Showing posts with label game development. Show all posts
Showing posts with label game development. Show all posts

Graphics Gems V (IBM Version) (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Computer Graphics) (No. 5) Review

Graphics Gems V (IBM Version) (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Computer Graphics) (No. 5)
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Graphics Gems V (IBM Version) (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Computer Graphics) (No. 5) ReviewI'm the archivist for the free Graphics Gems code base on the web. I do it for free, because this code is so valuable. Others think so, too: there is an average of 100 hits a day on the site. Go look at the online list of what's in this volume to see if it's for you.
Highlights (for me) include polygon/cube intersection testing, a good polygon triangulator, and an entire z-buffering library.Graphics Gems V (IBM Version) (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Computer Graphics) (No. 5) OverviewGraphics Gems V is the newest volume in The Graphics Gems Series.It is intended to provide the graphics community with a set of practical tools for implementing new ideas and techniques, and to offer working solutions to real programming problems.These tools are written by a wide variety of graphics programmers from industry, academia, and research.The books in the series have become essential, time-saving tools for many programmers.Key Features* Latest collection of graphics tips in The Graphics Gems Series written by the leading programmers in the field* Contains over 50 new gems displaying some of the most recent and innovative techniques in graphics programming* Includes gems covering ellipses, splines, Bezier curves, and ray tracing* Disk included containing source code from the gems available in both IBM and Macintosh versions

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The Visualization Toolkit: An Object-Oriented Approach to 3-D Graphics (2nd Edition) Review

The Visualization Toolkit: An Object-Oriented Approach to 3-D Graphics (2nd Edition)
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The Visualization Toolkit: An Object-Oriented Approach to 3-D Graphics (2nd Edition) ReviewThis book is poorly titled, because it discusses the algorithms and techniques of visualization much more than the use of the Visualization Toolkit software. However, it is a good introduction to scientific visualization, and the free software included on the CD is an extremely powerful and useful tool. However, if you only wish to learn to use the software, The Visualization Toolkit User's Guide would be much more appropriate for you.The Visualization Toolkit: An Object-Oriented Approach to 3-D Graphics (2nd Edition) Overview95469-3 All you need to build state-of-the-art 3D visualization applications! From weather maps to MRIs, from marketing to finance, 3D visualization technology is revolutionizing the way information is delivered. And the revolution has just begun. Breakthrough tools like the Visualization Toolkit (vtk) Release 2.0 make visualization more practical and powerful than ever. This book delivers all you need to start building your own visualization applications: A complete introduction to visualization architectures and image processing algorithms-including essential algorithms for contouring, surface smoothing, cutting, slicing, decimation, and Delaunay triangulation:*An extensive collection of real-world case studies. *A working architecture and software design techniques for applying visualization to business and technical problems. *The complete vtk Release 2.0 software tools-complete C++ class libraries and source code for visualization, plus Tcl-based prototyping libraries and Java bindings...all the software you need for Win95/NT, Solaris, HP-UX, Digital UNIX, and IBM AIX!Learn how to leverage the power of vtk 2.0 to:*Build Web-based 3D visualization applications that take advantage of VRML, Java and Java3D.*Use volume rendering, which allows you to "see into" 3D datasets. *Use vtk's new 2D imaging pipeline to manipulate, display and combine 2D images into 3D datasets for further processing-and much more.Advanced 3D visualization is now practical in an unprecedented range of applications. If you're a C++, Java or Tcl/Tk programmer, you need to understand these tools and technologies. Now's the time - and there's no better place to start than The Visualization Toolkit.

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AI Game Programming Wisdom 4 (AI Game Programming Wisdom (W/CD)) Review

