newb looking for a path
Author
first off whats up all, great site and seems like good people frequent here oft. I will have a b.s. in comp sci here in may. I believe i have a firm foundation and understanding of the c++ language but have come to realize there is a huge difference in college programming and game programming--learned mad theory opposed to indepth precise programming manipulation. i have taken a class on opengl but am not to the level of game incorporation. I was wanting to see if anyone had any recommendations of a path(book wise) to better understand the programming aspect of games. I know you need to better understand win specific programming then after that dive into opengl/directx. I mess with 3DSmaxR5 and also wanted to know what good books there are to incorporate levels and animations into an engine. I see books on amazon all over the palce but i have around $120 to spend and i'm not going by the amazon ratings was wanting to hear from people here who have a firm understanding of games and could share thier book/training paths with me. ***wanted path->1.great understanding of c/c++ SDL/STL/win32->2.OpenGL/DirectX API's ->3. Incorporation of animation/terrain/LOD ->4. Massive Mult SQL/PHP ->5. the great AI.Hope this makes sense a bit late and been gramming for the last few hours so.
Thanks in advance,
Faoite
[edited by - faoite on April 13, 2004 2:39:43 AM]
Core Techniques and Algorithms in Game Programming is the best, imho, general game programming book out there. Its a great starting point.
For a better understanding of C++, since you already have some university C++ learning I recommend Thinking in C++ Vols. 1 and 2. These are free electronically, but if you want hard copies, they are pretty cheap on Amazon. After those, I would buy The Complete C++ Reference . Its always good to have a good reference book, and this one is great.
There aren't very many good books on SDL. There is Focus on SDL but it doesn't give you much more than you can get from reading the documentation. There is also, Linux Game Programming. This book has couple of good chapters on SDL and its a free download. The best source of information on SDL is the docs.
I haven't read a book on OpenGL, but lots people swear by Nehe's tutorials
Hope this helps. Good luck.
[edited by - yspotua on April 13, 2004 3:37:28 AM]
For a better understanding of C++, since you already have some university C++ learning I recommend Thinking in C++ Vols. 1 and 2. These are free electronically, but if you want hard copies, they are pretty cheap on Amazon. After those, I would buy The Complete C++ Reference . Its always good to have a good reference book, and this one is great.
There aren't very many good books on SDL. There is Focus on SDL but it doesn't give you much more than you can get from reading the documentation. There is also, Linux Game Programming. This book has couple of good chapters on SDL and its a free download. The best source of information on SDL is the docs.
I haven't read a book on OpenGL, but lots people swear by Nehe's tutorials
Hope this helps. Good luck.
[edited by - yspotua on April 13, 2004 3:37:28 AM]
i agree with the choice of Core Techniques and Algorithms in Game Programming, it is very good.
When you get more intrested in specific game programming topics the Game Programming Gems series is nvaluable.
When you get more intrested in specific game programming topics the Game Programming Gems series is nvaluable.
Author
Nice!!...thanks alot yspotua & peter_b the Core Techniques and Algorithms in Game Programming book is one thats been on my amazon list just wasn't sure about its quality. And the Thinking in C++ volumes; i've heard of, just really hate e-books unless i'm running dual monitors whcih i only run at work, but these two have gotten alot of good reviews so it's time to suck it up and dive in. The Linux book never actually heard of and it is an interesting topic for me coming from being trained in unix and would like to understand cross-plat a bit better and it's role in game programming. Had a question on these three books:1. Data Structures for Game Programmers by Ron Penton 2. Game Scripting Mastery by Alex Varanese & 3. Game Coding Complete by Mike McShaffry . Heard a bit about these as well. Thanks again for your help and getting me started in the right direction. Maybe after these reads I shall have the bit of knowledge needed to actually be an active forum member around here. Also, real quick, am beginning to understand teh importance of Win32 API is there anything that dives deep into the subject to better understand its workings?
Thanks Again
Pax,
Faoite
[edited by - faoite on April 13, 2004 1:12:38 PM]
[edited by - faoite on April 13, 2004 1:19:03 PM]
Thanks Again
Pax,
Faoite
[edited by - faoite on April 13, 2004 1:12:38 PM]
[edited by - faoite on April 13, 2004 1:19:03 PM]
For clarity, I suggested that Linux book because it contains good examples of using SDL. SDL is cross platform, so those examples are valid for all operating systems (including Windows) that SDL supports.
This topic is closed to new replies.
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