Beginning 3D Game Programming

by Miller, Tom

• ISBN13: 9780672326615
• ISBN10: 0672326612
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-12-03
• Publisher: Sams Publishing

Summary

There are many programming hobbyists who write 2D games but there are far fewer that grasp the concepts of 3D programming. Although there are also quite a few game development books on the market, few deal with 3D game development. Those that do are mainly aimed at advanced readers. This book will provide a practical, example driven approach to learning the unique art of 3D Game Development that even the beginner can grasp. It wont get bogged down in page after page of boring theory but instead will teach through many interesting hands on examples. Tom Miller brings years and years of 3D game programming to the table and couples that with an engaging writing style to mentor readers in the intricacies of game development. The book starts out with a crash course in game programming concepts and then progresses into developing 3 different types of games with many useful tips, notes, and cautions along the way. This title will serve as a useful guide to either current 2D game developers or programmers that want to learn to program games.

Author Biography

Beginning 3D Game Programming About the Author

Tom Miller is the designer and development lead for the Managed DirectX API. He has worked at Microsoft since 1997 where he started on the Visual Basic team before his love of games and game programming took him to the DirectX team. He has been with the DirectX team since late 1999, and has worked to bring the DirectX API (and game programming in general) to a wider audience. He has also written the definitive book on the Managed DirectX libraries to date.

