Programming Linux Games [Paperback]

Loki Software (Author), John R. Hall (Author), Loki Software Inc (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2001

Programming Linux Games discusses important multimedia toolkits (including a very thorough discussion of the Simple DirectMedia Layer) and teaches the basics of Linux game programming. Readers learn about the state of the Linux gaming world, and how to write and distribute Linux games to the Linux gaming community.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

A great operating system for programmers and system administrators, Linux is also a great gaming platform, and the market is exploding. Linux users want to do everything under Linux—including playing computer games. And the Linux operating system is fast even without a fast processor, which means that even an older machine can be a great Linux gaming machine.

Gaming will continue to drive the adoption of Linux as an operating system. In fact, one game, Quake, has already indirectly contributed to the growth of Linux. Estimates are that over 60 percent of all dedicated Quake servers (for all versions on the Internet) are Linux machines.

From the Author

I wrote Programming Linux Games for the casual Linux hobbyist who wants to learn about game programming, as well as the professional game programmer or multimedia engineer who would like to gain a familiarity with the Linux platform.

I start with a birds-eye view of the game industry, and explore the elements that make up various types of games. After a quick review of Linux development tools and multimedia programming toolkits, I launch into the Simple DirectMedia Layer (SDL), several audio playback APIs (OSS, ALSA, and ESD), the OpenAL environmental audio system, the Tcl scripting library, Linux's new framebuffer device API (fbdev). I also explain how to access the keyboard and mouse under Linux. These tools provide everything you need to create games and other multimedia applications for Linux, as well as port games from other platforms.

Programming Linux Games does not cover 3D graphics programming techniques, as OpenGL programming is more or less the same under any platform. However, there is a brief explanation of how to use SDL as an improved replacement for the popular GLUT toolkit.

~John R. Hall
August 22, 2001

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Product Details

• Paperback: 415 pages
• Publisher: No Starch Press; 1 edition (August 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1886411492
• ISBN-13: 978-1886411494
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #831,195 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Easy reading, March 1, 2004

By 

W Boudville (Terra, Sol 3) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Programming Linux Games (Paperback)

The computer game market is dominated by dedicated game console platforms, like Sony's Playstation and Microsoft's XBox. But the steady rise of linux on fast, cheap hardware and the parallel rise of an open source community leads one to wonder if there are alternatives.

Which leads to this book. It has some of the ambience of the flashback to the 70s or 80s, when programmers in their spare time might gin up a cool game, which would then spread like a virus when word got out. Of course, you can use the book's advice to design a proprietary game. Nobody says you need give it away.

The book's code examples are in C. Not Java, please note. While Java is good for some applications, typically in gaming, performance is always an issue, as measured by latency, for example. The book also does not mention C++. Pity. C++ compilers nowadays are usually as efficient as C compilers. Plus, if you want to code a game of any complexity (over 100 000 lines, say), then C scales badly, unless you use really strict design and coding standards.

Overall, though, the book is well done. Very easy reading if you're experienced. Very little knowledge of graphics is required. The book is more about the back end design. Graphics is pushed out to OpenGL and similar packages.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For Linux and beyond!!!, August 22, 2001

By 

"vikingchieftain" (Sarasota, Florida United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Programming Linux Games (Paperback)

I've been waiting for a book like this for a long time. I can't say that I'm into Linux games per say, but I am definitely into cross platform ones and SDL(Simple Direct Media Layer)which is covered in the book is the ticket to getting there. My only previous gripe with SDL was the documentation or lack thereof, which while the documentation is getting better this book does an excellent job of covering SDL from the ground up. If you want to write cross platform games then this book is for you!

If you're new to game programming then get this book too!!! Even if you plan to start out making games on Windows, I suggest reading this book along with Lamothe's as it will help you understand game programming basics without the complexity of Windows' code. The author takes you all the way from initializing the display to a complete game by the end of the book, and even though the game was meant to be for Linux it will compile without too many modifications. Although the game in this book may be rather simple one in today's standards, it does cover all the bases including networking and game scripting, the latter of which I found very helpful. ...

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book: jsut make sure it is the one you are after, November 20, 2001

By 

Bruno A Nitrosso (Mendoza, Mendoza Argentina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Programming Linux Games (Paperback)

First and foremost: make sure this is what you are looking for,
even the best book will disappoint someone who is looking for something else!

If, like myself, you have some knowledge in computer science without being an expert and particularly have no expertise in Game Developping nor in MultiMedia and are yet curious about the topics then definetly go for it.

This book unveils pretty much all aspects game programming: graphics, audio, computer "AI", network gaming, etc.
Unveils, not exhausts: be warned. But this is just great when all you are after is understanding what is this about and decide eventually to dig deeper.

And everything is done with examples building up until you have developped with the author "your" first game : Penguin Warrior!

What would be great is to have a sequel with more advanced topics (3D, Scheme scripting, etc.): be many to buy it and maybe we will someday see it!