C# and Game Programming: A Beginner's Guide (Book & CD-ROM) [Paperback]

Salvatore A. Buono (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1568811934 | ISBN-13: 978-1568811932 | Publication Date: October 29, 2003

Learn Microsoft C# and game programming at the same time with this spirited, hands-on book that teaches the fundamentals of the C# language through classic arcade game applications. Complete source code for games like Battle Bit, Asteroid Miner, and Battle Tennis demonstrates game programming strategies and complements the comprehensive treatment of C# in the text. From the basics of adding graphics and sound to games, to advanced concepts such as the .Net framework and object-oriented programming, this book provides the foundations for a beginner to become a full-fledged programmer.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"C# and Game Programming is a useful all-around resource for anyone looking to get off the ground and start learning what C# can really do." -Wisconsin Bookwatch, June 2005 --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 600 pages
• Publisher: A K Peters/CRC Press (October 29, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568811934
• ISBN-13: 978-1568811932
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.4 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,340,278 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Dichotomous Book..., February 15, 2004

By 

Deon Poncini (Sydney, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: C# and Game Programming: A Beginner's Guide (Book & CD-ROM) (Paperback)

This book was a bittersweet experience for me. The book is basically devided into three sections. The first is the basics of C#, the second basics of Game Programming, and the third more advanced C# using OOP methodology.

A quick rundown of the sections:
1: Ultra Simplistic - 2 stars
2: Brilliant! Worth buying the book for 5 stars
3: Rushed, Too Concise, doesnt explain anything and useless- terrible : 1 star

(hence my rating of 3 stars - interger average of these values)

I was glad that I had read C# The Complete Reference by Herb Schildt before reading this book. The first section on programming basics is VERY basic - teaching very beginner concepts such as loops, descisions etc that most people reading this book would already know. As someone who must read a book cover to cover I read all this, resisting the strong temptation to skim to the next section. It provides a simple introduction to C#, but not particularly useful,

The second section concerns itself with game creation using Windows Forms and GDI+. The first example in this section, Paddle Tennis, is quite good, and probably worth buying the book for this one example, if you have never done any windows forms or GDI+ programming in C# before (as I hadnt). On the accompanying CD there are all these application files you need to add to your project, which is not explicitly stated in the book, and left me scratching my head when I entered all the source code, compiled and got about 200 errors. Actually mentioning that these prewritten classes needed to be added would have been of tremendous help.

But these prewritten classes are the downfall of the book. Basically the example teaches you how to display images, initialize a form, override the OnPaint & OnKeyPress methods - but thats it. All the code for collision detection is prewritten for you with only very oblique references to it in the text. I built a version of Pong and Arkanoid from what I learnt from this book, but most of what I learnt came from analyzing the source code on the CD...

Unfortunately its downhill from here. There are about 7 more games in the book however there is a very brief introduction with very vague descriptions of the new features in the games followed by source code (that again uses the prewritten classes) - basically the text doesnt really teach you how the games were made, you have to read the code and work it out.

The final section on OOP is a very condensed coverage of all 77 keywords in the C# language. This section is utterly useless - it describes the entire language in 100 pages - meaning there is a very brief introduction on the topic (such as overloading or constructors) a single example and then its next topic! If I already didnt know the language I would be completely lost...

I said however this was a Dichotomous Book as I believe I would still have bought it knowing what I do now. It is worth it for the middle section, which is excellent. I recommend strongly that you analyze the source code on the cd (and remember to add it to your projects!!!) - this taught me more than the book. The very final part of section 3 goes over the classes in these prewritten functions (attempting to save grace)- but in the style of the latter half of the book is ultra condensed and basically mirrors the code - teaching you no more than the code itself does - there is no reasoning as to why the code is written in that way.

Something must have gone into my head however because within a week of reading I could make fairly complicated Forms/GDI+ applications - the book works for a good introduction.

In conclusion, dont buy it to learn the language (I recommend reading C# the Complete Reference - it is excellent), but buy it if you want to know something about GDI+ and Windows Forms - it teaches this well. Just skip sections 1 and 3 and read section 2 (which is brilliant by the way).

Deon Poncini

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Beginning C# + Minor Gaming Discussion, February 24, 2004

By 

Marcelo Lombardi (Cordoba, Argentina) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: C# and Game Programming: A Beginner's Guide (Book & CD-ROM) (Paperback)

Whatever gaming material is encountered in this book is minimal and irrelevant. This book is merely an introduction to C#, plus a superfluous discussion about games. It is my conviction that this book has no redeeming value unless all you want to get out of it is an introduction to C#.

If you want to write videogames in C#, I strongly recommend Managed DirectX 9 Kick Start : Graphics and Game.

I hope this helps.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a fantastic book, October 31, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: C# and Game Programming: A Beginner's Guide (Book & CD-ROM) (Paperback)

This is a fantastic book for learning both C# and Game Programming. It covers the entire C# language, breaking down each keyword, so as to make learning a new language as simple as possible. But, it doesn't stop there. Next, it introduces game programming, taking the keywords that you've already studied and using them to create arcade style games. The games are actually object-oriented models built off a single set of classes, but you don't know this yet, since you're only in chapter three. Building the games also means that you'll have to master both graphic and sound programming, but the CD also includes pre-assembled projects, so beginners can skip these steps, studying them after they completed the language. The games are also built using Windows not console settings, so you'll be well into event driven thinking. Once you've mastered those games, its back to work with new keywords and concepts being introduced in every section. There is no documentation that explains; "Why you want to program..." or "How to think of ideas" You know why you want to program and you don't need to read another book that suggests that you watch Japanese cartoons. Progressing through the chapters means progressing through sorts, statistics, file storage, database, and object-oriented design, but each chapter ends with two new games, and interesting enough, all those little topics, seem too also play a role in those games. There is a little bit of algebra and a small doze of calculus, but these concepts can also be skipped without a problem. There is a tinny taste of primitive 3D programming, but the book is action packed 2D. Finally, as you work through the last set of game classes you are inspired to do one of two things. One, design a few new games using those classes. Or two, to design your own set of classes and use those to create whatever you'd like. The appendix also includes additional information on Windows Forms, Algorithms...