This book is a reference, and for a good reason. Much of what it teaches should be considered common logic and practice for coding - things you shouldThis book is a reference, and for a good reason. Much of what it teaches should be considered common logic and practice for coding - things you should learn as you code, like writing readable code. However, not everything really applies to every situation - so I can also see how following this a bit too closely could become a problem - and the author himself seems to agree.
The biggest problem for me is that bit more than a third of this book is very focused on Java, and most of the rest also focus on Java as a model and example. So, some Java experience is needed.
Overall, a good book, but not as essential as some people say, in my opinion....more
Bought this expecting a basic openGL quickstart guide, but I got so, so much more. This guide does teach the basics, but it also goes *very* in-depth Bought this expecting a basic openGL quickstart guide, but I got so, so much more. This guide does teach the basics, but it also goes *very* in-depth on many advanced topics, and works really well as a general 3D programming guide....more
This is a catalog of many design patterns, with examples and explanations. First of all, yes, this was a very important book for it's time, and it's uThis is a catalog of many design patterns, with examples and explanations. First of all, yes, this was a very important book for it's time, and it's used as reference for many other books even nowadays.
However, it's hard to say it should be an essential read for every developer. Many of the patterns described here either evolved, or are way outdated and even not necessary nowadays.
An interesting read for it's historical value, but there are better resources if you just want to learn more about Design Patterns in a more modern way....more
A fine book that contains what is promisses. It contains the basics and some advanced topics of doing Reactive programs in C++, and some good examplesA fine book that contains what is promisses. It contains the basics and some advanced topics of doing Reactive programs in C++, and some good examples. However, it has a couple errors and problems that make it just good, not great. First of all, the book has more than a few errors, and not every code compiles as it should, but those are pretty easy to find and fix, and most of the text is easy to understand. I feel some parts are a bit rushed in, and could be better explained, but the code is pretty auto-explicative most of the times... if you do the work to search a bit for references.
It could be better, but if you want to learn a bit about RxCpp, this is a good enough choice....more
There is a reason this is considered an essential book by many C++ programmers: It contains many great tips, hints and best practices for working withThere is a reason this is considered an essential book by many C++ programmers: It contains many great tips, hints and best practices for working with C++, but it's also written in a way that is not only clear and easy to understand, but also doesn't feel too dry or fatigating to read.
While it's not up to date with C++ standards (the third edition of this book, which I've read, is from 2005), many of the basics here are still well valid today. The author also has a modern C++ book, which I plan to read in the future.
This is an easy recommendation for anyone who wants to work with C++....more
This is an incredible look at the small miracles the id Software team pulled to get Wolfenstein 3D to run on the computers back then. Very educative, This is an incredible look at the small miracles the id Software team pulled to get Wolfenstein 3D to run on the computers back then. Very educative, informative, and well explained book that explains in details how every different system of the game worked.
Really, really interesting read if you're into game development....more
This is a fine book on C64 Development. It starts easy and simple, with the basics on 6502 and some specifics of the platforms, and guides you throughThis is a fine book on C64 Development. It starts easy and simple, with the basics on 6502 and some specifics of the platforms, and guides you through the creation of two games - one simple space shooter, and a platformer.
The tutorials are very easy to follow, up to a certain point midway through the Shooter, where you have to start using the given examples to do anything. It's still easy to do, but if you are trying to do the projects on your own, there's a bit more work to do.
Still, it's a great intro to the C64. It doesn't enter more advanced topics, but that fine, since it's a book about the basics, and it does that really well....more
As the name says, this book is about Making Games for the Atari 2600. The VCS is an old console, full of little details, and programming for it isn't As the name says, this book is about Making Games for the Atari 2600. The VCS is an old console, full of little details, and programming for it isn't easy, but I felt this was a great entry point for it. It gives the reader great details about the VCS and the unique way it works, at times detailing code line by line and explaining what exactly each part of the code does.
Is it perfect? No, there are some problems. At certain parts of the book, it's not clear if the code given is something the reader has to follow and do, or some kind of example - I wasn't certain how to proceed the first time I saw that, but you kinda get the gist of it after some time. Some parts of the book are not up to date with their online environment, which can cause a bit of confusion - some examples in the website use things that are explained chapters ahead.
Anyway, still a great way to learn a bit about the VCS. While it's not a knowledge that can be easily used today, it helps you think about programming in different ways, and it's always great to expand your horizons....more
This is a good book, with lots of great tips and info about the games industry. However, it has some problems, in my opinion.
One of them is that, whilThis is a good book, with lots of great tips and info about the games industry. However, it has some problems, in my opinion.
One of them is that, while this book is a great resource to learn about an ample variety of subjects in Game Development, the way a few parts could use more examples, less code. I confess that, since I had some previous experience with Game Development, I kinda skimmed a few of those parts I already had some experience with, searching only for tidbits. However, those parts are few and between, and everything is well explained, in a general way.
Another (small) problem this has is, since this is a techlonogy book, a few things evolved from a few years ago - Version control systems have changed; The sample project need a few modifications to run on current versions of Visual Studio. However, most of the technology shown here is still up to date, and/or very useful for current skills.
Now, the good. This book shows a lot of great insights about game development - not only about code, but at how things happen on a real game company. The "Tales from the Trenches" are, sometimes, the most interesting part of the chapters.
If you want to have a general idea about game development, know programming well, and has patience for big code dumps, this book is great for you! If you want more in-dept info, or have absolutely no experience with coding, search somewhere else....more
This book is considered a must-read for many people, and I can see why: It explores and demonstrates pretty much every aspect of game engine developmeThis book is considered a must-read for many people, and I can see why: It explores and demonstrates pretty much every aspect of game engine development, in an relatively easy to follow and understand way - some programming experience is needed, of course, but the book does explain things from the very basic and gives the reader a few references for things it does not teach, like C++.
The edition I've read - the second edition - has one or two things that I know could be updated, but most of it is modern and applicable today. The examples could go a bit deeper, but I understand why they don't most of the times - it's a book written to teach a general idea on game engine programming, if you want to go deeper, you'd probably search for books on the specific subjects you want to learn more about.
Overall, a great book. Nowadays I'd get the third edition, of course, but still, well worth reading if you want to learn about Game Engines, and I'm sure it can work well as a reference book too....more
Very good book on Design Patterns for Games. If you are a game developer, you probably know and use a few, if not most of those patterns already. HoweVery good book on Design Patterns for Games. If you are a game developer, you probably know and use a few, if not most of those patterns already. However, the author explains quite a few use cases, optimizations, and reasons why it's better to use one pattern instead of another, depending on what tradeoffs you can accept. Not only that, but the author favors showing things by example, step by step, with a lot of humor in-between, which works better in this case than just dumping a lot of theory at the reader and showing one example or two. Oh, while the focus is on game development, most of the designs in this book are also useful for other types of applications.
Even if you know a bit about Game Programming, I feel this is a good read - it's not a long book, and you may learn a few things. Some of the most useful lessons on this book are not when to use a pattern or when to do something, but when NOT to use a certain pattern or when it's not worth doing some optimization, heavy change or something like that. I feel most programmers could benefit from learning a bit about that too....more
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