I am a beginner, but already this book is full of dog ears and is getting a real beating as I take it with me everywhere.
In other words, it's actually useful and has some great examples, not just of C++ code and how it works and how to use it, but every single example in the book has something to do with games. Just the section on random number generation alone is worth the price of admission, in my opinion, because it's a topic that is rarely covered in regular C++ programming books, however it's pretty much mandatory for games. Other topics include keeping track of a player's inventory using arrays, keeping track of units on the battlefield using vectors, and using iterators to manipulate data in arrays and vectors. It also goes into functions, parameters, classes and derivation and polymorphism.
The book starts off with your typical "Hello World!" app, but in this case it's the "Game Over!" app. While the first chapter is really easy, the author wastes no time in ramping up the complexity, throwing more and more concepts at you and by 1/3 of the way through the book, you really have to think and practice to keep up - if you are a beginner like me - but the effort is worthwhile. You may actually use some of the code in your own game, and you WILL learn the fundamentals of C++. The last chapter takes EVERYTHING you learned in the previous chapters and puts it all into one game: BlackJack. It's more complicated than you might think, and that is good!)
However, the book does have some drawbacks. Namely it's a beginning C++ book. There is no mention of mice, game controllers, 2d graphics, 3d graphics, OpenGL, DirectX, game engines, or the like. Also, there isn't any mention of how to save or retrieve files and data from a hard drive. All of the applications are console applications (basically a DOS-like window) so you are going to have to learn a lot more if you want to do games with any kind of graphics. Also, there is a appendix on how to set up your IDE and compiler, but it's not in the main text. (It takes a bit of work, but you'll get it).
Having said that, it is what it is, and what it is it does very well. You won't walk away from this book saying you didn't get a full primer on C++ that is directly applicable to game design. (The logic behind the graphics!)
The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because it doesn't go into saving or retrieving files, but other than that it's an excellent book to get you up to speed with real C++.
(Call it 4 1/2 stars. Bottom line: it's worth the money)
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Patrick Canney
Best review of this book, ever!!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 2, 2017
Patrick Canney
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 2, 2017
I've the 3rd edition of this fantastic book, and I was/am pretty much a noob. Sure, I have been following tech related stuff for years, know my way around a computer... but never really got into programming, or scripting. The book assumes you have zero knowledge on C++, or programming in general. So, if you expect anything other than a great primer book which teaches you the core concepts of C++ programming logic, using game related exercises that keep you focused on the pathway and reason why your decided to learning this flexible language to begin with, you may be disappointed. However, if your like me, someone who works 55 hour weeks milking cows, who wishes to one day make his own games, you've got the dedication, along with a few hours to spare a week, you will make great progress with this book. I've spent a little over a month learning the materials, really trying to understand the core concepts before rushing through the material, met the end of each chapter with discussion questions and exercises which I have taken the time to really dissect, and understand, before moving on. I am currently on Chapter 7, understand everything I've been taught by this book, and consider that a great achievement in itself. However, if you're a beginniner, and want to make anything other than text based games, you're going to be sorely disappointed. Before you run, you need to walk, and before you can walk, you need to crawl. Graphical programming, and SDL, are advanced topics that this book does not spend a great deal of time discussing WITH GOOD REASON. You will really need a solid grounding in C++ before you can move onto these topics, which this book is delivering in spades. This is not Complete C++ though Game Programming, and you will find it difficult to find a book which could do such a job. After this book, I will move onto a more intermediate level book, while also picking up something on OpenGL, Vulcan, or DirectX.
I have given it 5 stars for now, which I will review after completion. So far, the book has done everything I could have asked for in teaching me how to use C++ for creating basic data structures for Game Programming logic. If your are beginning c++ programming, this book is an excellent foundation to build upon. And that is exactly what we all need. The only thing I could suggest is check out the reviews for the Fourth edition. C++11/14 is the current standard, and C++17 is around the corner. It would be good practice to learn a current standard, however, it's not as important as just getting started, and getting stuck in!! Happy coding!
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