Rating: 
Summary: A fine book for an introduction into game programming
Review: Personally, this book is very light-hearted, without much pain someone like me, who have NIL experience in game programming could actually absorb what the book is trying to teach.Even thought it does contains some minor typos(to be fair), but as long as the reader is following the book, I don't see any real problems learning from it especially it's really taking a small step at a time. Conclusion.
This is a good buy, but some effort is needed to benefit from it.
Rating: 
Summary: This book is mistitled.... Should be C#..For Total Beginners
Review: Short simple and to the point. If you have never ever programmed before in any language but basic, then this is the book for you. Total chapters 5 Chapter 1 (programming basics) bascially teaches how to write a hello world program. Chapter 2 Branches loops and functions. Chapter 3 (called chapter 2 in the Table of contents) Basic game programming (write pong) etc etc etc.. If you know what any of the following terms means, than the first 75% of this book is way beneath you. Variables, arrays(chapt 4), While loops(ch 4), if then (Ch 4). If you know what the following terms mean, than the entire book is beneath you. Structs, classes, static keyword, Object oriented design (Ch 5)
Using keyword. That's it, that's the whole book... there is a dusting of game progamming stuff in it to keep it interesting to total novices.
But anyone who knows anything about programming will find this book way way way beneath them. On the other hand, if you don't know _anything_ about programming and think learning it in terms of games will make it more fun, then this might be an ok book. I'd suggest one of the WROX beginning c# books as well, as they are much better at teaching the fundmentals.
Rating:
Summary: good resource for game designers
Review: The book is devided into two ideals good C# programming and fastGame Programming. Both arevaluable for obvious reasons. The chapters seven games which focus on single game design, but also become more advanced with each chapter. If you're an aspiring game designers, you'll benefit from all seven games as well as the classes that are developed. Partially because you will see what these games did well, but more so because they will encourage you to analyze the design aspects of the games you're playing to see what they do right, what they do wrong, and how you can apply that to your own designs. About half of the chapters of the book cover various aspects of game design, presenting the author's own theories about what's important, what isn't, and the things you should be thinking about. It's hard to review the value of this; some of it you'll agree with, and some of it you may not. Depending on your degree of experience, some of it may be obvious, some of it may be new, and some of it may help you focus on areas you've been neglecting. Overall, I wouldn't consider this book a must-have, but if you're interested in becoming a well-rounded and successful game designer, there's a lot in here that will be of value to you.
Rating:
Summary: Enoyable read
Review: This book has a easy flow with actual working examples for both C# and the games. There are both Windows forms and DirectX version of the games (7 games two versions for each), but you have to get the patch via email see the How to get help section.
Rating: 
Summary: This is it!
Review: This book is hands-down the best guide to learn how to build and program games in C#. The book does not provide step-by-step instructions, but rather covers in helpful depth all aspects of the activity, from the purely mechanical ones to ways of programming animation. Of course, the key to it all is not only to master these individual techniques, but also to learn C# and Windows froms. So, it is not for andavnced C# programmers, but rather people wanting to learn both game programming and C#. This book does just that.
Rating: 
Summary: A Dichotomous Book...
Review: This book was a bittersweet experience for me. The book is basically devided into three sections. The first is the basics of C#, the second basics of Game Programming, and the third more advanced C# using OOP methodology. A quick rundown of the sections:
1: Ultra Simplistic - 2 stars
2: Brilliant! Worth buying the book for 5 stars
3: Rushed, Too Concise, doesnt explain anything and useless- terrible : 1 star (hence my rating of 3 stars - interger average of these values) I was glad that I had read C# The Complete Reference by Herb Schildt before reading this book. The first section on programming basics is VERY basic - teaching very beginner concepts such as loops, descisions etc that most people reading this book would already know. As someone who must read a book cover to cover I read all this, resisting the strong temptation to skim to the next section. It provides a simple introduction to C#, but not particularly useful, The second section concerns itself with game creation using Windows Forms and GDI+. The first example in this section, Paddle Tennis, is quite good, and probably worth buying the book for this one example, if you have never done any windows forms or GDI+ programming in C# before (as I hadnt). On the accompanying CD there are all these application files you need to add to your project, which is not explicitly stated in the book, and left me scratching my head when I entered all the source code, compiled and got about 200 errors. Actually mentioning that these prewritten classes needed to be added would have been of tremendous help. But these prewritten classes are the downfall of the book. Basically the example teaches you how to display images, initialize a form, override the OnPaint & OnKeyPress methods - but thats it. All the code for collision detection is prewritten for you with only very oblique references to it in the text. I built a version of Pong and Arkanoid from what I learnt from this book, but most of what I learnt came from analyzing the source code on the CD... Unfortunately its downhill from here. There are about 7 more games in the book however there is a very brief introduction with very vague descriptions of the new features in the games followed by source code (that again uses the prewritten classes) - basically the text doesnt really teach you how the games were made, you have to read the code and work it out. The final section on OOP is a very condensed coverage of all 77 keywords in the C# language. This section is utterly useless - it describes the entire language in 100 pages - meaning there is a very brief introduction on the topic (such as overloading or constructors) a single example and then its next topic! If I already didnt know the language I would be completely lost... I said however this was a Dichotomous Book as I believe I would still have bought it knowing what I do now. It is worth it for the middle section, which is excellent. I recommend strongly that you analyze the source code on the cd (and remember to add it to your projects!!!) - this taught me more than the book. The very final part of section 3 goes over the classes in these prewritten functions (attempting to save grace)- but in the style of the latter half of the book is ultra condensed and basically mirrors the code - teaching you no more than the code itself does - there is no reasoning as to why the code is written in that way. Something must have gone into my head however because within a week of reading I could make fairly complicated Forms/GDI+ applications - the book works for a good introduction. In conclusion, dont buy it to learn the language (I recommend reading C# the Complete Reference - it is excellent), but buy it if you want to know something about GDI+ and Windows Forms - it teaches this well. Just skip sections 1 and 3 and read section 2 (which is brilliant by the way). Deon Poncini
Rating:
Summary: This is a fantastic book
Review: This is a fantastic book for learning both C# and Game Programming. It covers the entire C# language, breaking down each keyword, so as to make learning a new language as simple as possible. But, it doesn't stop there. Next, it introduces game programming, taking the keywords that you've already studied and using them to create arcade style games. The games are actually object-oriented models built off a single set of classes, but you don't know this yet, since you're only in chapter three. Building the games also means that you'll have to master both graphic and sound programming, but the CD also includes pre-assembled projects, so beginners can skip these steps, studying them after they completed the language. The games are also built using Windows not console settings, so you'll be well into event driven thinking. Once you've mastered those games, its back to work with new keywords and concepts being introduced in every section. There is no documentation that explains; "Why you want to program..." or "How to think of ideas" You know why you want to program and you don't need to read another book that suggests that you watch Japanese cartoons. Progressing through the chapters means progressing through sorts, statistics, file storage, database, and object-oriented design, but each chapter ends with two new games, and interesting enough, all those little topics, seem too also play a role in those games. There is a little bit of algebra and a small doze of calculus, but these concepts can also be skipped without a problem. There is a tinny taste of primitive 3D programming, but the book is action packed 2D. Finally, as you work through the last set of game classes you are inspired to do one of two things. One, design a few new games using those classes. Or two, to design your own set of classes and use those to create whatever you'd like. The appendix also includes additional information on Windows Forms, Algorithms...
Update: There is also an email address included with the text, and the author does email you updates, patches...
Rating:
Summary: This book rocks!
Review: This is a great entry level book that will teach you the basics of game programming without requiring a degree in Math or Computer Science. This book is delightful to read, because it intersperses graphics programming techniques with discussions about good game play. The appendices also include some notable articles about game playing, game projects, and the "science" of making a good game. Some hard-core developers may be put off by the fact that the examples are in C#, but I strongly advise against such a bias -- C# code is 60% as efficient in execution as C++, but much easier to learn, and you would miss out on a GREAT opportunity to learn about game programming AND have fun. Lastly, I want to say that their writing style is very nice -- well thought out and not pretentious at all.
Rating:
Summary: Very well written
Review: This is a great value and an overall well done book. The C# code in this book ranges from beginner to intermediate level. It also provides a set of classes that makes game development easier. About the only complaint is that he doesn't go over things that would be useful in games like scrolling. But it is a good value and I highly recommend you buy it if you want to make games.
Rating:
Summary: The Best out there
Review: This is a unique text; it is both a beginner resource and an intermediate guide. It starts off like a regular C# textbook. Then as part of the process of learning coding, you begin to reuse those techniques to build arcade style games. In the early chapters, the .Net and GDI+ tools are used to construct these games, so you're actually learning a great deal about the principles of both programming and game programming. The further you read the more complex the games become, but for several chapters you're also being taught the language, .Net... with two games being included at the end of each chapter. In the last chapters, DirectX is introduced and the games that you've built in GDI+ are now reworked for DirectX 9.x (note that you may have to use the tech support for the missing files) DirectDraw is covered first, buffering, rendering... Then DirectInput (Keyboard, Joystick, and Mouse), and then DirectSound, other DirectX topics are touched upon, but these three are the most detailed. Probably the most interesting portion to the text is the creation of the Game Classes. With these classes, it actually becomes easy to pop together any type of 2D game - I was able to build Pac-Man in less than an hour by just reusing the coding and classes, although I didn't have the cool Pac-Man sound. Finally, Sal is working on creating a free game-programming internet classroom (possibly through BN.com, or if not then Yahoo). A private email is listed in the text, for personal assistance/to sign-up. In addition, there will be a message-board were people can post and download new game code both from the author the readers and information on how to get 3D versions of the games.
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