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Windows Game Programming For Dummies 1st Edition

by André LaMothe (Author)
4.3 out of 5 stars 207 customer reviews
ISBN-13: 978-0764503375
ISBN-10: 0764503375
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Product Details

  • Series: For Dummies
  • Paperback: 504 pages
  • Publisher: For Dummies; 1 edition (March 11, 1998)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0764503375
  • ISBN-13: 978-0764503375
  • Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 1.2 x 9.3 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (207 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,187,156 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 starsA Great Book to get your feet on the ground!
By Fredric H. Toms on April 13, 2000
Format: Paperback
An idiot who slapped the 1 - star rating on this book is, in fact, a dummy. You CANNOT expect to write any game without having C or C++ down. Before buying this book, make sure that you are strong in using pointers and such 'advanced' things found in the C language. Some Windows programming is nice, however, Andre LaMothe is able to explain it nicely in the pages that are in the book, without going into explicit detail (which is a good and a bad thing). If you want to learn how to write games using your C language, then this book is a very good one. It explains Direct X fully, although, it doesn't go into explicit detail. On a final note, this game teaches a lot in the pages that it houses. It teaches basic Windows Programming, DirectX, as well as Physics and AI. Don't expect to get an extremely detailed tutorial on each concept taught in the book. If you need every detail found in Win32 Programming, then head off and purchase Windows 98 Programming by Schildt. If you want to learn DirectX (no D3D..) by going into explicit detail, Inside DirectX is the way to go. However, if you want a brief and somewhat detailed tutorial of both (including many, many other aspects of game programming), you'll find that this book provides you with everything you need to know. However, don't expect to write ANYTHING 3d. Right now, after reading that book, I am able to program my own Secret of Mana type game. How many people can say that after reading a 480 page book?
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5.0 out of 5 starsMy 2nd Review of this book, it is that good.
By A Customer on May 27, 1999
Format: Paperback
This book is for programmers with a fair grasp of C; you should understand macros, pre-compiler directives and a little bit of Windows programming (IMHO).
This book is NOT for people who do not have some programming knowledge (basic understanding of C is REQUIRED)
Also this book does NOT use MFC or C++ for a very good reason. MFC adds too much overhead to game programming and since MOST games using DirectX run in fullscreen mode - MFC is USELESS for DirectX programming. C++ can also add a large amount of complexity for someone trying to LEARN game programming. While I prefer C++ myself the author chose the right language to write the samples in (why worry about inheritance relationships/polymorphism/templates etc when you dont have to :).
Many 'evil' reviewers (heh how COULD you give this book a bad rating) stated that this book focuses on Windows programming too much. Believe me that is a GOOD thing. It is amazing how much code is required just to print the text "Hello, World!" in Windows. The book gives a great overview of the NECESSARY and FUNDAMENTAL workings of the Windows API. You MUST read those sections if you have never programmed in Windows. It does help.
What Andre Lamothe does with the Windows API is build a game shell that handles all the Windows implementation details (messages etc), freeing you to work on game specific details and DirectX. He explains the characteristics of fonts, bitmaps and how Windows handles output using GDI (which leads to why DirectX is faster for games...read the book you'll get it :)
Some people have given this book bad reviews because the code samples are not done in C++ or by using the VC++ 6.0 APP wizard etc.Read more ›
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3.0 out of 5 starsBuy his "tricks of the 3d programming gurus" instead
By A Customer on June 24, 2001
Format: Paperback
Based on the amazon reviews, I purchased both this book and Andre's more recent tricks of the 3d programming gurus. His newer and much more detailed book covers everything in this book in more detail.
Both books are definitely excellent tools for learning the basics of game design. Game programming can be extremely difficult due to the real-time nature of the application. Because of this, a good game programmer knows how to write efficient code.
My suggestion to ANY aspiring game programmers is to learn C or C++. C++ is MUCH more difficult to learn due to the added complexities of Object Oriented Design. Get comfortable with dealing with data structures (such as arrays, linked lists, binary trees) because many times efficient code requires efficient management of data.
Once you have a grasp of the language, then move on to Andre's gurus book. The learning curve will be fairly steep at first as you try to understand windows programming, although you really only need to know how to design a basic shell to create a window and handle messages.
Andre's DirectX explanations are usefull, but VERY outdated. DirectX 8.0 marks a vast change in many areas as it seems to be becoming more openGL-like.
I would not suggest that anyone writing a game today use the older direct draw 2D methodology. Instead, you can utilize the added functionality of direct3D and get access to the 3D accelerator and still create a top-view or side-view game that appears 2D. What this means is that you're working in a 3D space (x,y and z coordinates) but placing all of your 3D objects on the x-y or x-z or y-z plane and using the third axis to view this 2D plane.
Get a hold of the DirectX 8.0 SDK from the msn website.Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starsEXCELLENT book for beginning Windows game programmers
By aaron wittenberg on October 19, 1999
Format: Paperback
I'm not going to bother writing another review and include all the different things that are in this book. There are enough reviews about that. As the description says, he covers the Windows basics, sound, input, graphics manipulation, AI, physics, and much more.
One thing I would like to make absolutely clear. I own all of Andre's other books, and whenever I read reviews of them, they all seem to have several people saying one thing in common. Simply put, these people say "I knew NOTHING AT ALL about programming, and I read 4 pages of his book and was not able to write my own DOOM game. This book sucks!!!"
COME ON PEOPLE!!! That is like expecting your FIRST EVER driving lesson to make you an expert. Or taking ONE class on auto mechanics and expecting to be an ASE certified tech. It isn't going to happen.
Get real. He openly says you MUST have some basic knowledge of C. The book does not suck because some people refuse to learn. I own SEVERAL assembly language books, beginner to advanced. Most of the advanced makes no sense. Did I write reviews and say it sucks? No. It doesn't suck because I refuse to learn and expect everything to be given to me like some of these reviewers.
Windows Game Programming for Dummies is an excellent book for ANYBODY new to programming. Put it this way: I have NEVER, EVER written anything for Windows. I used an old Borland C++ 3.1 for Windows compiler, took Andre's first example, changed one variable, and made it work. If it hadn't been for Andre, I wouldn't have ever tried to program in Windows.
This book makes it so easy. If you have read his previous books, but gave them a bad review (for whatever reason), give this one a shot.Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

