer Reviews:
An Excellent Book to begin with game programming.......2007-07-25
This book is excellet for start learning game programming. If you have experience with Visual C++, this book is very easy to read. If not, don't worry, the book have an appendix for the basic C++ and Windows programming topics. The book covers topics like sprites, scrolling backgrounds, game engines and so on. This book use only GDI for drawing. DirectX is not covered in this book. Also multiplayer games thrugh TCP/IP is and advanced topic that is not cover here. An excellent book for beginners. It has a CD with all the code example. You can use the examples as a template for your own game project. It saves you a lot of tedious programming. I do it, and it works excellent!
Not for a beginer, and definatly not for someone who wants to learn........2007-07-05
The only redeeming factor of this book it the code works. Other than that this book is poorly put together. I have been programming for over 2 years. This book is my first serious dabble in game programming. The author early on makes many admissions. The first one is that not all of the programming code is in the book. This may not seem like a big deal, but if you are trying to learn and are unfamiliar with the widows api then this is terrible. I like to type the code up myself inorder to get a better idea of what is going on. He fails to do this. To further complicate things he intentionally avoids using OOP. For previeous reviewers who obviously didnt read a thing, he flat out says in chapter two that he will not use oop because he thinks that it would make things too complicated. I want to learn, I am not going to learn anything from this book if i am not doing it correctly. The nesxt problem is the Game engine really needs more explanation in the development and implementation areas. Its fine to show me code but explain why it should be doen that way. The programmer also uses some strange constructs that i had a very hard time deciphering. ex. if(!GameEngine::GetEngine()->Initialize(iCmdShow)). I have knowledge of programming and pointers and i still have no idea what this means or even why it was done. He does not explain the windows datatypes that are heavily used. As far as being able to do something new after reading this book, i can safely say that i cannot do anything new, except for copy line after line of code.
This book would be alot better if the author would explain what he is doing and how each of the parts of the program work. It may seem tedious, but every detail is needed if you are tyring to learn.
Quite good, but not perfect.......2006-08-10
First of all, sorry for my bad English :
I've been programming C++ for a little while and I decided I was ready to learn more complex subject like game programming (that's what I love). So I bought that book (the French version, but's it's nearly the same book).
The book is well writen, and the games you make are fun. First thing, a lot of code (and especially the more complicated code, like the Bitmap class), are not explained on the book. For exemple for the Bitmap class, you have to copy the code which is on the CD, and you don't understand it... And some code are really complicated, like thei Bitmap class (again), and it's really strange because he writes his own Bitmap loader, whereas there's a Win32's function to do exactly the same, easier,...
But the worst thing is that the game engine is not powerfull at all. I know it's a beginning book but it is bad builded... And finally, Win32 API is not made for games, and I advise you to learn SDL, which is made for video games,...
Great for novice C++ programmers.......2006-07-28
This book is exactly what it claims to be. My preferred development tool is Visual C++.NET, and I wouldn't even try to do a windows application using the windows API, which is what this book uses. However, the game engine that Michael provides takes care of all of the messy API details, and lets you dive right in to game programming with little knowledge of the windows API. The author takes you step by step through the game development process, building on the game engine features and programming techniques with great examples along the way. As far as I can tell, all of the source code provided on the CD compiled flawlessly. The CD also contained a good tutorial on the windows API, which I found very useful. If you are somewhat familiar with the c++ language, its OOP capabilities and want to do some game programming to advance your skill set or just to have fun, I think this book is a great resource to get started.
problems with the book.......2006-07-25
Hello all.
I have had this book for a little while now and I can't really say it was worth the money. As a C++ programmer the book expects you to know a great deal, so not a very good starter book.
To be honest you are probably better off learning windows first and spending a good while getting used to it before starting this book.
One of the big problems is the book is really a manual to using the book game engine, which is very feature poor, no tileable graphics etc. Many things are glossed over such as the sprite class, which tells you next to nothing about it and just expects you to use it, as is. I found this very frustrating since I wanted to know how it worked. To then get a section on setting up your joystick with pictures was just an insult. Space would have been better used explaining things better.
I found that I had gone through a few of the example games and really learned very little. I put the book down and moved on and only use it as a referance book every now and then.
If you want to write 2D games find a book on ditectX which teaches the 2D side, its quicker better documented and more up to date and easier in many ways, since most of the windows rubbish it not used.
That said I give the book 2 stars for effort.
For your information, I am learning directX 9 and don't regret it at all, even though my maths sucks which is not good.
Book Description
Get ready to conquer the basics of building a strong level or mod for your games. "Beginning Game Level Design" covers everything from putting your ideas down on paper, to creating spaces and architecture, through placing units and scripting their behavior. You'll cover each important area of expertise that goes into creating a great level. As you cover each new topic, use the end-of-chapter projects to test your newfound skills. "Beginning Game Level Design" gives you a step-by-step look into the tasks a successful designer goes through in order to create levels that keep players coming back for more.