AI Game Programming Wisdom 4 (AI Game Programming Wisdom (W/CD))
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AI Game Programming Wisdom 4 (AI Game Programming Wisdom (W/CD)) ReviewThis is a great reference if you're in need of architectural or conceptual advice regarding AIs. It's not "learn AI in 24 hours" type of book, the reader is assumed to posses substantial knowledge of programming, as implementations aren't usually explained - this is a good thing, because it means there's more pure knowledge inside. (There's a CD with implementations and some sources.)AI Game Programming Wisdom 4 (AI Game Programming Wisdom (W/CD)) OverviewWelcome to the latest volume of AI Game Programming Wisdom! AI Game Programming Wisdom 4 includes a collection of more than 50 new articles featuring cutting-edge techniques, algorithms, and architectures written by industry professionals for use in commercial game development. Organized into 7 sections, this comprehensive volume explores every important aspect of AI programming to help you develop and expand your own personal AI toolbox. You'll find ready-to-use ideas, algorithms, and code in all key AI areas including general wisdom, scripting and dialogue, movement and pathfinding, architecture, tactics and planning, genre specific, and learning and adaptation. New to this volume are articles on recent advances in realistic agent, squad, and vehicle movement, as well as dynamically changing terrain, as exemplified in such popular games as Company of Heroes.You'll also find information on planning as a key game architecture, as well as important new advances in learning algorithms and player modeling. AI Game Programming Wisdom 4 features coverage of multiprocessor architectures, Bayesian networks, planning architectures, conversational AI, reinforcement learning, and player modeling.These valuable and innovative insights and issues offer the possibility of new game AI experiences and will undoubtedly contribute to taking the games of tomorrow to the next level.

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Game Engine Gems 2 Review

Game Engine Gems 2
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Game Engine Gems 2 ReviewOnce you get past the initial hump of learning how to program, you need to learn how to program games.
Even if you've been in the business for many years, you may have ended up seeing one, two, or if you're lucky, three different game engines from the inside.
However, this book ties together various nuggets from literally dozens of different game engines, written by the engineers who worked on those engines.
Some gems will not work well with your current game, others may be just what you need -- however, the real value comes from the education and the illumination of different approaches to solving common problems in game development.
Reading a book like this is an invaluable way to grow as a game engine programmer.
Disclaimer: I wrote one of the gems, so if you buy this book, I will earn about three cents. That's not why I think you should buy this book -- I think you should buy this book because it will truly expand your game development horizons! That's also why I contributed in the first place, and I think Eric has done a great job of editing and putting it all together.
Game Engine Gems 2 OverviewThis book, the second volume in the popular Game Engine Gems series, contains short articles that focus on a particular technique, describe a clever trick, or offer practical advice within the subject of game engine development. The 31 chapters cover three broad categories--graphics and rendering, game engine design, and systems programming. Professional game developers, students of game development and computer science, and anyone interested in learning how the pros tackle specific problems that arise during game engine development will find useful gems in this collection.Supplementary materials, including demos, source code, examples, specifications, and more can be found at gameenginegems.net.

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Introduction to Game Development, Second Edition Review

Introduction to Game Development, Second Edition
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Introduction to Game Development, Second Edition ReviewFirst of all, for those that think that this book is about game programming: it is not (just to let some of you guys warned).
Now... the book is VERY good for what it proposes itself: a introduction to the process of game development. Like stated on the book description ,it might be used as a text book for a introductory course. It covers all parts of the game development process, from designing to shipment, considering legal issues, such as IP, Copyrights and Trademarks, and development issues like engine programming, model creations, sound, etc.
The book is divided in seven parts:
Part 1 - Critical Game studies: This is an overview of the whole history and concept behind games. It covers the historic of games (where we came from, and to where are we going), social issues, and (my personal favorite) ludology for game development. This is a whole chapter dedicated to discuss what is fun, and how to achieve it. This chapter really made me think about a couple of things :).
Part 2 - Game Design: Expanding on the last chapter of part 1, here is explained HOW to make games fun. Issues like multiple choices, types of fun, characterization of games and such are all presented here.
Part 3 - Game programming: Languages and architecture: To me, this part didn't bring much new stuff (then again, i'm doing a PhD in computer science, so i have experience in programming). But i recognize some VERY interesting points, and possibilities shown in the first chapters. In special, the chapter that talks about Flash and Action script really got my attention.
The latter chapters about debugging, game architecture and memory I/O, are VERY interesting and offered me many insights about the game development process and needed technology.
Part 4 - Game programming: Math, Collision detection and Physics: Despite the title this part will not teach you how to implement these things in your game (well... not directly). This chapters will give a "brief" introduction about each of the topics mentioned. But be aware, while "introductory", some parts can get really complicated (like the physics part).
Part 5 - Game programming: Graphics, animation, AI, Audio and Networking: Again, lots of interesting stuff here. The chapter about graphics and animation really got me confused at some parts :)
The AI chapters are REALLY cool, and give you some interesting concepts. The only part of the book i think that lacks something is that chapter about networking: it just talks about architecture, no much about programming (but then again, i was already well versed in this topic).
Part 6 - Audio visual design and production: Ok, so we have programmers, but what about the rest?
This part describes lots of technics and areas of expertise that i didn't even know that existed :)
Musicians, composers, modelers, texturers... everything is described here.
Part 7 - Game production and the business of game: Another VERY interesting part. With tons of infos from the people already familiar with the industry. What is publisher, how to get one, why do your game costs 50 bucks when it goes to the shelves, what is Intellectual Property, how to assures yours, how to sell your game... everything is described here.As you can see, this is book that covers a lot of ground. And one of its features that i find more interesting are the references in each chapter.
While the book just gives an introduction, the references allow the interested ones to go look in depth for a specific topic that might interest them.
Introduction to Game Development, Second Edition OverviewWelcome to Introduction to Game Development, Second Edition, the new edition of the book that combines the wisdom and expertise of more than twenty game industry professionals to give you a unique introduction to all aspects of game development, from design to programming to business and production. Organized around the curriculum guidelines of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA), the book is divided into seven independent sections, each featuring articles written by the experts on those topics. Suitable for both an introductory game development course or as a reference for game developers and designers, the book offers coverage of all the key concepts and ideas that encompass game development, while providing real-life examples and practical insight. Fully revised for today's technology, this second edition features an expanded section on game design, a new chapter on game writing and interactive storytelling, and much more. And the accompanying CD-ROM contains all the source code, demos, art files, and other materials referenced throughout the book. Introduction to Game Development, Second Edition is a must-have resource for anyone who wants to understand the entire game development process.

