Mathematics for 3D Game Programming and Computer Graphics by Eric Lengyel
Published December 2001
List Price: $49.95, Your Amazon.com Price: $0.00
Charles River Media Price: $39.96
Average rating:
Amazon Sales Rank: 309,347
Buy it now:
Summary This book teaches the mathematics that a game programmer needs to develop a professional-quality 3D engine. The book starts at a fairly basic level in areas such as vector geometry and linear algebra and then progresses to more advanced topics in 3D game programming such as illumination and visibility determination. Particular attention is given to derivations of key results, ensuring that the reader is not forced to endure "gaps" in the theory. The book assumes a working knowledge of trigonometry and calculus, but also includes sections that review the important tools used from these disciplines, such as trig-onometric identities, differential equations, and Taylor series.
This book provides a solid foundation for anyone who wants to develop a good understanding of the math behind computer graphics. The author provides clear and concise explanations of the concepts covered, backs them up with mathematical proofs, and usually discusses how the concepts can be applied in games, often with sample code. Each chapter has accompanying exercises that I recommended working through.
The topics covered include things you would expect like matrices, vectors, transformations, 3D geometry, and lighting, but also includes are topics like collision detection, ray tracing, visibility determination, and techniques such as billboarding and shadows. It concludes with several chapters on physics including fluid simulation, and a few useful appendices covering trig, complex numbers, and Taylor series.
If you're brand new to graphics and game programming and haven't had a math class in a while, then the somewhat textbook-like language may be a little daunting, but otherwise, this book is an excellent resource for those interested in solidifying their knowledge of 3D math.
Despite the above reviews, I don't see how useful this book would be for anyone. All the rigorous proofs and formal style...why? What subject is this textbook for?
And it's not much cop as a reference...the only way you stand a chance of following the terminology is if you read the chapters from the beginning...you can't just fetch information out of it.
As an example, I recently had a problem with quaternions. I tried looking in this book for an answer but, once again, couldn't follow the terminology (or couldn't find the nugget of useful info among all the proofs). When I eventually got the answer (on GameDev), I went back to the book and found that the information was buried there all along...but you can bet next time I have a maths problem I won't be able to find it again.
-----------------
BTW, Brutus, you should have an excellent future in mathematics if you are only studying for your GCSEs and found this book easy to follow.
I have an 'A' in GCSE maths, I've done some A-level equivalent maths on my Computer Science degree, and to improve my maths I'm currently working through the exercises in an A-level core maths textbook. And to me this book may as well be written in Hebrew.
Amazing book. You must have a good grasp of medium or high math to really get what you want out of it... for it doesn't over-explain small tasks. No real code, just theory and well written at that... a real gem in my collection!
This is a nice little maths book. There is no code to speak of really (one or two code samples in OpenGL). The theory is presented clearly enough to enable you to write your own implementations of the systems described. As the title suggests, this is a maths book. You should have a decent grasp of algebra and trigonometry to get the most out of this book. The author provides detailed proofs of key results, enabling you to understand where the formulas come from. Anyone interested in the book may want to know that the second edition was released in December 2003, so you may wish to buy that edition instead (this is a review of the first edition).
one of the best books on designing games engines. The Author Used the Api OpenGL To show some real example , notice that there is no CD to show the examples and that's why i put 7stars .
if your beginner in 3DMath , i dont recommend this book for you .
gets better as you become more advanced and do different things. For example, I'm now writing a raytracer, and this is an excellent reference for ray-object (triangle, sphere, ellipsoid, cylinder, bounding box) collision and illumination models. Not for the mathematically faint of heart, but a great book for intermediate-advanced developers.
Excellent!!! I am currenly doing my GCSE's and therefore my knowledge of maths is not extensive. This book taught me all needed to know in Mathematics for game programming, starting with the elementary vector/matrix maths progressing towards the complicated complex numbers. Part of the book's brilliance is the authors talent for explaning the most brain acking maths in simple terms.
This book was exactly what I was looking for. It even derives everything it teaches right from the basics to advanced topics in every corner of modern game programming. It has been a very useful book for expanding my game development technology.
Southwest Gaming Expo
Charles River Media
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk
Amazon.ca
Amazon.de
Amazon.fr