Customer Reviews

Learn Computer Game Programming with DirectX 7.0

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

If you have already programmed a complete game using DirectX then you don't need this book.

If you know the VC++ compiler so well that you know just exactly all of the dozen or so switches that you need to set to get DirectX 7 to compile for you, the you don't need Chapter 1. [LaMothe's otherwise very useful book preaches instead of covering this vital detail, so I was only able to follow him as far as some earlier version of DircetX went.]

If you know how to read in a bitmap and show it, then you do not need Chapter 2. [I found a bug or two in LaMothe's code for this, but Parberry treats those points correctly.]

If you know how to use back buffers and page flipping for smooth animation then you do not need Chapter 3.

If you know how to control the timing of an animation, then you do not need Chapter 4.

If you have dealt with the multiple images on one bitmap that make up a moving sprite then you do not need Chapter 5.

If you know how to clip sprites then you do not need Chapter 6.

If you know how to scroll horizontally with the foreground moving by faster than the background (parallax scrolling), then you do not need Chapter 7.

If you know some basics of AI such as having objects in various states, moving in intelligent looking ways, and if you know how to implement a rule based system to give a higher level language for programming the intelligent objects, then clearly you have no need for Chapter 8.

If you know how to use one program to act entirely differently in different phases of a game, then you do not need Chapter 9.

If you know how to load sounds for Direct Sound, can mix, and play the sounds, then you do not need Chapter 10.

If you know how to integrate the button functions into a DirectX program that is using the whole screen, then you do not need Chapter 11. Of course you know how to read the mouse, so this part of the chapter is a complete waste.

If you know how to have your game work with either a mouse or a joystick, then you have no need for Chapter 12.

If you have written even one game with multiple levels, bonuses for the levels, and scores based on partial completion of the game, you really will find Chapter 13 useless.

If you have written a game with a high score list, and know how to collect the player's name in a DirectX program, then you will have no need for Chapter 14.

If you know how to pause game action and sound, and if you know how to give credit where it is due, and help when requested, then you will just find Chapter 15 a waste of time.

If you have done all this, and done it in very clean code that you can use as a base for building further games, and are really ready to go on to the extra difficulties of three D programs, then you will certainly find this book disappointing. But I haven't, and I'm delighted to see such a thorough treatment of the basics of a DirectX game.

This is a good book for people who have never dealt with DirectX. It's based on Dr. Parberry's lectures from the game programming class he teaches at the University of North Texas. It goes through a simple 2D game explaining every step from start to finish.

--------------> this isn't a reference book <----------------
It's meant to give you starting point -- some basic knowledge that you can build on as you become a better game programmer. If you need a DirectX reference (and you will), buy something like Inside DirectX.

The book expects you to know C++. At UNT it's a senior-level class. You're expected to know what you're doing by the time you get there.

I only have a few minor problems with it:
1. the coding style can be hard to read in some places
2. there are some typos (but, thankfully, not in the code)
3. and the game you end up with is GOD AWFUL. But now you can use what you learned to make outstanding games on your own.

It's a great learning tool.

After browsing through MANY game programming books over a several years, this is the first that I have actually wanted to buy. I've seen game programming books that focus on audiences of varying skill levels, ranging from pointlessly simple to needing a de-encryption algorithm to understand the writing style. Many of them are written by industry gurus who, admittedly, really know their stuff, but are not very good at teaching it. Dr. Parberry is a college professor; he has experience on how to gear his lessons towards those who want to learn, and it shows in his writing style.

The CD that comes with the book contains the DirectX 7a software development kit(a big plus, because it takes forever to download the 125 MB file from Microsoft), all of the code and media files for the game that you make using the book, and the text of the book in PDF format.

Dr. Parberry sets up his book much like a class; the concepts are taught in 15 different lessons(chapters), with each lesson building on the previous lessons. He assumes that the reader is self-motivated enough to explore the help files for the DX7 SDK, so he does not include it in the book. He assumes that the reader is a competent C++ programmer (competent, not necessarily an expert). He explains new concepts clearly as the reader goes along in each chapter.

Dr. Parberry himself is very accessible--I ran into a problem, and sent him an e-mail asking for help. I received an excellent response from him within 24 hours.

Be sure to read the preface--it helps you understand his angle on computer game programming.

Thank you, Dr. Parberry.

This is an excellent book, but only for certain people. You have to already have a good grasp of C++, including inheritance and so on, and if you have even a relatively little experience with DirectX or Game programming, you will probably find it a little simplistic. If you expect to create Diablo II or AOEII or some game on that level by reading this book, you need a thorough reality check before you buy ANY book. If you understand c++ and want a good way to start game programming, this book is excellent. Each chapter builds very clearly on the previous one, telling the steps in creating a simple side scrolling game. Some people complain that the game sucks. It does. But that is not the point. It's not supposed to be good, it supposed to teach you the basics: DirectDraw and DirectSound, and about game programming concepts such as AI. It assumes no knowledge of game programming or DirectX whatsoever, and guides you easily into these subjects.

An excellent buy for anyone with a solid understanding of C++ and who wishes to program games, but doesn't know where to begin.

If you have a true desire to learn how to program and create video games but can not seem to get started on your own, this book is just what you are looking for. Dr. Parberry not only presents the fundamentals of creating a solid game engine, but he teaches the thought processes needed to do so.

This book is devoted to creating a complete video game, one logical step at a time. Each chapter is accompanied by easily compiled code that demonstrates the development process. The game that Dr. Parberry creates is simple in concept, making each lesson easy to comprehend. Do not expect to learn advanced 3D and rendering techniques. Such concepts were appropriately left out. Including such techniques would do nothing more than muddle attempts to teach novice game designers to create solid, functioning games.

