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Review
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Reviewed: September, 2011 |
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Reviewer: Pat Pfeifer |
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The first thing I noticed as I started reading this book is that the authors
are a mix of programmers and teachers. I know most authors of programming
books could be considered a teacher, but with this book it is different.
I've been writing .NET programs many years so my familiarity with C# and the
.NET framework is pretty solid.
However, when it comes to game programming, the extent
of my knowledge is pretty limited. The last time I wrote a game was over
twenty years ago on a Texas Instruments 99 computer using Extended Basic.
Sure I know of some of the basic concepts like sprites, and the fact that
graphics are somehow rendered by drawing a bunch of triangles, but I have no
idea how that's done.
Well, this book not only shows the reader the code that
does these things, but more importantly explains to the reader the concepts
behind game programming. Not only do they explain some of the concepts that
many readers might find difficult, such as vector cross products, but they
do it in a way for even the math adverse readers to understand.
Likewise, the authors go to great depths in introducing
the reader to 3D graphics with code snippets interspersed with figures to
explain the concepts, and they do it quickly to avoid too much detail in
order to give the reader the confidence to create their own 3D graphics.
After teaching the reader about 2D and 3D graphics, the
authors explain cameras, rendering models, textures and shading. If that's
not enough, they continue to explain how to use the content pipeline to
provide performance gains and to organize your code. They also devote nearly
50 pages on how to create and animate avatars to easily add characters to
your game without requiring any artistic skills.
To complete the skills necessary for the reader to
create great games, the authors describe the different types of user inputs
to interact with the game, for Xbox 360, Windows phone and the PC. This
includes the multi-touch, and other sensors supported by the Windows Phone.
The last area that really is important for a great game
is the capability to make the game multi-user across Xbox Live. That too, is
explained.
What more is there to say? If you are like me, someone
who has spent countless hours writing software for business applications,
and would like a break to something more fun, or maybe you have a great idea
for the next Angry Birds game, then this book is definitely for you. |
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