Customer Reviews:
good but could have been great.......2007-09-15
This book makes the same mistake most every other book does having to do with game design in that the author assumes the reader has never played a video game before and spends the first few chapters explaining "game design concepts" that are beyond obvious and would only benefit someone who has lived in a cave for the last 10 years. When the authors finally get around to explaining how to do game levels, they dont give any particular button pushing instructions, its all "we did this, and then we did this.....". Despite these shortcomings this book is quite a bit better than the other books on game level design that are out there.
Every page is full of precious information.......2007-01-08
This is the 3rd book I got about the subject and I can say that this one in my favourite. Is short but covers everything very well. Also, the authors really show a lot of experience and very good writing skills. A really hope they write and intermediate book covering more stuff and using a RPG Toolkit like NWN2 one. You can't go wrong with this book. GRAB IT !
Great book! Good for aspiring devs and everyone else........2006-10-06
This book does an excellent job of teaching you all the different elements in game design. It also includes some of the tricks pro developers use as well! A nice bonus. The book is written in "simple to follow" English so as to not discourage anyone from following the lessons. I highly recommend this to all the gamers out there that want to get into game or level design!
FYI: Important tidbit of info not covered in description.......2005-05-06
I ran across this book at a bookstore last night and whenever the author goes into step by step building, he is using the Crytek editor that comes with the game FarCry. An excellent and *powerful* editor. A lot of other information is also covered in the book and it looks very nice after browsing thru it at the store.
Be aware, I have not spent a lot of time with it yet, so I will give it a 4 star based upon brief inspection and not to skew future ratings.
Book Description
No matter how exciting the game and how realistic the visual effects, without catchy audio in the background it's obvious that something is missing. New developments in technology enable you to do things with audio that weren't possible before, but they also make it necessary to find a guide that walks you through the technical hurdles. "Beginning Game Audio Programming" covers the challenges that you will face as you create sound effects and music for your games and gives you the information you need to face these challenges head-on. You'll learn how to compose dynamic music and program 3D sound. There's even coverage of using DirectPlay Voice for real- time voice chat in your games! If you are comfortable with C++ and DirectX, then you're ready to dive into the exciting world of audio with "Beginning Game Audio Programming".
Customer Reviews:
Well worth buying..........2006-02-06
Background: I created a game engine (Goblin 2D+ Engine) and for sound just used a 3rd party library (BASS). However I quickly found the additional A$150 for BASS was effecting the uptake of my engine because it was US$59.95 and the additional A$150 for BASS was killing it.
I knew nothing about sound programming so thought it was a hopeless dream to create my own sound engine.
In desperation I bought this book and was surprised (not just by the CD in 1 million bits :S)
Using this book as the basis I was able to create a fully functional sound library for my engine with all the features I was using in BASS.
Sound effects, music, 3d positional sound, panning, volume, pitch, playing .MOD music, OGG decoder. Basically all the functionality I wanted.
If anyone wants to see this in action... www.hoek.inkblue.com.
The book fills in the gaps MSDN seems to leave out. Also, unlike a lot of books, Mason has NOT cut and paste from MSDN documentation.
Thanks Mason!
An amazing introductory resource.......2003-10-03
Computer audio programming has gained enormous momentum in recent years with the arrival of professional grade hardware at consumer prices. As a result, a surging opportunity has replaced the once desolate and antiquated field of audio software development.
Beginning Game Audio Programming provides students with the ability to implement a modern sound engine. It meticulously guides the reader through basic sound concepts, common API usage, and sound engine design as well as covering, in the process, a myriad of audio topics such as DirectPlay Voice, audio scripting, and visualization to familiarize the novice with the diverse facets of the field. This work is the ultimate tool for any aspiring sound programmer.
I recommend this book for any developer seeking an introductory course in audio programming. It provides a solid foundation of sound principles, API usage, file formats, effects, and sound engine design that are crucial to the field of game audio development.
This book carefully avoids becoming overly complex or didactic, offering descriptive explanations of the core concepts of audio programming. This refreshing outlook provides a student with a solid foundation from which to take large successive steps into the audio world.
This book is truly an excellent resource for anyone wishing to learn more about the blooming field of computer audio programming.
Book Description
Are you ready to try your hand at programming games using C#? "Beginning C# Game Programming" is your ideal introductory guide - designed to jumpstart your experience with C# and DirectX 9. It includes the fundamental topics you'll need to know and covers additional topics that you'll find helpful along the way. Begin with a comprehensive look at programming with C# - from the basics of classes to advanced topics such as polymorphism and abstraction. Then it's on to DirectX 9 as you learn how to create a basic framework and a Direct3D device. You'll also cover DirectSound and DirectInput. Put your newfound knowledge to the test as you program a complete game!
