Beginning .NET Game Programming in C# [Paperback]

David Weller (Author), Alexandre Santos (Author), Santos Lobão (Author), Ellen Hatton (Author), Alexandre Santos Lobao (Author), Apress (Author)

Book Description

Series: Beginners Beginning Guides | Publication Date: February 2, 2004

This book, Beginning .NET Game Programming in C#, presents the additional work of David Weller (.NET Game evangelist at Microsoft) and a group of key Microsoft insiders who decided to make the bestselling .NET Game Programming with DirectX 9.0 (VB .NET Edition) even better. Weller has switched the programming language to C# and added a bonus chapter. The book has passed all internal Microsoft tests as to programming style. This thoroughly revised and improved version (including a bonus chapter) is the ideal way to get into .NET game programming using the C# language.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

David Weller – David Weller is a .NET Technical Evangelist at Microsoft focused on .NET Gaming. Before joining Microsoft, he worked in various architect and development roles. His background includes 3D simulation experience, including F-16 simulators and the Space Station Training Facility, as well as 3D modeling tool development. He is an avid game player and can still be found "schooling" his younger peers at LAN Parties. He lives in the sleepy town of Sammamish, WA, which is as hard to pronounce as it is to spell.

Alexandre Santos Lobao - Alexandre Santos Lobão has been a non-professional game developer since 1981, when he got his first computer at 12 years of age. He received a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science in 1991, from the University of Brasília. When he was attending the University, he helped to develop a graphics program and a computer graphics language (LAFITH – Hierarchical Animation Language for Three-dimensional Figures), which organizes objects in a hierarchical way and calculates the results of forces over the objects, giving them velocity and acceleration. This language was presented in many Brazilian conferences, and at the international conference, Compugraphics, in Sesimbra, in 1991. From 1997 to 1999 he also worked at Virtually Real (http://www.vrealware.com), an Australian amateur game programming virtual company founded by Craig Jardine. In 2000, he published his first book, The Box of Pandora and Other Stories, with short stories. Although he has written many technical articles, this is his first technical book.

Ellen Hatton - Ellen Hatton is currently completing a computer science degree at Edinburgh University. She was exposed to computers at a very early age and has been fascinated with them ever since. Her first experience of computer games was playing Dread Dragon Doom, at which she quickly excelled, at the age of 5. She’s been hooked on games ever since. Ellen is not only interested in computers. She skis frequently, amongst participating in other sports, and enjoys general student life in the bustling Scottish capital, Edinburgh. As her choice of study suggests, Ellen still finds computers very interesting and is constantly looking for new challenges. This book is the latest.

Product Details

• Paperback: 752 pages
• Publisher: Apress (February 2, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590593197
• ISBN-13: 978-1590593196
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,119,357 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good book; out-of-date samples., September 10, 2004

By 

David R. Marrero "dmarrerox" (Indiana) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Beginning .NET Game Programming in C# (Paperback)

This book is well written, moves from simple to complex examples, and at a level at which intermediate level programmers can easily follow. The first game samples are based on GDI, and the latter ones on DirectX 9. HOWEVER, the samples have not been updated for the 2004 Summer Release of DirectX, so they are unusable without a lot of tweaking. Hopefully the authors will update the samples (which can be downloaded) to make the book more useable.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Introduction for People that know C#, May 9, 2004

By 

Todd Spatafore "Spatacoli" (Mountain View, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Beginning .NET Game Programming in C# (Paperback)

I'm not sure the problem the previous reviewer had, but if you already know C# and want to dive into the world of Managed DirectX, this is a great recource.

I've been playing around with DX for about 4 years now so I have a head start in understanding the topic. I thought that the material was perfect for a beginner, and actually wished I had this book back when I was first learning. David clearly states in the introduction that your book isn't there to teach you WinForms and maybe that's the problem the previous reviewer had. If you already know C# this book is a great introduction to Managed DX programming. If you don't know C#, go buy a book on that first.

21 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I'm not a games dev at all, and I got a lot out of this book, September 13, 2004

By 

Jason A. Salas (Dededo, Guam Guam) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Beginning .NET Game Programming in C# (Paperback)

The first program I ever wrote was in 1984, being a text-based, command-driven NBA basketball game on an Apple IIe in BASIC. My how games have progressed since. Having said that, I'm strictly a web developer, and from behind the comfortable confines of the web browser is about where my programming acumen begins and ends these days. But like most people my age (I'm 30) I grew up playing Nintendo and have long been a fan of video games.

Being a user and not a creator, I'd long wondered how such things were brought to life, and this book does a great job of showing just that for the newbie.

The code and concepts, despite the title, are fairly advanced, and not at all tutorial-driven, so not every line is described ad nauseum. So an open mind is needed to let it sink in. That having been said, the object-oriented nature and accessibility requirements for device hardware for modern video games is adequately described, with some very relevant games used as practical examples. The purpose of, need for, and uses with, Managed DirectX 9 is very nicely done.

The authors use a very friendly voice, and cite several well-known games as exhibits of the fundamentals they describe throughout the text. For example, a Tetris offshoot is described in the book's initial chapter, demonstrating how such a simple game is likely a lot more complex in its design that you might realize, but simultaneously not as laborious as one might think.

This book defines the major areas of concern for creating a great game, being that all elements within a good video game must exhibit some sort of (1) artificial intelligence, (2) spatial awareness, and (3) reactionary behavior in the event of collisions. I also now know I'll probably never be a good games developer, as one should be very patient, be really, really, really good at math, and use some pretty advanced OOP/OOD concepts to create a good game.

Now being aware of the number of skills needed, algorithms with which to be familiar, and areas that are more deeply covered in other specialized books, this book won't allow you to create the next Quake, Grand Theft Auto 3 or Super Mario World right off the bat - but it will get you started.