New Programming Faith.
Author
I wasn't too sure which section to put this udner so I guess this one is ok.
I used to practice c++ (purely as a hobby), with the sole intention of making games at some stage, and I don't mean full blown 3d fps with bump mapping, cube mapping, pixel shaders etc. I know that stuff is for people who are really serious and probably looking for a career in the industry. I mean simple little games just for myself and other people to enjoy for free.
The problem I had was that i bought a few books that were way beyond my current skill level ( Progrmaming RPG's with Direct X) and I lost interest in C ++ because I wanted to make all these fancy things but wasn't prepared to learn/master the basics.
I just got Beginning C++ Game Programming, and I have to say WHAT A GREAT BOOK it is!!!! I love the way that everything you learn is themed towards games, which for me makes the whole learning process som much more interesting.
So if anybody ever got to the stage I did, where you just dont have the patience for C++, and want to rush (and I know there are no shortcuts) to be able to make games, then I strongly recommend that book.
AMEN
I've just finished the last chapter of the book and I have to agree that it's a pretty good book. Teaches you the basics without boring you to tears. I kinda wish some of the games could have been a bit more in depth though. But I can see why it was done the way that it was. It's really a book on C++ programming that just happens to be done using a game context. Not really a book on game programming. Great book for learning C++ though!
Now it's practice, practice and a little bit more practice.
Now it's practice, practice and a little bit more practice.
Glad you liked it! I have heard it was an excellent book, but I don't really need to read it. I have "Programming Role Playing Games with DirectX" and haven't gotton around to really reading it yet.
If your looking into just hobby programming, I would get this book:
Game Programming All In One, 2nd Edition
If your looking into just hobby programming, I would get this book:
Game Programming All In One, 2nd Edition
I don't recommend "Game Programming All-in-One."
Why? The author covers a lot of topics, but never really explains any of them in enough depth or clarity for it to be useful. Honestly, it wasn't until about a year after I read this book that I was finally able to write an extremely simple graphical pong clone.
If you know C++, then I highly recommend getting "Tricks of the Windows Game Programming Gurus", by Andre Lamothe, instead of "Game Programming All in One".
If you don't know C++, then learn that first before getting a game programming book.
However, I do feel this needs to be said: C++ is not the only language suitable for game development. Although I feel it is the best for hardcore game development, a hobbyist could be much better off with Python and the PyGame library, or C# and Managed DirectX, or a variety of other combinations.
HTH,
Zach.
Why? The author covers a lot of topics, but never really explains any of them in enough depth or clarity for it to be useful. Honestly, it wasn't until about a year after I read this book that I was finally able to write an extremely simple graphical pong clone.
If you know C++, then I highly recommend getting "Tricks of the Windows Game Programming Gurus", by Andre Lamothe, instead of "Game Programming All in One".
If you don't know C++, then learn that first before getting a game programming book.
However, I do feel this needs to be said: C++ is not the only language suitable for game development. Although I feel it is the best for hardcore game development, a hobbyist could be much better off with Python and the PyGame library, or C# and Managed DirectX, or a variety of other combinations.
HTH,
Zach.
I guess it just depends on your learning style, because I was able to make a space shooting game while I was still reading the book. The chapter on side scrolling platform games gave me a foundation for a side scrolling demo I made, although I had to totally change the jump code.
Quote:Original post by Stompy9999
I guess it just depends on your learning style, because I was able to make a space shooting game while I was still reading the book. The chapter on side scrolling platform games gave me a foundation for a side scrolling demo I made, although I had to totally change the jump code.
Well, I had never programmed before, did not know C++, and was only 12 years old at the time (which was a long time ago), so that may be part of it. But I still stand behind my point, in that "Tricks" is a lot better.
After I had read GPAIO, I bought Tricks, and after reading it was able to write my pong clone. I had to teach myself OO C++ by looking at tutorials on the internet because the OO chapters in GPAIO I thought were horrible. Just my opinion though.
Your definetly right. Before I read GPAIO, I was already was familiar with windows programming so blitting and sprites were second nature to me. I learned allegro in order to escape the clumsy Windows API. Now that I'm learning OpenGL, I'm being pulled back in.[grin]
I'm really interested in getting a few books and studying up, so I want to add this to my list. I'm not BRAND new to c++, but very new to game programming and in fact quite new to programming in general. I was curious if this book Beginning C++ Game Programming covers graphics, like using .bmps or SDL or openGL or if everything in it is just console related?
I'm ready to move beyond console stuff to graphics, so if anyone has suggestions on a good beginning book I'm all ears. Right now I'm trying to learn SDL, but I haven't seen any books on that really.
I'm ready to move beyond console stuff to graphics, so if anyone has suggestions on a good beginning book I'm all ears. Right now I'm trying to learn SDL, but I haven't seen any books on that really.
Quote:Original post by mattor
I'm really interested in getting a few books and studying up, so I want to add this to my list. I'm not BRAND new to c++, but very new to game programming and in fact quite new to programming in general. I was curious if this book Beginning C++ Game Programming covers graphics, like using .bmps or SDL or openGL or if everything in it is just console related?
I'm ready to move beyond console stuff to graphics, so if anyone has suggestions on a good beginning book I'm all ears. Right now I'm trying to learn SDL, but I haven't seen any books on that really.
As I said, "Tricks of the Windows Game Programming Gurus" is an excellent choice if you know C/C++. The author doesn't use any OOP design paradigms that come with C++, so the code should be pretty easy to follow, even for a beginning programmer.
Couple this with "Data Structures for Game Programmers", and you'll be on your way to making some cool but simple games.
Then, in a year or so, once you've become experienced with C++ and the various OOP paradigms, I recommend getting "C++ for Game Programmers." It's an advanced book, and assumes a working knowledge of programming concepts of C++, but will truly teach you to write professional quality code, in terms of performance and design.
All of these books, I believe, have been very favourably reviewed. :)
HTH,
Zach
For me, instead of just getting a Game Programming book for C++, I had gotten a book for just beginner's C++ (I do have Game Programming All in One, just have never gotten 'round to reading it). Previously, the only tool I could actually use for game development was, well, Game Maker. I had stayed with Game Maker for about 3 to 4 years, gradually learning what all was going on and learning the some of the basics of game programming. After I had successfully learned C++ (on the 4th try in those 4 years), I implemented the some of the game concepts from Game Maker, such as indexing objects (or using linked lists) and other resources, using views (and how to calculate drawing positions accordingly), etc. What I'm trying to do right now is to make a little engine similar to GM, and so far its been a semi-success.
For those of you who are uber-noob beginners in compter programming, and reading the Game Programming books doesn't work, I would suggest that you learn the basics to game programming using GM (or something of the sort), and then, once you're comfortable with it, switch over to C++, which isn't hard since part of GM's syntax is based on C++.
For those of you who are uber-noob beginners in compter programming, and reading the Game Programming books doesn't work, I would suggest that you learn the basics to game programming using GM (or something of the sort), and then, once you're comfortable with it, switch over to C++, which isn't hard since part of GM's syntax is based on C++.
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