Customer Reviews:
Decent intro but outdated.......2007-09-10
This is a nice basic introduction to game programming but, as mentioned before, there are mistakes. The version of Directx code is out of date.
Usually, one can go on-line and get updates to the code from the developer that fix the mistakes and get the code working with later releases.
Unfortunately the author has not updated the code and it doesn't look as though the web site has been touched for a couple of years. It is riddled with missing links and php errors. For that reason alone, I just can not recommend this book to people who don't have much experience as developers.
Good book for the beginner.......2007-05-07
This book is intended for the beginner C# game developers only. In fact, the title of the book pretty much justifies the content it provides. It does a good job providing a good introduction to the C# language and how it can be used to for the game development.
Not for beginners.......2007-01-15
This book is not for anyone who hasn't done programming before. After a nice introduction and history report, the author suddenly starts showing you charts with things like "ushort 2 0 is 65,535". And says stuff like "Using floats, you can represent the numbers 1.0 and 1.00000012, but you can't represent any number between." What?! What does ushort mean? What are floats?! I must be just stupid, because when I read "This book approaches the topic of C# for a total beginner", I thought it meant it was for a noob like me.
Someone Kick These People.......2006-06-26
I have read a lot of Premier books in my days. One thing is constant through all of their books: they are riddled with errors. They are not complex errors that only an advanced programmer would catch - they are stupid mistakes that an author who reviewed his work would catch. What's worse, most of the authors of these game programming books have about as much experience as I do - and I haven't even worked in the field yet! For a book that spends the first 5 chapters talking about the C# language, you would think the author would realize you can't have drop-through in switch-statments and that you can't have multiple type specifiers in a for-loop header. I read these books hoping for some entertainment and to learn some new skills. I definitely get a laugh! I will say that there are some decent programming books by this joke of a publisher, but it is like navigating a mine-field. My only suggestion to beginners is to go to a site like gamedev and see what they recommend. And for the experienced programmer, I don't recommend Premier books at all. Go for a book that is not split between the language and the gaming library. If you really want, I will give you some definite reads for anyone serious about getting a head-start. For such a large, growing industry, you would think there would be better books out there. All in all, I would not put this book down entirely - it does try to present the language and still has time to cover direct3D at some point. The reality is, though, the world is not ready for C# gaming yet and anyone serious about beginning game programming should find a book using C/C++. I hope this review has not aroused too much spite on my behalf.
Great 2d in directx3d.......2006-05-02
What you will learn:
how to setup your devices (3d, sound, etc)
how to use sprites in 3d (albeit you have to convert his sprite implementation to directx9.0c ... which is somewhat complicated, but not impossible)
what you won't learn:
using 3d meshes, 3d animations, terrain, etc.
This really is an introductory book, and i highly recommend it for the beginning C#/MDX programmer. Most of you will find it too novice for your tastes, but even though I gave up trying to convert Ron's sprites to directx 9.0c, i still learned a ton from all of the chapters up until the sprite drawer. (all of which compiled fine until using Direct3DX.dll)
Pick up the book if you're new, if you're new to MDX... but you know DX... skip this book.
Book Description
If you are interested in creating games for the casual game market, then get ready to set the wheels in motion! This hands-on guide for beginners allows you to increase your skill level along the way as you create a game full of cool artwork and intricate details. This book is not an introductory guide to the Java programming language, but instead serves as an introduction to the field of game programming using Java. From the basics of creating simple Java programs and writing graphics code to utilizing Java's advanced 2D library and adding sound effects and music, this book's step-by-step instructions will help you acquire all the skills you need to create a professional-quality, sprite-based game.
Customer Reviews:
One hell of a good book........2007-07-16
I think I'm probably right in the target audience for this book, and I think it did a great job at what it sets out to do. There's a bit of a Java review at the beginning, but this so-called "intro to Java" is focused on game making from the very first pages. Don't think that there's enough Java teaching here to get by if you've never done Java before. He covers a couple of topics essential to gaming that many might not have covered in a previous class, like getting keyboard and mouse input, but if you don't know your applet from a hole in the ground, you'd better start somewhere else.
Harbour is great at explaining difficult concepts in an accessible way. If you work through the code in the book, you'll pick up a whole lot of valuable info. I did, reading through the book twice along the way, and I got a whole lot out of the experience.
If I had to give a couple of criticisms, I'd say that I would have liked this book to be a few hundred pages longer. Harbour touches on so many important topics and gives you the basics, but I'd love to have more from him on all these topics. Maybe a sequel with more depth/advanced topics? If I could have those extra pages, I'd also like it if they were devoted to a different type of game. This book takes you in detail through one game project, beginning to end, but it would have been helpful to get some strategies for dealing with other game types. Don't get me wrong--it's a great idea to work through a project to finish it in such detail. And of course, a lot of the topics can be applied to other games.
