Introduction to 3D Game Programming with Direct X 9.0c: A Shader Approach (Wordware Game and Graphics Library) (Paperback)

by Frank Luna (Author)
Key Phrases: uniform extern, adjacency info, back buffer dimensions, Direct Input, Blend Factor Example, Texture Tool (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Introduction to 3D Game Programming with DirectX 9.0c: A Shader Approach presents an introduction to programming interactive computer graphics, with an emphasis on game development, using real-time shaders with DirectX 9.0. The book is divided into three parts that explain basic mathematical and 3D concepts, show how to describe 3D worlds and implement fundamental 3D rendering techniques, and demonstrate the application of Direct3D to create a variety of special effects. With this book: Understand basic mathematical tools used in video game creation such as vectors, matrices, and transformations. Discover how to describe and draw interactive 3D scenes using Direct3D and the D3DX library. Learn how to implement lighting, texture mapping, alpha blending, and stenciling using shaders and the high-level shading language (HLSL). Explore a variety of techniques for creating special effects, including vertex blending, character animation, terrain rendering, multi-texturing, particle systems, reflections, shadows, and normal mapping. Find out how to work with meshes, load and render .X files, program terrain/camera collision detection, and implement 3D object picking. Review key ideas, gain programming experience, and explore new topics with the end-of-chapter exercises.

About the Author
Frank D. Luna is a program-mer for Hero Interactive. He has been programming interactive 3D graphics for over eight years and has been using DirectX since its fifth iteration. He is the author of Introduction to 3D Game Programming with DirectX 9.0 from Wordware Publishing, Inc., and lives in Los Angeles.

Product Details

• Paperback: 544 pages
• Publisher: Jones & Bartlett Publishers; 1 edition (June 25, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1598220160
• ISBN-13: 978-1598220162
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #219,696 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent for anyone wanting to learn Direct X, HLSL and other game concepts, January 1, 2007

By	Jonathan. S. (Hamilton, NZ) - See all my reviews

Overall this is an exceptionally well written book. The text is easy to read, and concise, though that's not to say you understand everything the first time you read it.

The code framework is also pretty good, the naming conventions are decent and the code is clearly written. The framework is consistent throughout the book, and uses inheritance and minor polymorphism which manages to hide a lot of the Direct3D / Win32 initialization, so once you are past these chapters you needn't concern yourself with this code again, and you can intend focus on the code that Frank is trying to explain.
The design is also very modular, a good example of this is found in Chapter 21: Exercise 4 where it asks you to integrate an Environment Mapped sphere for the sky, and Normal mapped water, into a scene which shows a Castle and trees / grass. This was pretty easy, as it just required shifting a few art / source files and tying some loose ends.

The book contains many exercises, a lot of which I found very helpful in understanding the material presented in the text and code samples, they give a good sense of accomplishment and I recommend them if you want to fully understand the concepts taught, and most are generally doable with a bit of research into the DirectX SDK, and rereading the text.

The text also does an excellent job of explaining key DirectX functions, and is usually a lot more approachable than the SDK. It also explains the use of the DirectX texture tool, and Terragen ( a free terrain generator, which is very easy to use)

For anyone looking to learn DirectX 9, HLSL, and the fundamental concepts behind games, then this book will serve as a solid foundation for those willing to take the time to read and understand it.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is nicely laid out!, August 23, 2006

By	Jeffrey S. Hartman (Phoenix, AZ) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have been publishing 2-d and flash games for a bit, and now need to hit DirectX for 3d again (stopped at v8) and need to catch up. There were several things I needed for the new game project starting and it was easy to find all of them right off the bat. I checked first in the index. e.g. I need landscape/terrain generation, .x file loading, and concepts described in pure mathematics (not pseudo code) before showing the actual code. Don't be afraid of matrix math/calculus and get this book. It is a total re-write from the ground up of a previous book. I like this guy.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very good book for learning how to use DirectX9, December 23, 2006

By	Chris Long - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a great book. Mr. Luna provides an incredible amount of information all with good detail and clear wording. He doesn't waste time by teaching you irrelevant or outdated topics that aren't used anymore like other books. The more difficult topics are explained well and example code is abundant. This book is recommended for any aspiring game programmer.