Rating: 
Summary: Good for programmers who want to be game programmers
Review: I am new to game programming, and I found this book to be very helpful. Some of the code is a little dated, and you might have to tweak it to get some of the examples to work as advertised. Other than that, the examples are good.If you have never programmed before, this book is not for you. This book assumes you have a good handle on C and won't freak out every time you see a pointer. However, you don't need to know anything about Win32 programming. LaMothe covers that aspect well. Additionally, he explains the relevant math concepts. Win32 programming is hard, and you aren't going to get everything on the first try. But don't give up. Don't try to understand every little detail all at once. If a particular chapter is giving you difficulty, move on to the next chapter. Sometimes it is easier to learn something when you can see what it is leading up to. As others have noted, there is NO 3D programming in this book. I really think the publishers should have taken that part of the title out. Having said that, I definitely think this book is worth picking up. It covers a wide range of topics, and will leave the reader with some knowledge of where to go next.
Rating:
Summary: Awsome
Review: This book is awsome. For all you other people writing bad reviews
because you say the book doesn't have enough info on 3d-it doesn't say it covers 3d, it just says an intro to 3d graphics.Doesn't 2d graphics come before 3d.
If you want to learn how to program in windows, this is the best book. It covers everything and doesn't give you all the extra bull. The only complaint I have is some of the code is inaccurate and you have to look it up on the cd. But other than that, it's great!
Rating: 
Summary: This is your starter book!!
Review: This is the very first book I bought on game programming and it is perfect. Some parts are confusing at first (if you're new to visual C++), but all you have to do is re-read it and you'll be set. Best thing about it is the writer is not super serious, so you won't have to worry about getting lost in jargon. Get this book!
Rating:
Summary: 5 STARS FOR SURE!!!!!!!!
Review: I have always wanted to program computer games, but could only find a few horribly written, error filled books on programming for beginners. Then I bought this book: it was perfect. For once I finally understood how to use directx, I never thought I would. Lamothe takes you through learning windows and directx in a clear and coherent fashion, one step at a time. It doesn't get much better than this.
Rating:
Summary: Very good
Review: This book is a very informative and useful read. It does a good job of covering basic Windows programming and most of Direct X 6. However, DO NOT BE FOOLED BY THE TITLE! This book was originally meant to be (partially) about 3D games, but it was eventually split into 2 volumes because of size restrictions. This first volume contains NO 3D CONTENT. If you want to learn how to use Direct3D and such, get another book or wait for Volume 2. Also, if you are looking forward to learning about neural nets and genetic algorithms, this book touches on their basics, but contains no practical information on them, so again, look elsewhere. However, what the book does talk about, it explains very well, in a thorough but easy to read fashion. So, if you are inexperienced in the art =) of basic DirectX programming and general game design, this book is an excellent way to start (the best book on the topic that I have).
Rating:
Summary: I wrote a chinese chess game with it
Review: this book teach all u need to write a game in c++/c. (animation,artificial intellingent,sound,2d graphic,3d graphic,mouse control,joystick,utilizing directx,optimize speed,...and lot more).
in another word,it is very complete.
the xplanation is clear. the bad side:
the game example is not written in object oriented fashion or
design in so. u have to figure out urself how to make the necessary adaption. the good side:
u can rely on this one to get to know at least 95%of what u need.
it is written by a professional game programmer.he know his stuff well. The project was actually my thesis. i managed to finish the game in less than 2 month.
Rating:
Summary: A must read, the best for the subject!
Review: If you know next to nothing about programming and are seriously intrested in making an attempt at it, this is the book for you. Andre is very detailed and specific. The lessons are fairly quick but detailed and easily understood by doing the practice tasks he assigns during the chapters. Learn and Love it, it's the best for a beginner!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book
Review: I'm a Windows MFC programmer and I've been trying to get away from business type programming into entertainment programming, so I bought this book and I'm glad I did. The demos are excellent, the explanations are clear and the author is a decent writer. My only complaint is that most of his code examples use C as opposed to C++.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book for Beginners(Like Me!)
Review: 1)All around coverage of lots of basic and advanced topics, comprehensive and pretty detailed.
2)Writing style is conversational and fun, makes you think Lamothe would be a cool guy to hang out with : )
3)Don't be scared if you are not a C/C++ expert. READ THE SOURCE CODE! There is a wealth of information here. Sometimes I was frustrated when the code did something that was not explicitly explained in the book, but that raises a crucial point. If you are not a programming or C/C++ expert, as I am not, carefully dissecting source code, referring to other references when necessary, and experimenting with your own code to see how things work are all GREAT WAYS TO LEARN about programming and specific languages in general. I've learned so much more by studying the code here, looking at how other code accomplishes similar things, adapting the C code to C++, and so forth, than I would have with formal study alone. It is critical to be motivated to learn, and I for one am much more motivated by doing cool stuff like getting a little guy to animate and walk across the screen than I am by some dull database processing that might be presented in a college course. For example, the information presented on .bmp file structure, how to read them and load them, etc., was a great a introduction into file structures in general, and I have since been able to learn about and understand other file types (.jpg, .wav, .mp3, etc), and use similar techniques to deal with them. In a nutshell, there is a lot more you can learn here than just how to make a Mario Brothers clone, and this book has made me a better programmer in general by presenting info on how to apply programming to things that actually interest me.
Rating:
Summary: Great game programming book
Review: Somebody who already knows some basic C can learn how to program computer games using this book. It's easy to understand and covers a lot of ground. Recommended.
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