I'd definitely recommend this one to anyone like me, with a Java foundation looking for a way to apply it to more interesting programming topics beyond the "toy" projects they assign in most programming classes. Read this book, and then go on to _Killer Game Programming in Java_ by Andrew Davison. That one's a lot tougher than this one and covers more advanced topics without much of any Java review, and I think they make good companion volumes. Now if I could just find the right J2ME games book . . .
Emphasis on "Basic", not much "Java 5", one 2D game.......2006-08-03
I spent a half hour looking through this and it's definitely on the basic side, but even then is fairly thin coverage, and it really doesn't cover the new Java 5 features (over Java 1.4.2) very well at all. I saw several things in the code that I generally see other experienced Java programmers recommend against, but they're not horrible errors or even in the poor programming category. This is probably because, based on the author's own bio, it appears that he's not a regular Java programmer. A little more experience and research on Java 5 might have helped make the code and technical details better. He does appear to know game programming, though, and spends the whole book working on a 2D arcade game (asteroids clone I believe), which is ok I suppose, but it's only one topic in 2D.
Anyway, this book is for beginners to game programming AND Java, and seems to do an alright job of it. It's not a bad book, but it's not great either. My personal feeling is still that a good Java programming book will NOT focus on teaching Java, but game programming IN Java. Teach the io, sound, and graphics APIs, but not the core language at all. This is just another "intro to Java programming using a game as an example" book, of which there are already several. Saying it's Java 5 doesn't make it any different.
Book publishers -- I will hearily endorse a game programming in Java book (or books, 2 volumes might be required) that presents more than one game type and covers all the relevant topics: io, sound (2D and 3D), graphics (2D and 3D), ai (2D and 3D), multi-user (MMOG and small client/server), art assets (2D and 3D), tools, and libraries. I probably forgot a topic or two there. But I *purposely* left out 'how to get a job in the game business' or 'how to sell your game'. Make the book(s) technical. This book would be a starting point for something like that, but I honestly can't give this one a 5 or even a 4 as it's only an average book and isn't special enough to stand out from the crowd.
Good for learning basic game programming techniques using Java.......2006-06-14
This book is true to its name, since it is truly beginning Java game programming. However, I really coudn't find anything that was unique to Java 5 in the contents. Part one is actually a tutorial on the Java programming language from the perspective of what you need to know to write your own 2D game. It really is too shallow and too focused on just those parts of Java that are required to write games to be helpful to a complete Java novice. If you are a beginner to Java, you should consult "Core Java" or "Learning Java" to learn the actual Java language basics first.
Part two is particularly good for beginning game programmers who already know Java, as the chapters boil down what is necessary for programming a simple 2D game in Java complete with sound effects. The author does a good job of explaining Java2D, threads, and the concept of a game loop. I particularly liked his succinct treatment of creating a framework for Java games. He does a better job of explaining what a software framework is than many books I've read that are dedicated to the subject. He tops off part two by writing a complete 2D game in Java named "Galactic War", which you can actually play in applet form if you go to the author's website.
In summary, I would recommend this book if you already understand the basics of the Java language, need more instruction on its basic multimedia capabilities, and would like to learn those capabilities through the fun activity of building a 2D game. If you would like a more advanced book on Java game programming after you finish this one, try the excellent "Killer Game Programming in Java" by Davison. I notice Amazon does not show the table of contents, so I do that next:
Part I: Java for Beginners
Chapter 1 Getting Started with Java 5
Chapter 2 Java Programming Essentials
Chapter 3 Keyboard and Mouse Input
Chapter 4 Sound Effects and Music
Chapter 5 Creating Your First Java Game
Part II: Java 2-D Game Programming
Chapter 6 Java 2-D--Vector Graphics and Bitmaps
Chapter 7 The Game Loop, Timing, and Threads
Chapter 8 Basic 2-D Actors--the Infamous "Sprite"
Chapter 9 Advanced Sprite Programming--Animation
Chapter 10 Creating a Java Game Framework
Chapter 11 Enhancing and Polishing Galactic War
Chapter 12 Deploying Java Games on the Web
Part III: Appendices
Appendix A Chapter Quiz Answers
Appendix B Recommended Books and Web Sites
Another Great Book By Jonathan Harbour.......2006-05-31
I first bought Jon's book Game Programming all in one. Creating games in Allegro was fun and put me on a track that has not stopped. When I found out (per his website) that he had a game book on Java coming out I was excited because I am hoping to getting a job Java programming very soon. He does not teach you how to program in Java but instead shows you how to create games you would love to play in a simple, entertaining and productive way. I was able to breeze through the book and start playing around with vector graphics and sprites to test out how Java would implement them. The side effect is that you will be learning the language while creating something you can show.
If you don't have some knowledge you feel you will need to use this book, I would recommend buying another Java book to keep by your side to answer any questions that the book may not answer for you.
