The Zen of Direct3D Game Programming (Prima Tech's Game Development) (Paperback)

by Peter Walsh (Author) "Welcome to the Zen of Direct3D Game Programming..." (more)
Key Phrases: index number for the adapter, alphabet bitmap, vertex buffer, Child Object, Visual Studio, Retained Mode (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Direct3D is a constantly and rapidly evolving technology that has become the standard in modern game development. The Zen of Direct3D Game Programming provides a solid introduction to interactive entertainment engineering, Windows programming, and advanced graphical techniques using Direct3D. There is deep coverage of 2D graphics, such as using double buffering, page flipping, programming a bitmap font engine, and also how to create a 'Quake' style programmable console. 3D graphics programming is extensively covered with advanced topics such as bilinear filtering, texturing, materials, lights, and how to develop an object orientated frame based object hierarchy to simulate amazingly realistic animation effects. The book is laid out to be applicable to those new to 3D game development as well as the more advanced programmers, looking to upgrade their skills. Series editor Andr LaMothe has published numerous magazine articles and is an international best-selling author with over six game programming and 3D graphics titles to his credit. He has been active in the computing industry for more than twenty years, during which he created one of the world's first commercially available virtual reality games, CyberGate. Andr is also the founder and CEO of Xtreme Games LLC.

About the Author
Peter Walsh has over six years' experience in the development of interactive entertainment software, and four years with DirectX. Peter has worked at the computer games research, development, and consultancy firm 1C-CAVE, and currently researches game technology and development at Abertay University, in Dundee, Scotland. Abertay is at the forefront of game development, and has the first degree course in gaming technology in the world.

Product Details

• Paperback: 896 pages
• Publisher: Muska & Lipman/Premier-Trade; 1 edition (June 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761534296
• ISBN-13: 978-0761534297
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 2.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,254,543 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This item is part of The Course PTR Game Development Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Very Basic Introduction to DirectX, April 30, 2002

By	Steven R. Dyer (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As a long-time video game fan and experienced C++ programmer, I bought this book to join the two and start a new hobby - 3D game programming. This book lets you stick your toe in, but that's it. You will come away with knowledge of how to access the DirectX API calls and make the graphics card do something. You will also be introduced to all of the basic 3D game concepts - vectors, matrix math, texture mapping, the game pipeline and rendering, etc. However, you won't be able to do much with it - the tools you are given are way to basic for anything but 10-fps rotating cubes.

Pros:
- very clear and concise introduction to all major 3D concepts
- good introduction to C++ programming for those not already familiar with it
- examples included on CD
- easy-to-read writing style

Cons:
- the sample code on the CD and in the book do not match
- many of the code samples on the CD are broken and do not compile (though you can download them if you hunt on the web)
- the website link from the CD does not exist
- the most advanced examples run at 9 fps (on my P3 900) - too
slow to be much use

I am glad I bought this book, but I skimmed much of it since I was already familiar with C++. I was able to dig into the rest and get a feel for working with DirectX and the graphics card.

In the end, though, I have had to buy several other books in order to be able to produce a workable game-like program. Like I said, this is a very basic introduction - you will need more resources before you can do useful game programming.

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Will Anyone EVER Write a Good Direct3D Book?, July 25, 2001

By A Customer

I waited a very long time for this book to come out and I'm VERY dissapointed in it's content. First off, the first 400 pages of this book have NOTHING to do with Direct3D. What do we get? - YET AGAIN another book that discusses in detail the differences between C vs C++ (come on!!), basic Windows programming, SPRITE concepts, very basic 3D math, etc. The next 100+ pages covers 2D sprite engines / animations. The last 100 pages is a useless reference of Direct3D interfaces that you can get from the Direct3D docs. ALL OF THIS STUFF has been covered MUCH BETTER in other books. How often can the same book be written?

The actual Direct3D stuff is beyond basic. There is no detailed discussion of multi-textures, bump mapping, etc. Most importantly, however, and the BIGGEST OMMISSION IN ALL BOOK OF THIS KIND(!!) is the fact that it does not implement a simple 3D shooter type game whatsoever. What it gives you is a few libraries for making cubes and spheres (wow...how useful). And there is no discussion of LOADING and USING any actual 3D ANIMATED models. Forget about things like collision detection and scene management.

PLEASE!! Someone write a book that actually implements (and, just as important, discusses the implementation in detail) a very simple 3D shooter game - complete with .X file animated model loading, advanced multi-texturing, collission detection, scene management, etc!! There have been totally terrible books like this that don't even allude to these things, and also books that discuss these items THEORECTICALLY. But PLEASE someone write one that actually shows HOW.....LaMothe, please move your books in this direction and STOP writing the same book over and over.....This is the last book I'll ever buy from PrimaTech otherwise.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Direct3D Version 8 - The One Book You Really, Really Need !, January 13, 2002

By	Gary Mccray (Kelseyville, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The Zen of Direct3D Game Programming is an absolutely excellent book that truly accomplishes what it sets out to do.

Direct3D Immediate mode is one of the most demanding programming challenges in the Universe, period. This book, if pursued studiously, absolutely will give you a very solid foundation in Direct3D and how to use it effectively.

The books only presumptions are that you are able to program somewhat adequately in "C" and that you possess, and have at least a little familiarity with, Microsoft's Visual C++ Compiler.

This book provdes excellent, appropriately sequential and insightful coverage of Windows graphics programming, 2D DirectX Programming, 3D concepts and beginning to moderately advanced 3D Direct3D concepts and implentation methods. It is written in a very coherent and easy to follow manner, with complexity of concept increasing only as our ability to understand also increases, a rare feature in this level of technical book.

The game engine that Peter continuously helps you develop and refine throughout the book is truly a tour de force. Its development is clear and logical and it's increasing sophistication and complexity follows our advancing learning curve very tidily. As Peter progresses through the book, he uses more and more sophisticated coding techniques, but he always demystifies them and explains them adequately before moving on. Part way through the book, Peter introduces and begins using classes for encapsulation of the functions that he includes in his "game engine", but the book also includes a very nice appendix item that is a short introductory course to C++ classes that is just right for the level of C++ specific implementation that he uses in the book.

For most books, the learning about Direct3D methods that takes place would be quite sufficient, but this book packs a real bonus in the parallel development of its game engine. This engine is really useful, truly powerful and imminently extensible. Most previous attempts of this sort resulted in an engine that may have been suitable for learning, but was certainly not so for any more serious implementation. Peters engine can easily be used as the primary basis for construction of advanced 3D projects and games. It is heavily optimized for speed and utility. Moreover, the principals of engine construction that are continuously reinforced as you proceed leave you more than adequate to the task of engine enhancement or even to begin constructing engines of your own.

This book does not cover: advanced animation methods, character animation, 3D collision detection, game theory or how to build your own game. However, without this book those things are moot. I look forward to a volume 2. But even without that, Peter has given me the capability and the confidence to move forward confidently on my own and undertake those missions with a certainty that I can make sense out of them and produce coherent, tidy and powerful implementations of my own.

By the way, Don't knock this book because it doesn't cover mesh skinning, and advanced game architecture. It provides a superb knowledge base for you to start with as well as an equally excellent tool, the engine and it's probably hard to get publishers to publish books for a qualified world wide audience of less than 200. This book will get you a long, long way down the road in every respect and it is by far the best one you can get. Period!