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Ultimate Game Programming with DirectX Review

Ultimate Game Programming with DirectX
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Ultimate Game Programming with DirectX ReviewJust to establish my own credentials - I'm a game developer with 5 published titles under my belt including Master of Orion 3, Kohan 2, Axis & Allies, and two Zoo Tycoon 2 games.
I was asked on very short notice to teach a Game Development class at a local college. So off I went to Borders to find a textbook. After some digging, this is what I picked out. The features that recommended it to me where that it included the source code, and over the course of the book it promised to build a fully functional game.
Here's what I found instead:
* I would guess from his terminology that the author has never worked at a game company. He just doesn't know the lingo - or he's worked somewhere so remote from my own experience that his lingo is completely different. Also, based on the quality of his code and the quality of the resulting game, he wouldn't survive a second at any game company out there. He wouldn't make it past the phone interview. If you are considering a career in game development, do NOT follow this person's example or you won't even get in the door.
* The code is the most horribly written I have ever seen. I would expect better out of anyone who has ever taken any sort of class on object oriented programming - or worked on any sort of project employing more than one person. The best way to describe it is poorly written C code written in C++. The spacing is non-standard. That variable names are horrible. For many of the programs, it's all in the main.cpp file. Global variables everywhere. Hardly any use of classes, and where they are used they are monolithic and poorly designed. Ugh.
* The book is frequently innaccurate. It needs an errata list badly - but if there is one, I haven't been able to find it. For example, in chapter 1 he tells you that you only need 1 line of code to enable z-buffering. After talking to colleagues and looking on the web, I was able to get this to work (I'm an AI guy, not a graphics guy) - but he was missing 4 of the 5 lines needed to make it happen.
* The book also tends to be incredibly light on details. It tells you the DirectX functions you need to call (mostly) and the specific values to plug in - but not what the functions do, or what the other possible values for their paramaters are, or how the parameters affect the output. The style of the writing is also incredibly informal - it sounds like something written by a 10th grader. Granted, if the quality of the content was solid I wouldn't care about this - but added to the poor content it makes the whole thing feel unprofessional.
* The quality of the final game is what I would expect out of a high school project (at best). The collision detection is horrifically buggy. The characters don't animate or move at all (although my understanding from looking at the book is that they're supposed to). The code won't compile under VS2005, only VS2003. It also won't run without a game controller plugged in to the computer - but it doesn't appear to actually use the game controller. He's been promising since the book came out to post the fixes for those last two problems on his web site, but I couldn't find them.
All in all, this book is an embarassment. I'm sorry I made my students spend the money on it - and now I'm scrambling to find material to teach my class, because this book hasn't delivered anything close to what it promised.Ultimate Game Programming with DirectX OverviewMake your own games using DirectX 10 and C++ with Ultimate Game Programming with DirectX, Second Edition. Written for experienced programmers who want to learn DirectX 10 and how to apply it to game creation, this book goes in-depth with DirectX 10 and each of its subsystems. Every part of the gamedevelopment process is covered and you'll apply your existing game-development skills to the new techniques and tools covered in the book. Beginning with an introduction to DirectX and Direct3D, you'll work your way through graphical interfaces, animation paths,advanced lighting and shadows,various surfacemapping techniques, and even sound. One topic is covered per chapter and end-of-chapter questions help you practice and reinforce your new skills.Whether you're a current gamedevelopment student or a professional developer, you'll find the information and techniques you need to gain a clear understanding of game programming with DirectX 10.