Great book for beginners.......2006-05-29
I remember Jonathan showing me a rough draft of one of the book's chapters, and as I scanned through it, I instantly knew this was going to be a great book for beginners. The book primarily focuses on applets, so you can almost instantly guarantee that thousands of gamers on the web will play your games. He takes you through an actual game while learning, and the book results with a great demo game. I definitely suggest that you pick up this book.
Book Description
Beginning .NET Game Programming in VB .NET presents the work of David Weller (.NET Game evangelist at Microsoft) and a group of key Microsoft insiders who decided to write the ideal introduction to game programming for VB .NET programmers. Weller has switched his previous book to VB .NET and added a bonus chapter. The book has passed all internal Microsoft tests as to programming style. This thoroughly revised and improved version (including a bonus chapter) is the ideal way to get into .NET game programming using the VB .NET language.
Customer Reviews:
Good Introduction for beginners.......2006-05-20
I would hate for people to get the wrong idea about the book from reading the other posts. This really isn't a bad book.
I am completely new to game programming (although not new to VB), and following along with the examples I was able to get the Tetris, Caterpillar and other games to work.
This gives a good introduction to game programming, covering both 2D and some 3D graphics.
But the book isn't all about writing the code. It also tells the reader how to plan out a game before coding, and gives good tips on keeping the project on track.
The book isn't perfect though. There are some errors in the code (but only one glaring instance of C# code in the VB code).
But APress has followed up, and has posted some code corrections on the web-site, and gives the downloadable code which helps a great deal.
I found the text of the book to be very easy to follow. The author has more of a conversational style than lecturing.
I think the book succeeds in being a good introduction to game programming. Getting the Tetris game to work gives you the incentive to keep reading and learning. Plus, it is fun to play your own game!
a poor attempt at a quick buck, shame on Apress!.......2005-06-04
My biggest complaint with VB.NET game programming books so far (and I've read a few) has been that they either: A) try to teach elementary VB.NET using game flavored examples (but nothing about actual game development) or B) try to take existing game programming material and shoe-horn it into a VB.NET book. Sadly this book falls squarely into the second category (so far).
It's quite obvious that ALL of the sample code was originally written in C#. No big deal, it's easy enough to convert. However, if you aren't a VB.NET guy, don't you dare write a freaking book with VB.NET in the title. There are more differences between VB.NET and C# than just syntax!! For the love of god, 85% of the code samples (encountered so far) do NOT work as printed in the book. Some have glaring C# syntax still in them, but only in places... often sharing a line with VB.NET syntax. The tech editor should be drawn and quartered, on TV.
To make matters worse, the main author seems somewhat condescending (arrogant?) for someone who's never actually published a game in his/her life, ever (and had to have TWO other people write the book with him... neither of whom have ever published a game either.) This is an actual quote, immediately after some collision detection code that DOES NOT work as printed... If you think this is too much math, this is probably the place where you should take this book back and take up something less mathematically demanding, like nuclear physics! Ok... seriously? That comment would be a lot more impressive if your code ACTUALLY WORKED!
So far I have nothing positive to say about this book, so let me see... ok well, the girl on the back cover is kinda cute (allegedly one of the authors, although I have no idea which sections are written by whom... is that good or bad? You tell me.) Oh yeah, and the price I paid was 40% off, although sadly I still feel ripped off!
FWIW, I did eventually get the collision detection code to work on paper, although NO explanation is made for why the algorithm handles things a certain way, and the reader is told to perform a simple Google search for more info (I kid you not!!). I'm guessing this is because they don't actually know why the code they "borrowed" (from the net?) did things that way either.
At this point, I'm almost considering this book as a possible alternative energy source. I can't believe anyone at one of my favorite publishers actually read this book prior to printing it and selling it for $50 a copy. By the time you rip out the index, table of contents, foreward, introduction, recommended reading and 'about the author' section... it's barely 350 pages. Yes... I know it's not about page count, but when quality is already out the window, what other metric is there?
I'm not going to tell you the name of this book or the publisher (yet), because even though I've managed to work up this much bile and stomach acid over it, I'm only on page 35. God help me, I hope it gets better quickly.
It's funny, every truly good tech book I read makes me less inclined to try writing my own. This book, however, has convinced me that I still have a pretty good chance at getting published.
Don't be fooled.......2005-04-25
Although this book isn't a complete waste of money, don't be fooled. It's not very well written.
There are countless errors in the code right from the beginning. They also just skip telling you some important pieces about what is going on in every chapter.
However, you can still squeeze some use from this book. Go to the web site and download all the code from them. For the most part, the code works and can be your reference. You *can* learn from this book and d/l code, but you have to work at it and use a lot of trial and error.
Thank you for reading.