The programming style was also kept as simple as possible, allowing novice programmers to solidify their C++ experiences. Dr. Parberry is a professor of computer science and it shows. His ability to discuss and display sound programming techniques should be invaluable to any novice programmer.

By studying this book, I gained the knowledge necessary to create my own video game. Within two months of buying this book, I had finished my game demo and shared it with several professional game developers. Within a few weeks, I had received two job offers. I assure you, my demo was the pivotal component that got my foot in the doors of both companies.

If you are serious about joining the game industry, make this one of the first books you buy.

Let's start off with what's good about this book:

1. It's very good for beginners - you can quickly get your environment set up and easily see how DX handles some stuff like page flipping for you and understand what DX is

2. The step-by-step method is very effective

3. No game engine creation - you don't get bogged down in creating and learning to use some proprietary game engine; you just focus on DX

Bad Stuff:

1. The code is VERY poorly written and badly designed. The APIs the author came up with make no sense, and while this isn't a book on good coding style, it should at least demonstrate how to make a somewhat intuitive UI. The most infuriating thing is that the author doesn't think to name his source files the same as his classes. Plus he perpetuates the hungarian notation, which I find unreadable. The examples DO all work, however, so I'll give him that.

2. Because of the bad coding style, it's hard to tell what code is intentional. The problem is that he doesn't give good explanation of why he's doing things the way he is, or why DX requires things be done a certain way

3. The game: The game is a scroller, and while it affords good experience with stuff, it would've been cool to see an example of start/stop movement instead of constant scrolling. Something like "move 10 pixels left over the next 500 ms". It's not hard to figure out, but seems more like what you would need than constant scrolling.

4. Input handling: Why didn't he use DirectInput??? The mess with the Joystick is from the DOS age. Don't teach people that, or at least tell them WHY you aren't using DirectInput!

5. Packaging your game - A section that would be nice is how to package up and deliver your game; what issues you run into with needed libraries, detecting DX versions, etc.

6. non-8-bit graphics. It's cool that he explains the more difficult 8-bit graphics stuff, but it's so different from 16/24/32 bit, that it's not obvious how to do it! At least have a sidebar showing the difference.

7. Debugging - Someone new to game programming is going to have a hell of time debugging, I know I did. You just can't debug a fullscreen app with any reliability. Spend some time mentioning things like debugging and win9x flakiness (e.g. "If your system acts wierd, reboot").

Despite my crticisms, I liked this book a hell of a lot better than "Windows Game Programming for Dummies". To challenge myself, I basically redesigned and re-implemented each chapter because I couldn't stand reading his code and dealing with it any longer. So, it was worth my money, but could be a lot better.

This goes for all "game programming" books:
If you don't know how to program, don't start here.

None of the code in this book is particularly difficult or obscure, but you will not find a C++ review in its pages. What you do find is a pretty clear and useful step-by-step guide to creating a simple game. Dr. Parberry uses object-oriented programming to make his game easier to follow (again, you need to know about programming *first*), and I found his example to be a great starting point for my projects.

Another thing about DirectX: it's big, and reasonably well documented. Granted, DirectDraw isn't supported by Microsoft anymore, but you can still download the 7.0a SDK. No book is going to hold your hand for the whole thing. This book gives you enough of a start to get you going, but you'll need to have the documentation handy while you're working.

Bottom line: if you know how to code in C++ using OOP techniques, and you know a little about bitmapped images and cartesian coordinates, this book will guide you to structured game programming. If not, get up to speed before trying to write games.

The only complaint that I have is that I found a couple of logic errors in the code. I haven't checked online to see if they are covered in an errata because I was able to figure them out.

At first when I saw this book I thought it would be great for learning the basics of 2D game programming because it said it was based on his "2D Side Scroller" Ned's Turkey Farm. So I thought there would be helpful lessons on any 2D game and then show how he implemented it in his 2D games. Well, first of all of the lessons are specifically for his game Ned's Turkey Farm, and the game isn't even much of a a 2D side scroller.

Also the way the code is written is ... well just plain bad. He doesn't really cover much about the Win32 API and what he does cover is bad. He uses simplified techniques that gets the job done when a reader copies, but doesn't tell how to use it so they can go off and make something different.

All in all, buy this book if you want to learn how to make this game, check it out or browse through it if you want to learn a few things. Chances are if you are a newbie you wont learn from this, if you are a bit experienced this book will seem sloppy and too basic.

This is an excellent book that I've ever read for game programming, 3-D graphis, etc. I read some other books that claim they will teach you how to program a game....actually, they won't. But this book shows you the basic that you need, at least you can have your little game which is created completely by yourself. It's not like other game programming books that just show you all the functions of how to create graphis, sound or whatever it is, it is a book that if you read it, try it and follow it step-by-step, finally you will have a GAME!!!! Amazing?? ha.... I agree with the other reader, Newson, El-Hage that the game is not supposed to be too complicated (don't expect you can create a game like Tomb Raider if you are a rookie), it shows you the basic and later on, of course, you will make up your own fantastic games. One more thing is that this book is not for you if you have too little programming experiences, I had 4 classes of C++ and Java in school so I did not find this book hard to follow. If you don't have much experience in C++, you may need to take a good look at your C++ book before you start.

I've read other DX books in the past trying to get a headstart but this was by far the best. I've been using it to nail down the essentials to DirectDraw, Sound, and a little music - this book covers them all. This is not a book for everyone though - C++ knowledge will be very necessary, without it you'll be left staring at the pages. The material quickly develops into a nice little game that isn't expected to be anything phenomenal, but definitely gives you the background to understanding concepts such as page flipping, image transparency and clipping, sound buffers, and so on. I've contacted Mr. Parberry with a couple questions on the book, he was very courteous and prompt with his reply. If you've learned some C++ and are looking to get into the DirectX APIs, this is the book for you!