I would like to start by saying that I am not looking neither for a basic introduction to C# nor a BASIC introduction to game programming with C#. I am looking for something that assumes you already know a little about C# and explains some of the more challenging concepts related to making a game. to clarify things, however, I would like to say that when I say BASIC, I mean that the book assumes you know nothing whatsoever about C# and starts from there.

I would like to start by saying that I am not looking neither for a basic introduction to C# nor a BASIC introduction to game programming with C#. I am looking for something that assumes you already know a little about C# and explains some of the more challenging concepts related to making a game. to clarify things, however, I would like to say that when I say BASIC, I mean that the book assumes you know nothing whatsoever about C# and starts from there.

I don't think there are any C# game programming books... I could be wrong... but maybe you mean XNA? I have a few books. One "Building XNA 2.0 Games" (yeah, it's old and outdated) is great. I love it. I also have "Microsoft XNA Unleashed". It's definitely not for a new programmer. It was a bit over my head when first learning XNA.

But this is under the assumption that XNA is what you meant. If you mean pure C# or another game development library, you'll have to state so. I personally haven't read an XNA book that explains C# actually. (Which was a bit of a struggle going from C++ and allegro <.>) So you shouldn't have too much trouble finding one.

I'd recommend going to your local book store and looking specifically at the project that each book aims to have you make. Which ever ones sound more interesting, buy it. ^^

You're totally right, I meant XNA. (Face Palm) I will check out the ones you suggested.

You're totally right, I meant XNA. (Face Palm) I will check out the ones you suggested.

They are good books, but I learned a lot more by just taking apart the samples online. The books may be outdated, but then again they might have been republished. The first one is XNA 2.0, and the second one is XNA 3.0 I believe. And now we're on 4.0. Although, I haven't see too terrible of a difference in the API. The audio system is different in 3.0+. I refuse to use XACT, ug.

If you can understand the state manager example on the xna site, it'll be smooth sailing in any project you do.
http://create.msdn.c...tate_management

They are good books, but I learned a lot more by just taking apart the samples online. The books may be outdated, but then again they might have been republished.

I would have to agree with slynk... Over the years I've been trying to learn some concepts in my spare time, I've spent a lot of money on books... but each time I find myself doing more research online than referencing a book. Unless you are sure you have the time to read and learn from the book while the material is still relevant, I would say you may be able to do without. I've actually found MSDN to be a very helpful reference lately.

[quote name='slynk' timestamp='1298253477' post='4776862']
They are good books, but I learned a lot more by just taking apart the samples online. The books may be outdated, but then again they might have been republished.

I would have to agree with slynk... Over the years I've been trying to learn some concepts in my spare time, I've spent a lot of money on books... but each time I find myself doing more research online than referencing a book. Unless you are sure you have the time to read and learn from the book while the material is still relevant, I would say you may be able to do without. I've actually found MSDN to be a very helpful reference lately.
[/quote]

I hate MSDN for most thing but the XNA framework is well documented and I have had to use it to get specifics on function changes. A lot of examples online are still in 2.0, on MSDN you can click a function and at the top change the XNA version to see the changes.

Several XNA 4.0 books came out in the past few months. They're all supposed to be quite good but they appear to teach XNA in slightly different ways. Go to Amazon and search for XNA 4.0 and you'll see them there in the top 5 results. I have the O'Reilly one with the ugly fish on the front and it's quite good for learning the basics. The one that's written by two of the authors of XNA (Miller and Johnson) is also supposed to be good and there's a slightly more expensive one (Jaegers) that looks like it has great example projects but doesn't cover 3D at all as far as I can tell. Take a look at the tables of contents and see which one would suit your learning style best, because as far as I can tell they're all great.