Game development books

General Discussions
#1

Hello folks!

Sorry if this is in wrong section but i didn’t know where to place the thread.

I have been thinking about investing in some new programming literature, the books i have been looking at are these 2:


http://www.amazon.co.uk/Game-Engine-Architecture-Jason-Gregory/dp/1568814135/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1303698352&sr=1-1

Now, i have not read anything from these two authors before, i see the reviews of them are quite good but im still a bit worried. I discovered Developing games in java from your resources thread but im worried that it might contain outdated information since it was released when java 1.4 was the latest build. You guys have surely read it, can you guys tell me if it still is a good book to study?

Also, does anyone know a book that touch the subject of programming strategy games?

Thanks :slight_smile:

//Kurten

#2

I have the Brackeen book. It’s actually pretty good, and the software you download from his website actually works (not something that can be said about every programming book!). The majority of the book describes the building of a software 3D engine. There are a few short chapters on 2D and networking also. The 3D engine is basic but functional but I seem to remember that the actual text didn’t describe enough of the engine, which made understanding it hard. I’d like to see a 2nd edition as I think it is one of the better Java games books out there.

#3

It explains how to make a software 3D engine?? Buys book

#4

Awesome, thanks for the reply ^^ Im not so sure if i should start with 3D just yet though, i kind of love just working with 2D for now haha xD Will look around a bit more and see if i can find a book that describes 2D programming ^^

#5

Sorry, I wasn’t clear. It does start with 2D programming and he actually develops a scrolling platformer. Very basic but all the essentials are there and it would definitely be possible to expand it into a Super Mario type of 2D game. He doesn’t use Opengl or anything fancy, just buffered images and Java2D I think.

#6

Killer Game Programming in Java is similar to Developing Games in Java. I’d suggest buying both.

#7

I have both (Developing Games in Java and Killer Game Programming) and recommend both.

#8

Ah, then i made a good choice in buying it ^^ I already have Killer game programming and have looked through it’s 2D examples a bit, but i thought i needed more examples to look through and experiment with :stuck_out_tongue: Once again, thanks for the help guys ^^