Don't Waste Your Money!.......2005-03-28
This book may present some theoretical views for beginner level game programming, but do not expect to learn the correct syntax for VB.NET. Actually if you purchase the same authors book for programming in C# you'll find they have the same first chapter (that's as far as I looked). This book was obviously a lazy attempt for these people to make a quick buck. Unfortunately they wait until the end of the book to let you know:
"Most of the example games leave much room for improvement. Even when we looked back on them after finishing each chapter, we would sometimes look at parts of the code and think, "We can't believe we wrote that." Even worse, some of the things we told you aren't always true." pg 348
While I was trying to complete the exercises in this book I spent more time with my nose in other books so I could learn the correct way to do it. Do yourself a favor get a different book.
quick copy and paste from the C# version.......2005-01-31
It seems like a decent book, but there is quite a few mistakes in the code in making reference to methods that don't exist and even using C# code mixed with VB.BET.
(this is exactly the text, no typo on my part)
page 34
Public Class GameField
public class GameField {
public Shared Color BackColor as Color;
End Class}
I am just starting the book, but I have found 4 errors already. I guess as long as you are paying attention to what you are reading you should be able to figure them out, so I guess it keeps you on your toes. You just have to be ready to figure out why their code doesn't work when it doesn't.
Other than that I am sure this book is still worth buying though.
Book Description
Build several fully functional games as well as a game engine to use for programming cell phone and mobile games with Beginning Mobile Phone Game Programming! The included CD provides the tool, code and graphics necessary to complete all exercises covered in the chapters. Beginning Cell Phone Game Programming demystifies wireless game programming by providing clear, practical lessons using the J2ME Game API. You will learn how to use the most popular mobile programming language, Java, to build compact games that can run on any Java-enabled device, including mobile phones, pagers and handheld computers. You will also learn to add a splash screen, create a demo mode, keep track of high scores, and test, debug, and deploy your games.
Topics covered include:
- How to construct a game engine to drive mobile games.
- How to use Java 2 Micro Edition (J2ME) and the Java Game API to get the most performance out of your mobile games.
- How to implement sprite animation and control interactions among moving sprites.
- How to play sound effects and music in mobile games.
- How to take advantage of wireless networks to build mobile multiplayer games.
- How to design and develop a variety of different games spanning several video games genres.
Customer Reviews:
Best so far.......2006-12-01
This was the book that got me interested in mobile games. I love it. Well written, good examples that are easy to follow, and it covers everything including graphics, audio, and AI. It also uses MIDP 2.0 which is the de facto standard. Another book by Wells is not bad but Wells assumes MIDP 1.0 and teaches from a single game project, Star Assault, which is too big and besides, not always easy to follow. However, Morrison is really straightfoward in comparison. If there is a downside, it might be that Morrison, like all the others I've looked at, assume the Wireless Toolkit. Firstly, the WTK has no debugging facilities which makes learning and fixing games harder. Secondly, games in Morrison are WTK 2.1 which means you'll have problems if using WTK 2.2, the latest version at the time of this writing. If you are serious about learning and writing J2ME games, you need to get Eclipse and the Eclipse plug-in, EclipseME. You'll still have to get the latest WTK since EclipseME depends on it. However, you can import all of Morrison's projects and single-step debug them. (Remember to read the EclipseME pages on setting up the J2ME debugger; otherwise, the debugger won't work.) I've also used Morrison with Sun's NetBeans Mobility Pack. I prefer Eclipse since it seems to have a larger community.
Very good book.......2006-10-20
I have been using this book as a textbook for a one-semester introductory course to game programming. Thanks to the book the students can learn the main principles of game development in an environment that guarantees that they implement their own variations withing a tight time constraint.
The course has a heavy hands-on component based almost completely on the game samples from the book. Amazingly, the students are in the lab when I come, and they stay when I leave.
I used the book successfully in a Linux lab with Eclipse, EclipseME, WTK 2.2, GIMP, Rosegarden, Audacity, and Tiled, with some small help from timidity and awk.
Absolutely Amazing !!.......2006-01-05
It's the only Java 2 ME game programming book I love ! This book explains all about Java Game in Mobile device and in an easy way. I bought this book on September 2005 and becoz of this book, I grabbed the 3rd national J2ME programming competition in my country on November 2005. Very useful for beginner and intermediete. But this is only a game book, so it doesn't tell u about how to make form, list, choicegroup, textfield, etc. U must have another book that teach u those. Congrats to the author for making this quality book !
Table of Contents.......2005-10-10
At the time of this 'review' there was no Table of Contents available. This is from the publishers Web site.
Table of Contents
Introduction.
I. GETTING STARTED WITH MOBILE GAME PROGRAMMING.
1. Games on the Go.
Essentials of Mobile Gaming
The First Mobile Phone Game
The Market for Mobile Games
The Culture of Mobile Games
The Bleeding Edge of Mobile Gaming
Getting to Know Mobile Platforms
Java 2 Micro Edition (J2ME)
Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless (BREW)
Symbian
Windows Mobile Smartphone
Java As a Mobile Game Platform
What Is Java?
