Customer Reviews

C++ For Game Programmers (Game Development Series)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a great addition to the bookshelf of anyone who has been programming for a little while and who finally gets the syntax and basics of C++. Do not expect to learn everything you need to here, this is strictly for people who are done learning the basic concepts of programming and who are ready for a better explanation of how things work under the hood and how you can optimize your code's performance.

I do not regret buying this book and recommend that anyone who is getting ready to design efficient code should get it as well.

I recently got a job as a C++ game developer after a decade and a half of jobs ranging from higher-level ActionScript 2.0 game development (Flash), to lower-level C and DSP asm programming, with relatively little exposure to C++ apart from some COM objects and plug-in projects. I found this book very helpful in coming up to speed on the C++ features that aren't around in either C or any flavor of ActionScript. I can't say that I learned a whole lot about game-specific programming from this book, but I familiarized myself with great deal of OOP features unique to C++ in a short amount of time, for which I found the book to be worth the cover price. I do not have a high regard for Charles River Media technical books in general, but there are exceptions like this one from time to time.

Great book. I've been doing C++ for around 3-4 years now and have been searching for a intermediate to expert book on the language. I cherish this book greatly as it has lead me to understand the greater power of C++ and I can now grasp other subjects with greater ease.

This is intermediate to advanced C++ with squat little specifics about games. I could see this being used in an academic course series related to gaming, as the topics are C++ techniques, but there is very little to do specific to games, including the design patterns, and lacking any integration with other gaming issues.

They talk about what the reader should be concerned with but suffers from putting it together in a cohesive whole, and doesn't offer any specific that might could have been used as a "cookbook" approach. Maybe I was spoiled by Jason Gregory's Game Engine Architecture, but I'll not be keeping this book.

An intermediate C++ programming guide. It covers a lot of good techniques for crash proofing your program and handling very high CPU useage. Nothing specific about graphics or game AI. Very detailed information on efficient memory useage that I have not seen elsewhere.

This book is a bit thin in coverage of STL & Boost and one probably needs to learn these elsewhere. The Stephan T. Lavavej lectures on msdn channel 9 are pretty good.

I've been working as a game programmer for about seven years now, and I feel that this book still has things to teach me. It's a great reference and refresher course for programming veterans, while still acting as a fantastic primer for young programmers interested in learning useful techniques for game development.

If you're a computer science student looking to work in games or a seasoned developer who needs to brush up for a job interview (or just day-to-day development) - then this book is a fine choice!

This book is a C++ primer of sorts. It is based on the more abstract, high-level powers of C++ that can possibly (and apparently frequently do) show up in the game design/development process. I am not a game programmer yet so I expected this to be more of a step by step on different parts of the game creation process (handle input, make HUDs, things like that) and it was more of a review of how certain parts of C++ can be helpful to make games, but with plenty of performance-based caveats to help you make good decisions.

I'm happy with the book.

You can treat the book as a general explanation of C++. It explains the syntax, and the Standard Template Library. Along with how to optimise performance and memory allocation. Plus, the idea of patterns is introduced, with several common patterns given as examples.

For the STL, there is an expanded discussion of algorithms. As a game programmer, you may find this useful, as it explains the ideas behind some algorithms. Since you might have to devise custom adaptations to improve your game performances.

One final chapter talks about crash proofing a game. Memory leaks are the greatest bugbear, since there is no inherent programmatic way to check for these, unlike Java for example. Of course, this chapter is generally applicable to any type of C++ program.

This book is positioned at an interesting location. First let's talk about what it is not:

It is not a tutorial on how to program in C++. While it has a little bit of introductory material, it presumes you already have some knowledge about working in C++. There are other books at an introductory level.

It is not a general purpose reference manual on C++. To be sure it could be used as such, but there is extra material you would have to deliberately skip.

On the other hand, if your time is to be spent developing high end games there are several time tested techniques that game developers have developed over time that may not be suitable for general programming but which work for game development. Example: games require much more attention to audio and visual activity to keep the screen and speakers going than does a payroll package that only has to print checks.

This is an intermediate level book. The intended reader would already have written several C++ programs, be familiar with the syntax, the basic object-oriented concepts, and some knowledge of the basic computer architecture will be helpful. If you are at that level, this is a truly excellent book

Very informative and well organized. This whole series of books by Thomson is handy.