Description:
Real-Time Strategy Game Programming Using MS DirectX 6.0 should probably be read by any aspiring C/C++ game developer for its real-world perspective on the process of designing successful strategy games. Filled with tips on what works and what doesn't, this book not only provides a perspective on the working lives of game programmers, but it also shows how to simplify working with DirectDraw and DirectSound--two important parts of Microsoft's DirectX game platform--using the author's custom C++ classes. The most interesting aspect of this book has to be its real-world insight on the realities of game development from someone who's been there. (As the author notes, a game programmer's lifestyle offers plenty of challenges, insane work schedules, and, of course, potential rewards.) Early chapters sketch out the game development cycle, from initial idea to proposal, and then onward to staffing, project scheduling, coding, and testing. (If anything, these chapters will demystify how some of your favorite games were designed.) The heart of this book is the author's C++ framework that simplifies DirectX programming using DirectDraw (for 2-D graphics) and later, DirectSound (for sound). The author presents his own code and classes for essential aspects of DirectDraw programming from drawing shapes and images to creating professional animations. Additional sections cover the fundamentals of building strategy games (where players command armies, for instance, and place them on various tiles, or game terrains). There's much expert knowledge here on writing games in this vein, but the principles of animation--plus the reusable C++ code that simplifies DirectX--will certainly justify the price of this book. Written for the C/C++ programmer who wants an introduction to game programming, this is actually more than a technical book. Besides a good introduction to DirectX, this text provides a nuts-and-bolts perspective that shows how some of today's successful games are designed and coded. --Richard Dragan Topics covered: Real-Time Strategy game basics, gameplay, design and project management for games, programming style and tips, Windows programming fundamentals, design documents, the development cycle, macros and data types, DirectX and DirectDraw basics, bitmaps and color modes, drawing lines, rectangles, images and clipping, text output in DirectDraw, loading graphics files, LLE compression, animation overview, AI and characters, animated backgrounds and effects, landscapes, game interfaces, objects and creatures, pathing (BFS, DFS, and A* algorithms), DirectSound.
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