Software Engineering for Game Developers (Software Engineering Series) [Paperback]

Ph.D. John P Flynt (Author), Omar Salem (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 8, 2004 | ISBN-10: 1592001556 | ISBN-13: 978-1592001552 | Edition: 1

Software engineering leads to better software products. This book teaches readers how to develop games according to a design and follow a standardized approach to game development. It provides a multitude of exercises that show just how software engineering practices can improve your game. All the basic categories of software engineering are covered. Programmers, designers, architects, generalists, software engineers, and game developers seeking knowledge about standard frameworks for games and their relative merits will find this text more than satisfying. Three frameworks (function, object-oriented, and patterned) are presented, contrasted, and fully described through design documents.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

John P. Flynt, Ph.D., works in the software development industry, has taught at colleges and universities, and has authored courses and curricula for several college-level game development programs. His academic background includes work in information technology, the social sciences, and the humanities. Among his works are In the Mind of a Game, Simulation and Event Modeling for Game Developers (with co-author Ben Vinson), and Software Engineering for Game Developers. John lives in the foothills near Boulder, Colorado.

Omar Salem served as a member of the technical staff at Bell Labs/Lucent Technologies/Avaya for 20 years. He is currently a game development teacher, holding bachelor¿s and master¿s degrees in computer science and mathematics. Salem lives in Denver, Colorado.

Product Details

• Paperback: 800 pages
• Publisher: Course Technology PTR; 1 edition (November 8, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592001556
• ISBN-13: 978-1592001552
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 2.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #670,736 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The professional approach, December 12, 2004

By 

John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Software Engineering for Game Developers (Software Engineering Series) (Paperback)

This book takes a very interesting (and possibly unique) approach to game developing. It's a detailed discussion on the development of a real game (30,000 lines of code) by a small team of game developers.

The book starts with the development of a set of requirements for the game. What's the game all about, what tools are going to be used, what is the scope of the project? Indeed, what makes a good set of requirements in the first place. From there it goes to modelling the game using UML. This step helps to visualize the system that constitutes the game. Why model, how to model? From here the next step is the basic software design. What's the structure of the program going to be? Why? ?What are alternatives? Then on to the next step and the next.

This is not a description of how the play the game, this is an introductory to intermediate (maybe even advanced) book on Software Engineering. It is oriented to gaming, but it covers the basic rules of any major software project. The approach that it uses leads you through the process one step at a time, it gives you the way professional developers approach the business.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nice book for beginners, January 23, 2006

By 

Joaquin A. Aguilar - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Software Engineering for Game Developers (Software Engineering Series) (Paperback)

I like the fact that the author got out of his way to actually create a game to illustrate the software engineering methodology. Also, all the code and documents of the game are on the CD.

The only CON I would give to this book is that it keeps referring to things that have not been explained. So, if you are on Ch. 1 you have to quickly go and read a section on Ch. 3 to understand what the author is saying on Ch. 1 (Obviously Ch. 1 is an introduction to the whole book and it is supposed to talk about everything. This is just an example)

I would seriously recommend anyone interested in game developing and software engineering to get this book. Unlike other books in the Xtreme game developing series. Most of them are misleading.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, Professional, Formal Engineering Approach to Games!, January 22, 2010

By 

Brendan Burns "Brendan B." (Donegal, Ireland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Software Engineering for Game Developers (Software Engineering Series) (Paperback)

The author takes all of the traditional software engineering principles and practises and provides logical, practical examples of their application within the domain of commercial game development. Not an easy task but one at which the Author excels.

Academia or anyone involved in games and/or software engineering should have this book as a reference text.

Excellent work.