Beginning .NET Game Programming in C# (Paperback)

~ Ellen Hatton (Author), Alexandre Santos Lobao (Author), David Weller (Author), Apress (Author)
Key Phrases: sprite manager, reference rasterizer, bitmap load, Space Donuts, First Steps, Sprites Revisited (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The authors use a very friendly voice, and cite several well-known games as exhibits of the fundamentals they describe throughout the text.</a></p> </blockquote> <p id="quoteAuthor">&#8212; Jason Salas, Microsoft MVP, ASP.NET </p></div>

<p>This long-awaited title provides a clear introduction to game programming for you, C# programmers! Microsoft insiders have written an easy-to-read guide, so you can start programming games quickly. This book even includes an introduction to Managed DirectX9, and other advanced .NET features, like animation and sounds. </p> <p> Code examples are actually complete games, and include .Nettrix , .Netterpillars, River Pla.NET, Magic KindergarteN., D-iNfEcT, Nettrix II (for the Pocket PC), and a version of the classic game, Spacewars.</p>

About the Author

Somewhere around 1974, David Weller discovered a coin-operated Pong game in a pizza parlor in Sacramento, California, and was instantly hooked on computer games. A few years later, he was introduced to the world of programming by his godfather, who let him use his Radio Shack TRS-80 computer to learn about programming in BASIC. David’s first program was a simple dice game that graphically displayed the die face (he still has the first version he originally wrote on paper). He quickly outgrew BASIC, though, and soon discovered the amazing speed you could get by writing video games in assembly language. He spent the remainder of his high school years getting bad grades, but writing cool software, none of which made him any money. He spent the next 10 years in the military, learning details about computer systems and software development. Shortly after he left the military, David was offered a job to help build the Space Station Training Facility at NASA. From that point on, he merrily spent time working on visual simulation and virtual reality applications. He made the odd shift into multitier IT application development during the Internet boom, ultimately landing inside of Microsoft as a technical evangelist, where he spends time playing with all sorts of new technology and merrily saying under his breath, "I can’t believe people pay me to have this much fun!"

Alexandre Santos Lobão got his first computer in 1981, when he was 12, and immediately started to create simple games in BASIC. Since then, computers have evolved massively, and so has he. Graduating with a bachelor’s degree in computer science in 1991, Alexandre, together with six friends, founded that same year a company that came to be known as a synonym for high-quality services in Brasilia, Brazil: Hepta Informática. Besides his excellent work in many software development areas, from financial to telecommunication, he never forgot his first passion and has always worked as a nonprofessional game programmer. amateur game programming company founded by Craig Jardine. At the end of 2000, Alexandre started searching for new horizons and, leaving the company he helped to create, entered Microsoft as a consultant. Looking at the new and extremely interesting possibilities offered by the .NET Framework, he decided to take everything he’s learned over the last decade and apply it to this new development platform.

Ellen Hatton is a computer science undergraduate at Edinburgh University. She was exposed to computers at a very early age and has been fascinated with them ever since. Her first experience of computer games was playing Dread Dragon Doom, at which she quickly excelled at the age of 5. She’s been hooked on games ever since. <p>Ellen is not only interested in computers. She skis frequently, among other sports, and enjoys general student life in the bustling Scottish capital, Edinburgh. As her choice of degree suggests, Ellen still finds computers very interesting and is constantly looking for new challenges.

Product Details

• Paperback: 752 pages
• Publisher: Apress (February 2, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590593197
• ISBN-13: 978-1590593196
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #643,796 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good book; out-of-date samples., September 10, 2004

By	David R. Marrero "dmarrerox" (Indiana) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is well written, moves from simple to complex examples, and at a level at which intermediate level programmers can easily follow. The first game samples are based on GDI, and the latter ones on DirectX 9. HOWEVER, the samples have not been updated for the 2004 Summer Release of DirectX, so they are unusable without a lot of tweaking. Hopefully the authors will update the samples (which can be downloaded) to make the book more useable.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Introduction for People that know C#, May 9, 2004

By	Todd Spatafore "Spatacoli" (Mountain View, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I'm not sure the problem the previous reviewer had, but if you already know C# and want to dive into the world of Managed DirectX, this is a great recource.

I've been playing around with DX for about 4 years now so I have a head start in understanding the topic. I thought that the material was perfect for a beginner, and actually wished I had this book back when I was first learning. David clearly states in the introduction that your book isn't there to teach you WinForms and maybe that's the problem the previous reviewer had. If you already know C# this book is a great introduction to Managed DX programming. If you don't know C#, go buy a book on that first.

20 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I'm not a games dev at all, and I got a lot out of this book, September 13, 2004

By	Jason A. Salas (Dededo, Guam Guam) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The first program I ever wrote was in 1984, being a text-based, command-driven NBA basketball game on an Apple IIe in BASIC. My how games have progressed since. Having said that, I'm strictly a web developer, and from behind the comfortable confines of the web browser is about where my programming acumen begins and ends these days. But like most people my age (I'm 30) I grew up playing Nintendo and have long been a fan of video games.

Being a user and not a creator, I'd long wondered how such things were brought to life, and this book does a great job of showing just that for the newbie.

The code and concepts, despite the title, are fairly advanced, and not at all tutorial-driven, so not every line is described ad nauseum. So an open mind is needed to let it sink in. That having been said, the object-oriented nature and accessibility requirements for device hardware for modern video games is adequately described, with some very relevant games used as practical examples. The purpose of, need for, and uses with, Managed DirectX 9 is very nicely done.

The authors use a very friendly voice, and cite several well-known games as exhibits of the fundamentals they describe throughout the text. For example, a Tetris offshoot is described in the book's initial chapter, demonstrating how such a simple game is likely a lot more complex in its design that you might realize, but simultaneously not as laborious as one might think.

This book defines the major areas of concern for creating a great game, being that all elements within a good video game must exhibit some sort of (1) artificial intelligence, (2) spatial awareness, and (3) reactionary behavior in the event of collisions. I also now know I'll probably never be a good games developer, as one should be very patient, be really, really, really good at math, and use some pretty advanced OOP/OOD concepts to create a good game.

Now being aware of the number of skills needed, algorithms with which to be familiar, and areas that are more deeply covered in other specialized books, this book won't allow you to create the next Quake, Grand Theft Auto 3 or Super Mario World right off the bat - but it will get you started.