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Game Engine Architecture Review

Game Engine Architecture
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Game Engine Architecture ReviewJason Gregory's book offers a 10,000-foot view of game engine architecture, covering every system found in modern game engines, and detailing how those systems interact. It details the subjects at a level easily understood by anyone with a modest level of programming experience -- even non-programmers can gain a solid understanding of engine design from the book. This would make a great first book for anyone interested in programming game engines, either as a hobby or a future career.
However, it is important to clarify the limits of the book. I do not consider this to be a programming book, since it does not present the material at a sufficiently low-level that would permit an inexperienced programmer to implement a game engine from the ground-up. It describes how the algorithms work in enough detail that you can understand the idea, but does not present complete code examples that would demonstrate exactly how the algorithms would be implemented. There are occasional code snippets, and brief examples from engines like Ogre, Unreal, and idtech. But most of the content is entirely prose.
Experienced programmers/game devs have the coding background to implement many of the designs described in the book from the level at which they are presented. But neophyte programmers will not find enough details in this book to implement a full game engine on their own. However, no one book could do an adequate job of detailing how to implement an entire game engine: learning to program a game engine from the ground-up requires a very large stack of books (especially for physics and AI). So it would be unfair to fault this book for what it is not.
The value of the book is in providing clear, prose descriptions of the functional blocks found in a game engine, covering alternate ways different engines implement certain features, and cross-referencing how those blocks interact.
Another positive is that the book benefits from a mature writing style. Unlike the "Oh wow! Cool! Dude! Whew, math is hard! {BG}" style of writing inflicted upon many intro/for-teens books, this book can be read by adults (and most teens) without any undue eye-rolling due to bad writing. Which, sad to say, is why I feel inclined to remark on this point. Granted, this book was written for a course a SoCal, so a more mature writing still is required. I do wish more games-related books would follow this convention, instead of assuming the reader is mentally bereft or a pre-teen.Game Engine Architecture OverviewA 2009 Game Developer Magazine Front Line Award Finalist, this book covers both the theory and practice of game engine software development, bringing together complete coverage of a wide range of topics. The concepts and techniques described are the actual ones used by real game studios like Electronic Arts and Naughty Dog. The examples are often grounded in specific technologies, but the discussion extends way beyond any particular engine or API. The references and citations make it a great jumping off point for those who wish to dig deeper into any particular aspect of the game development process. Intended as the text for a college level series in game programming, this book can also be used by amateur software engineers, hobbyists, self-taught game programmers, and existing members of the game industry. Junior game engineers can use it to solidify their understanding of game technology and engine architecture. Even senior engineers who specialize in one particular field of game development can benefit from the bigger picture presented in these pages.

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Game Development Tools Review

Game Development Tools
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Game Development Tools ReviewGame Development Tools deserves ongoing recommendation for any collection catering to professional game developers, and offers the latest research on tools development. It's the first in-depth coverage of game tools and offers guidelines, applications of tools, and assessments of third-party applications for game developers seeking specific, advanced insights. From building pipelines to GPU debugging using NVIDIA's Parallel Nsight, this packs in details to help game and graphics programmers create better games in less time.
Game Development Tools OverviewThis book brings the insights of game professionals, DCC creators, hardware vendors, and current researchers together into a collection that focuses on the most underrepresented and critical part of game production: tools development. The first gems-type book dedicated to game tools, this volume focuses on practical, implementable tools for game development professionals. Topics range from asset tracking to improving remote version control performance to robust and efficient IO. Technical artists, as well as game play, audio, and graphics programmers will find new tools to improve work flow and help build games faster.

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