Description:
Written for the more knowledgeable Visual Basic programmer or hobbyist, Windows Game Programming with Visual Basic and DirectX presents the fundamentals of game design in Microsoft Windows from start to finish. Based on author Wayne Freeze's easy-to-approach framework and source code for an underwater virtual mall, this book introduces essential game programming concepts and the relevant DirectX APIs you need to get started with custom game development. Although this book relies on the older VB6 standard and makes no mention of Microsoft's new VB .NET, the text really focuses on the DirectX API, the foundation of graphics and gaming on the Windows platform. The author walks the reader through the steps required to design and code a game, from defining features to designing 2-D and 3-D artwork to implementing a computer simulation in code. There's good coverage of 3-D content design with the Caligari trueSpace design tool, which is used to design virtual scenes. Freeze's sample game for a virtual mall starts out simply with basic 3-D rendering and introduces features like user input, music, and sound in subsequent chapters. Besides giving a tour of essential DirectX APIs like Direct3D, DirectInput, and DirectSound, the author also provides background material on game design concepts like random numbers, simulations (used extensively in computing today), and finite state machines. The heart of this text shows off the design choices made in the author's own case study. By the end, his virtual mall is enhanced with moving customers, special "cheat codes," and even a popup newsletter that displays game state. Though certainly not the most action-oriented game you're likely to see, the virtual mall shows off the power of computer game simulations (like SimCity) to good effect and also provides an approachable example for getting you started on your own creations. Game programming is legendarily difficult and extremely challenging. This title fills a useful niche by providing an accessible and entertaining introduction to game development without getting bogged down in extensive math (or gnarly DirectX APIs). It's a worthwhile choice for getting started with games and graphics in Windows and VB. --Richard Dragan Topics covered: Introduction to game design (including technical features, user interactions, cheat codes, and "Easter eggs"), DirectX services, 2-D and 3-D graphics quick-start tutorial (including rendering basic Direct3D scenes), graphical content design with Caligari trueSpace and Adobe PhotoShop and Illustrator, texture mappings, saving and loading game state, 3-D rendering techniques, random-number-generation techniques, programming strategies for computer simulations (including multiple servers and queues), custom VB6 code for a simulation framework, case study for a virtual mall (including simulated stores, customers, and money), user input with DirectInput, adding game commands, background music and sound effects with DirectSound and DirectMusic, editing WAV files, game maps, finite state machines, saving and loading games, and adding features for more playability.
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