Customer Reviews

Game Programming: The L Line, The Express Line to Learning

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Don't judge this book by it's cover! For some reason,
this book is part of a series of Wiley books, and they
all have the same cover.

This is a book about learning how to program computer
games using the Python programming language and the
PyGame package. PyGame is a Python wrapper around the
SDL library. This book offers step-by-step tutorials
that introduce game programming with complete Python
programs. All the programs work on several platforms:
MS-Windows, Mac, and GNU/Linux. Chapters 1-3 introduce
the Python programming language. Starting with Chapter
4, you begin to learn about graphics programming. In
Chapter 6 the programs begin to use OOP/classes. Then,
in Chapter 7, you begin to learn how to make 2D games
with sprites, sound FX, and keyboard and mouse control.
Game programming is a fun way to learn how to program
a computer, and Python with PyGame makes it relatively
easy as well.

This book has detailed information on creating graphics
and sounds for your games, using free, open source
third-party tools that are available on all platforms.
The GIMP is used for graphics, and Audacirty is used
for sounds. So unlike many other game programming books
which require expensive third-party programs in order
to make games, ALL the programs in this book are free.

The book has an easy-going, conversational style of writing
that makes it seem that the author is looking over your
shoulder, helping you to learn game programming. I'm really
glad I bought this book. It is worth many times its cover
price considering the amount of information it contains.

Things I like about this book:
1. Easy to read and understand with step-by-step tutorials.
2. Helpful reference tables throughout the book.
3. Complete example game programs.
4. All the third-party programs required are free and open.
5. Source code and extra appendices available for download.

Happy Programming!

Let me join the chorus here, this is a really well written book. The focus on free and current software tools (Stanti's Editor especially) makes following along easy. It may be a testament to the ease of use when it comes to python in general (just beware your use of the tab key!), but I had no problems getting the results described and learned buckets as a result.

Andy Harris did a great job on this book. I sponsor a computer programming club for high school students and this book is the best at getting to actual game creation. The first three chapters go over basics of programming, but then graphics and pygame are used early and well.

This book is a bargain at 570 truly helpful pages.

If you're new to game programming this is the book you should buy first. The language used is Python so it's easy to understand exactly what is going on in the coding examples. This is easily the best intro book I've read.

This is a great book which didn't get the attention it deserved. It was always a bargain for the 550+ pages of well written text, and it is now priced down. I am a quite experienced python programmer, new to game design, and found the book insightful and easy to read.

Major advantages:
- does not depend on any library other than pygame (obviously)
- well written, clear examples, well structured: it was easy for me to jump to the bits that were of interest to me
- good examples, all of them small enough to be understandable yet showing many aspects of 2D platform type games.
- full source for download

Drawbacks:
- The first chapter tries to introduce you to python, one of my colleagues actually learned python from this but why not refer to many resources available?
- ugly cover, doesn't even mention the author's name , nor does it mention Python!
- the introduction has some convincing arguments why aspiring game programmers should not start out with C/C++ but start with a high level language like Python instead. This should have been repeated on the back cover.

Worth every penny I paid for it!

I did enjoy going through the book. A lot of good examples and moves at a relatively good pace. If you get past chapter 5 (chapter 5 was a little much), you're golden.

I purchased this book to use as a textbook for my high school intro game programming class. The author steps through each new code segment with great care. You won't be left wondering the why or how something works. Among the dozens of books on programming, this is by far the best! The author has also created PPT slides and test questions appropriate for the classroom. A MUST BUY!

This book was a great read. The author simplified the subjects and provided standard ways for doing what at first might seem complicated (like sprite animation). While this by no means is a complete guide to game programming, it does a very fine job of getting someone started making large, if somewhat simplistic, 2D games. It doesn't throw in complicated subjects like AI and 3D (which deserve their own books), and if you're brand new to Python it has a respectable introduction in the beginning. I suspect this would also be a great book for a high school class. It's a shame that it's not immediately obvious from the title that it uses Python and PyGame, as this really is the best book using those tools for getting into game programming.

If you're new to game programming (or even programming in general) Andy Harris' book is certainly a great place to start. I am by no means an "expert" in the programming field, in fact, I only picked up programming again for the first time in about 10 years. Python is a very powerful, user-friendly environment to program in and coupled with what you'll learn in this book, you have the tools and potential to become almost an expert in no time. Game programming is a great place to start if you're looking to pick up programming in general.

"Game Programming: The L Line" is very excellently and comprehensively written. In my opinion, Harris has made a very useful guide to game programming and I hope you enjoy this book as much as I have!