Why Java?
Java and Mobile Game Programming
A Quick J2ME Primer
Configurations and the Connected Limited Device Configuration (CLDC)
Profiles and the MIDP
Summary
Field Trip
2. Mobile Java Game Development Basics.
Game Design Basics
Coming Up with the Basic Idea
Developing the Storyline
Establishing the Play Modes
A J2ME Game Development Primer
Getting to Know the J2ME Wireless Toolkit
Using KToolbar
Managing MIDlet Game Projects
Building a Game MIDlet
Testing a Game MIDlet
The J2ME Emulator and Physical Devices
Summary
Field Trip
3. Constructing a Mobile Game Skeleton.
Exploring the J2ME APIs
The CLDC API
The MIDP API
Understanding MIDlets
Inside a MIDlet
The Basics of MIDlet Development
Building the Skeleton Example Program
Writing the Program Code
Preparing the MIDlet for Distribution
Building and Testing the Finished Product
Summary
Extreme Game Makeover
II. MOBILE GAME PROGRAMMING ESSENTIALS.
4. Mobile Game Graphics 101.
Mobile Graphics Basics
Understanding the Graphics Coordinate System
Learning the Basics of Color
Working with Graphics in J2ME
Drawing Graphics Primitives
Drawing Text
Drawing Images
Building the Olympics Example Program
Writing the Program Code
Testing the Finished Product
Building the Slideshow Example Program
Writing the Program Code
Testing the Finished Product
Summary
Extreme Game Makeover
5. Using Sprite Animation.
Understanding Animation
Animation and Frame Rate
Making the Move to Computer Animation
2D Versus 3D Animation
Analyzing 2D Sprite Animation
Frame-Based Animation
Cast-Based Animation
Applying Sprite Animation to Mobile Games
Working with the Layer and Sprite Classes
Achieving Smooth Animation with the GameCanvas Class
Building the UFO Example Program
Writing the Program Code
Testing the Finished Product
Summary
Extreme Game Makeover
6. Handling Mobile User Input.
Assessing Mobile Game Input
Handling Key Input with the GameCanvas Class
Revisiting the Sprite Class
Detecting Sprite Collisions
Working with Frame-Animated Sprites
Building the UFO 2 Example
Writing the Program Code
Testing the Finished Product
Summary
Extreme Game Makeover
7. Henway: Paying Tribute to Frogger.
The Scoop on Henway
Designing the Game
Developing the Game
Writing the Game Code
Testing the Game
Summary
Extreme Game Makeover
8. Making Noise with Tones.
Sound and Mobile Games
A Tonal Sound and Music Primer
Querying a Phone for Its Audio Capabilities
Playing Tones in Mobile Games
Playing Individual Tones
Playing a Tone Sequence
Building the UFO 3 Example Program
Writing the Program Code
Testing the Finished Product
Summary
Field Trip
9. Playing Digitized Sound and Music.
A Digitized Sound Primer
Getting to Know Wave Sounds
Creating and Editing Wave Sounds
Revisiting the Player Interface
Playing Wave Sounds in Mobile Games
Playing a Wave from a JAR File
Playing a Wave from a URL
Feeling the Music with MIDI
Playing MIDI Music in Mobile Games
Playing a MIDI Song from a JAR File
Playing a MIDI Song from a URL
Building the Henway 2 Example Game
Writing the Game Code
Testing the Finished Product
Summary
Field Trip
III. VIRTUAL WORLDS AND MOBILE GAME INTELLIGENCE.
10. Creating Tiled Game Layers.
What Is a Tiled Layer?
