So im really stuck on where to go off now to continue game developing for (preferably) SDL .

Is there any book or online tutorials? I know SDL 2.0 is quite new and finding a book for it would be a struggle (i went 120 pages into http://www.packtpub.com/simple-directmedia-layer-game-development/book , and it was just too poorly written for my level to be able to put all the missing puzzle pieces together )

Basically im looking for a book or online tutorials to learn basic game frameworks (doesnt actually need to be SDL 2.0 because i can fill the SDL 2.0 specific parts myself) Any ideas?

(As for C++ knowledge i know basic syntax, and understand basics of up to inheritance, polymorphism, templates, vectors/maps, and a little on design patterns sugh as singletons), maybe a book to explain common game developing classes, patterns, and overall structures . Any help at all would be greatly appreciated :)

If you are looking for good books on learning C++, the sad truth is that there are no excellent online sources to learn the language. Most of the web sites are supplamentery material for courses, and tutorials that range from awful material made by beginners documenting their struggles to just plain wrong sites. There are some gems for reference once you know the language, but not for the initial learning.

The common book recommendations for learning C++ are:

* C++ Primer by Lippman, LaJoie, and Moo. (Not to be confused with other Primer-named c++ books). They have an updated version of the book that includes details from the latest version of the language standard, C++11. The book is quite long and is aimed toward beginners.

* Accelerated C++ by Koenig and Moo. It is not an introduction to programming and covers quite a lot, very quickly.

After you have finished those and are ready to go through deeper material:

* Exceptional C++, More Exceptional C++, and Exceptional C++ Style by Sutter

Master that material and you'll have learned a lot about the language but still be rather inexperienced.

The SDL developers and documentation assume you know how to program in C or how to call C functions from C++. Learn to crawl before learning to walk, learn to walk before learning to run. Take the time to learn the programming language well.

On their web site they have moved quite a lot over to SDL 2.0. They have tutorials, articles, API documentation, and forums that are frequented by the people who actually write the libraries. They also provide all the source to SDL so you can dig in as deeply as you want.

So im really stuck on where to go off now to continue game developing for (preferably) SDL .

Is there any book or online tutorials? I know SDL 2.0 is quite new and finding a book for it would be a struggle (i went 120 pages into http://www.packtpub.com/simple-directmedia-layer-game-development/book , and it was just too poorly written for my level to be able to put all the missing puzzle pieces together )

Basically im looking for a book or online tutorials to learn basic game frameworks (doesnt actually need to be SDL 2.0 because i can fill the SDL 2.0 specific parts myself) Any ideas?

(As for C++ knowledge i know basic syntax, and understand basics of up to inheritance, polymorphism, templates, vectors/maps, and a little on design patterns sugh as singletons), maybe a book to explain common game developing classes, patterns, and overall structures . Any help at all would be greatly appreciated

Hi,
I'd like to comment and try to give you an answer.

I've been programming since '96, and started dabbling with game development in 2013. I hold a BSc in Computer Science and an MSc in EE (focus was CS, not EE). Even with those 17 years of programming and 2 degrees under my belt, I found game development to be challenging because the field is very broad AND deep: in order to make anything minimally sophisticated you need a decent grasp of programming, software engineering, and math; and to make anything mildly interesting you also need a lot more, e.g. physics, computer graphics, and AI. Not to mention art, sound, networking, user interface design... You get it. It's a lot of technical, non-trivial stuff - to sum it up, I find it daunting (and exciting).

I'm reading the same book as you. So far I like it, but I acknowledge some pieces are missing. I found those pieces elsewhere:

1) This gamedev.net article is pretty good. It walks you through creating a very simple, yet complete, Snake clone using SDL 1.2. Teaches you about game loop and input handling.
2) A very nice article dissecting the game loop.

3) I've worked through some of Lazy Foo's tutorials (see @jbadams's reply), and I really like them.
4) A work-in-progress, free to read, book of design patterns relevant to game development.
5) Read A LOT of game code. Don't start with Quake 3, try something simpler, like Snake (see previous link) or Pong (two implementations using SFML)

Had I started right away with the SDL book we're reading, it would have done more harm than good. But since last year I've been going through my prerequisites (mostly C++, math, and software engineering), and now I find the book pretty understandable - heck, I spot the flaws in it.

This book isn't difficult, it's actually pretty basic. It pales in comparison to this SFML book, which is a MUCH tougher (at least for a beginner), but fascinating, read.

Good luck.

@georger: I'll check out that snake clone thanks ^^ i had already come to a conclusion that it is a difficult thing to 'master' with any book and i would just make easy retro game clones (perhaps breakout)

same for the article

@jdamas & Gerogrer Im also about 30 tutorials into SDL 2.0, (the 20 latest just through reading code because explanations arent there yet eh) and i decided to at least get some practice before continuing.

@georger I had actually already found that site from step number 4, and i have it favourited it, but apparently it would help greatly if first i read http://www.amazon.ca/Design-Patterns-Elements-Reusable-Object-Oriented/dp/0201633612? Im 50 pages into it, got it about 4 days ago and its just something ive been reading with spare time

and yeah, the book (SDL 2.0 game development) is really well written i didnt explain myself clearly, its not poorly written, its just that i have never ever seen an actual game code so i have no idea how to fill in code that should be straightforward . For example my current problem is Unhandled exception when i try to run the update function a GameObject* vector.

@georger I had actually already found that site from step number 4, and i have it favourited it, but apparently it would help greatly if first i read http://www.amazon.ca/Design-Patterns-Elements-Reusable-Object-Oriented/dp/0201633612? Im 50 pages into it, got it about 4 days ago and its just something ive been reading with spare time

Hi @Penanito,

In my opinion, if you're focused on game development then you don't need to read the GoF book in order to understand Bob Nystrom's book and apply the concepts to your projects.

On the other hand, IF you want to know a wider array of design patterns AND you want/need to apply them to other domains, then read the GoF book, or Head First Design Patterns.