Introduction to 3D Game Engine Design Using DirectX 9 and C# (Paperback)

~ Lynn Thomas Harrison (Author)
Key Phrases: game physics, game audio, constructor definition, Keeping It Real, Add Line, Artificial Intelligence Adding the Competition (more...)

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Product Description

<p><i>Introduction to 3D Game Engine Design Using DirectX 9 and C#</i> illustrates the process of creating a simple 3D game engine. During this process, author Lynn Harrison demonstrates many facets of the DirectX 9 software through clear-cut explanations and examples.</p>

<p>Throughout the course of the book, you'll develop an off-road driving game that brings such features as management of large scenes, environmental effects, and physics into play. To write the game, you'll use cutting-edge technologies&emdash;C# and DirectX, and the .NET Framework&emdash;and you'll go beyond simple graphics to explore audio, user input, artificial intelligence, and multiplayer design.</p>

About the Author

Lynn Thomas Harrison is both a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) and Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer (MCSD), and is currently employed as a senior systems engineer for Diamond Visionics Company (a visualization engineering company). He lives in Binghamton, New York, with his wife, Gerri, and son, Michael. Lynn has been active in the simulation and graphics industries for over 22 years.

Product Details

• Paperback: 424 pages
• Publisher: Apress; 1 edition (August 20, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590590813
• ISBN-13: 978-1590590812
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #919,353 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars OK, if you like to study uncommented code, January 18, 2004

By A Customer

I didn't expect this book to teach me C# or DirectX, so no worries there.

The book, along with the code that you have to download from apress, shows how to design & code a game engine. Actually, it's pretty weak on the design, since there are NO diagrams, and very little doc in the code, to help me understand what I'm reading. No explanation of relationships between the various objects & classes. What's especially confusing is trying to find methods that are called by the sample code. Is the method in a base class? Do I need to override it? Is it in another object that I have to write...? If there's one thing that might save this book, it would be more diagrams, such as UML.

After reading Chapter 1 and its code (which calls game engine methods but doesn't explain them), I had to download the code and go through it line by line. I wrote out the method calls by hand, and now I finally understand the high-level structure of the engine and the sample game. But that doesn't even include AI, input, lighting, sound, and how game objects are organized inside the engine. I guess I've got my work cut out for me.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Awful Book, October 24, 2003

By A Customer

Like so many other readers, I've been waiting for any book about Managed DX with C# for quite a long time since we definetely can't count on Microsoft's documentation that is only for full-time game programmers out there which I guess won't need it anyway since they're programming in C/C++ so what's the point MS???!!! Anyways, let's go back to the "book"...

But I never expected that you could just throw in some notes about some source code and call it a book, not even one single diagram that shows you where you've reached, what are you looking at, etc... I read the first sample chapter online at apress.com and it looked promising, I wish there was any other chapter that was sampled because that's the only chapter that you can read and understand. After you get to Chapter 2, you start wondering what is he talking about?! This is probably the worst technical book I ever got...

I don't mind getting the source code online and even that it does not seem to work after reading the forums at forums.apress.com but you don't learn anything useful this way, you might as well just get some source code from gotdotnet or c-sharpcorner...

I can't wait for Tom Miller's book that's being released this week I think, the table of contents and sample chapter look very promising (samspublishing.com sample chapter is 3rd chapter so you get a better idea of how the book is written) but hey, I've been fooled once, I hope this doesn't happen again!!!

Don't waste your money or your time on this so-called book!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Practical and good coverage, September 4, 2003

By	N. Davis (Indianapolis, Indiana United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book has given me a good overview of 3D programming with .NET and C#. It was not too easy, and not too hard.

Also, it covers some game programming concepts that I would need to know whether or not I was using .NET.

This is a must have if you want to get into the brave new world of Managed DX.