Creating Maps for Tiled Layers
Using the Mappy Map Editor
Using the Tile Studio Map Editor
Formatting Map Information for Games
Working with the TiledLayer Class
Creating a Tiled Layer
Moving and Drawing a Tiled Layer
Building the Wanderer Example Program
Writing the Program Code
Testing the Finished Product
Summary
Field Trip
11. Managing Multiple Game Layers.
Dealing with Multiple Game Layers
Working with the LayerManager Class
Animating Tiled Layers
Building the Wanderer 2 Example Program
Designing the Tiled Layer Maps
Writing the Program Code
Testing the Finished Product
Summary
Extreme Game Makeover
12. High Seas: A Game for the Pirate in You.
The Scoop on High Seas
Designing the Game
Putting Together the Water Map
Putting Together the Land Map
Developing the Game
Creating a Drift Sprite
Declaring the Member Variables
Assembling the start() Method
Piecing Together the update() Method
Drawing the Game Screen
Starting a New Game
Safely Placing Sprites
Testing the Game
Summary
Extreme Game Makeover
13. Teaching Games to Think.
The Least You Need to Know About AI
Exploring Types of Game AI
Roaming AI
Behavioral AI
Strategic AI
Developing an AI Strategy
Teaching Sprites to Think...Sort Of
Designing the Chase Sprite
Coding the Chase Sprite
Building the High Seas 2 Example Game
Writing the Program Code
Testing the Finished Product
Summary
Extreme Game Makeover
IV. TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE WIRELESS NETWORK.
14. Mobile Game Networking Essentials.
Multiplayer Game Basics
Turn-Based Games
Event-Based Games
Network Game Problems and Solutions
State Synchronization
Input Synchronization
A Hybrid Solution
Communicating over a Network with Sockets
Stream Sockets
Datagram Sockets
Network Programming and J2ME
Creating Datagram Packets
Sending Datagram Packets
Receiving Datagram Packets
Building the Lighthouse Example
Designing the Client and Server
Writing the Program Code
Testing the Finished Product
Summary
Field Trip
15. Connect 4: A Classic Game Goes Wireless.
The Scoop on Connect 4
Designing the Game
Graphics and User Interface
Game Logic
Networking
Developing the Game
The Connect 4 Client and Server
The Connect 4 Game Canvas
The Connect 4 Game State
Testing the Game
Summary
Field Trip
16. Debugging and Deploying Mobile Games.
Game Debugging Basics
Single-Stepping Code
Watching Variables
Using Breakpoints
Game Debugging Strategies
Bug Prevention
Bug Detection
Choosing a Debugger
Deploying Mobile Games
Understanding Over-the-Air Provisioning
Preparing Your Game for Deployment
Tweaking Your Web Server
Testing OTA Provisioning with KToolbar
Summary
Field Trip
V. SPRUCING UP YOUR GAMES.
17. Optimizing Mobile Java Games.
Understanding Mobile Game Optimization
Optimizing for Maintainability
Optimizing for Portability
Optimizing for Size
Optimizing for Speed
General Mobile Game Optimization Tips
Reducing Memory Usage
Minimizing Network Data
Eliminating Unnecessary Graphics
Java Code Optimization Tricks
Compiling Without Debug Information
Eliminating Unnecessary Evaluations
Eliminating Common Subexpressions
Taking Advantage of Local Variables
Expanding Loops
Code Shrinking and Obfuscation
Profiling Your Mobile Game Code
Monitoring Mobile Game Memory Usage
Putting Mobile Game Optimization into Perspective
Summary
Extreme Game Makeover
18. Space Out: Paying Tribute to Space Invaders.
The Scoop on Space Out
Designing the Game
Developing the Game
Creating a Moving Sprite
Declaring the Member Variables
Assembling the start() Method
Piecing Together the update() Method
Drawing the Game Screen
Starting a New Game
Adding Aliens, Missiles, and Explosions
Testing the Game
Summary
Extreme Game Makeover
19. Keeping Track of High Scores.
The Importance of Logging Your Achievements
Getting to Know the Java RMS
Understanding Records and Record Stores
Exploring the RecordStore Class
Preparing High Score Data for Storage
Building the Space Out 2 Example Game
Designing the Game Enhancements
Writing the Game Code
Testing the Finished Product
Summary
Field Trip
VI. APPENDIXES.
Appendix A. Java Game API Reference.
The GameCanvas Class
Member Constants
Constructor
Methods
The Layer Class
Methods
The Sprite Class
Member Constants
Constructors
Methods
The TiledLayer Class
Constructor
Methods
The LayerManager Class
Constructor
Methods
Appendix B. Mobile Game Programming Resources.
Micro Dev Net
J2ME Gamer
J2ME.org
Forum Nokia's Mobile Games Community
Wireless Developer Network
GameDev.net
Gamasutra
Game Developer Magazine
Gamelan
JavaWorld
The Official Java Website
Appendix C. Creating Graphics for Mobile Games.
Assessing Game Graphics
Determining the Game Screen Size
Reaching the Target Audience
Establishing a Game Setting and Mood
Adhering to a Graphics Style
Exploring Graphics Tools
Image Alchemy
Paint Shop Pro
Graphic Workshop
Creating and Editing Graphics
Line-Art Graphics
3D Rendered Graphics
Scanned Photography and Video-Captured Graphics
Background Graphics and Textures
Animated Graphics
Finding Graphics
Bonus: Java Programming Primer - CD-ROM.
Index
Don't Wast Your Money.......2005-09-22
This is absolutly the worst programming book i've ever read! Although Michael Morisson shows a lot of techniques and details of MIDP 2.0, he doesn't explain how to use them efficiently and how to integrate them into projects. This is also the way he programs himself. All samples are confuse and against all object-oriented principles. Sure, people learn how to write simple gags, but writing an average game is impossible with this book.
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Beginning OpenGL Game Programming (Game Development Series)
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3D Math Primer for Graphics and Game Development (Wordware Game Math Library)
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Game Programming In C++: Start To Finish (Game Development Series)
Learn C++ By Making Games (Charles River Media Programming)
C++ For Game Programmers (Game Development Series)