This is probably (for it's time) the best intro to DirectX programming you can find.

Published 20 months ago by Bennett
5.0 out of 5 starsFabulous

Exactly what my son was looking for. Recommend this book to anyone interesting in learning about game programming. Very understandable.

Published on May 9, 2013 by Jean M. Hurley
5.0 out of 5 starsNice Book

Yes, it is a carefully written and exhaustive attempt to show the reader the foundations of how to program simple games using Windows. Read more

Published on March 15, 2013 by Timothy Puccetti
4.0 out of 5 starsGames Programing

Good book, a word of caution you do need some other code experience before tackling this. I'bought this for my son and he seems to be able to grasp all the concepts well.

Published on May 8, 2012 by TheNun
5.0 out of 5 starsVERY GOOD FOR A BEGINNER

A YEAR AGO I STARTED TEACHING MYSELF C++ AND WHEN I GOT COMFORTABLE WITH THAT I BEGIN LEARNING ABOUT GRAPHICS AND INPUT, I TRIED MANY DIFFERENT GAME PROGRAMMING BOOKS FOR BEGINNERS... Read more

Published on October 8, 2011 by howg
5.0 out of 5 starsThis, plus C++ For Dummies, = great programming coming your way!

I may have limited knowledge of Game programming, but, this book is the best. Buy this book, along with C++ for dummies, and you get TWO books, AND two CDs that come with SDK's,... Read more

Published on December 29, 2008 by Susan K. Presnell
3.0 out of 5 starsSo-So book, but you better have your comp with ya

This book does have some good parts to it and would be a great starting point to people wanting to get into games. Read more

Published on June 25, 2006 by T. Hanson
4.0 out of 5 starsTo all who don't have a clue about Mr. LaMothe

As S. Randall pointed out, some reviewers claim that "Andre is not a real programmer" and made other comments like:

"If you want to write games, develop a solid... Read more

Published on May 23, 2006 by AustinGameMaker
4.0 out of 5 starsFor the Naysayers:

There are many reviewers here who claim Andre Lamothe is not a real programmer, just a guy with a book deal. This cannot be farther from the truth. Read more

Published on March 21, 2005 by S. Randall
5.0 out of 5 starsOne of the best books on this subject

This book is one of the best books about game programming. Even as a newbie you have a good and easy way to learn a lot about game programming, you don't need much pre-knowledge. Read more

Published on September 24, 2004 by JkerryZ

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