To the OP, I totally agree. I felt like starting over too. The problem was I never finished the book I was reading. Start a C book, then C++, then do Andre's book. If DX is too tough, I'd recommend Managed DirectX. This is for the .NET archetecture using C# or VB.NET. It's very fun. Heck, you can simply play an audio/video file with 2-3 lines of code. DX was really tough for me, but MDX just seemed more reasonable and made sense.

I'm was (am) an artist in the industry for a long time... Over time as games became more and more technical we found ourselves needing a "technical artist" more and more. I jumped at the opportunity (I have the jack of many, master of none syndrome something feirce).

I started with MaxScript and Mel, which I picked up pretty quickly. I then moved to C# which while a lot more structured was also fairly easy to pick up, thanks to all those CS classes in HS and early college.

After that I took the plunge into raw C++, and can STRONGLY reccomend "Visual C++ .NET How To Program" from Deitel.

How To Program

It's laid out like a text book with lots of questions and excercises at the end of each chapter, and doesn't dilly dally around, moving farily quickly to some "cooler" stuff.

I also swear by my copy of "Practical C++ Programming" for great reference and non-.NET reference and education. It also has the questions and excercises for each chapter. The only drawback is all your code will be console apps. No windows stuff at all.

Practical C++ Programming


Good luck!