© Copyright Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

Table of Contents

Introduction	1	(1)
So You Want to be a Game Developer	1	(1)
Who Should Read This Book?	1	(1)
Why Would I Want to Use the .NET Framework	2	(1)
Why This Book?	3	(4)
Part I: Introduction to Microsoft .NET
Game Development and Managed Code	7	(18)
What Is .NET?	7	(2)
What Is Managed Code?	9	(1)
Writing Code with the Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003 IDE	10	(4)
The C# Code	11	(2)
The VB .NET Code	13	(1)
Compiling .NET Code on the Command Line	14	(1)
Introducing Game Development	15	(1)
The Developers	15	(2)
The Process	17	(1)
The Tools	18	(4)
Summary	22	(3)
Part II: Introducing Graphics, Game 1
Planning Your First Game	25	(10)
Coming Up with the Game Idea	25	(3)
Detailing the Proposal	26	(2)
Understanding the Need for a 3D Game	28	(5)
The Specification	33	(1)
Summary	34	(1)
Understanding the Sample Framework	35	(16)
Creating Your Project	35	(6)
Enumerating All Device Options	41	(8)
Summary	49	(2)
Show Something Onscreen!	51	(18)
Creating Your Device	51	(8)
Time to Render	59	(2)
Loading and Rendering a Mesh	61	(3)
Adding a Camera to Your Scene	64	(4)
Summary	68	(1)
Finishing Up the Support Code	69	(22)
Understanding the High-Resolution Timer	69	(6)
Handling Lost Devices	75	(2)
Adding Frame Rate Output	77	(3)
Designing a UI Screen	80	(8)
Designing a Button	88	(2)
Summary	90	(1)
Implementing the User Interface	91	(22)
Designing the Main Menu	91	(6)
Plugging into the Game Engine	97	(3)
Selecting Your Character (Loopy)	100	(7)
Updating the Game Engine with This New Screen	107	(4)
Summary	111	(2)
Implementing the Player and Blocks	113	(16)
Writing the Player Object	113	(9)
Moving the Player	117	(5)
Designing the Blocks	122	(6)
Summary	128	(1)
Implementing the Level Object	129	(14)
Implementing the Level	129	(6)
Controlling Player Movement	135	(3)
Handling Level Updates	138	(4)
Summary	142	(1)
Putting the Pieces Together	143	(20)
Including the Player	143	(4)
Hooking Up the Level	147	(4)
Implementing the Quit Screen	151	(4)
Finishing Up	155	(5)
Summary	160	(3)
Part III: Basic Math Principles
A Quick 3D-Math Primer	163	(18)
2D? 3D? What Are You Talking About?	163	(3)
Left-handed? Right-handed?	165	(1)
Using These 3D Points	166	(1)
Manipulating 3D Objects	167	(4)
Translating (Moving) Objects	168	(1)
Scaling	168	(1)
Rotation	169	(1)
Coordinate Systems	169	(2)
Math Structures	171	(1)
Vectors	171	(3)
Matrices	174	(4)
Summary	178	(3)
Part IV: Intermediate Graphics, Peer to Peer Networking, Game 2
Now Let's Really Get Started	181	(14)
Tankers---The Next Game Idea	181	(3)
Detailing the Proposal	182	(2)
Creating the Tankers Project	184	(6)
Getting the Project Rendering	190	(1)
Building an Object Pool for Textures	191	(3)
Summary	194	(1)
Developing a More Advanced User Interface	195	(22)
Using Blockers Base Classes	195	(6)
Adding New Base Classes	201	(3)
Implementing the Main Screen	204	(7)
Rendering Your 3D Model with Your User Interface	211	(4)
Summary	215	(2)
Rendering a Realistic Tank	217	(18)
Understanding a Mesh Hierarchy	217	(3)
Loading a Tank Hierarchy	220	(3)
Rendering a Mesh Hierarchy	223	(2)
Manipulating the Tanks	225	(3)
Tank Properties	228	(2)
Creating the Camera Class	230	(4)
Summary	234	(1)
The Sky? A Level? The Player!	235	(24)
A World Without a Sky Would Be Black	235	(4)
You Have a Sky, but the Tank Can't Drive There	239	(2)
Someone Has to Control the Tanks	241	(8)
IMoveableObject Indeed	249	(6)
A Basic Collision Detection	255	(3)
Summary	258	(1)
Ready. Aim. Fire!	259	(16)
Implementing the Ammunition Class	259	(7)
A Bullets Collection	266	(2)
Finishing Up the Player	268	(2)
Adding Sound	270	(3)
Summary	273	(2)
Playing Alone Isn't Fun	275	(18)
Using DirectPlay	275	(7)
Hosting the Session	282	(2)
Joining the Session	284	(1)
The Event Handlers	285	(3)
Sending and Receiving Data	288	(4)
Cleaning Up Resources	292	(1)
Summary	292	(1)
Finally, Finishing Tankers	293	(12)
Plugging into the Game Engine	293	(7)
Rendering the Game	300	(2)
Summary	302	(3)
Part V: Advanced Graphics, Client/Server Networking, Game 3
Adding Special Effects	305	(14)
Implementing a Basic Particle System	305	(9)
Rendering the Particle System	314	(3)
Putting the Pieces Together	317	(1)
Summary	318	(1)
Building Your Own Game	319	(14)
Formulating the Idea	319	(2)
Creating Your Project	321	(7)
Designing the User Interface	328	(4)
Summary	332	(1)
The Programmable Pipeline	333	(16)
Defining the Programmable Pipeline	333	(2)
Using HLSL	335	(2)
Writing a Vertex Shader	337	(5)
Declaring Variables in HLSL and Intrinsic Types	339	(3)
Adding Realism Using Shading	342	(2)
Adding the Pixel Shader	344	(3)
Summary	347	(2)
Controlling the Level of Detail	349	(8)
Simplifying a Mesh	349	(4)
Using a Simplification Mesh	353	(2)
Controlling the Level of Detail Using a Progressive Mesh	355	(1)
Summary	356	(1)
Using Render Targets for Effects	357	(12)
Rendering a Track and Multiple Go-Karts	357	(6)
Creating Render Targets and Surfaces	363	(2)
Rendering a Scene to a Render Target	365	(1)
Displaying the Rear-View Mirror	366	(1)
Summary	367	(2)
Understanding the High-Level Shader Language	369	(10)
Understanding Limits on Older Shader Models	369	(1)
Adding Specular Highlights to Kart	370	(4)
Making Specular Highlights Per Pixel	374	(3)
Summary	377	(2)
Performance Considerations	379	(10)
The Event Model and Managed DirectX	379	(2)
Native Assembly Generation	381	(1)
The Horrors of Boxing	382	(2)
The Speed of Managed DirectX	384	(1)
Understanding the Cost of Methods	385	(1)
Summary	386	(3)
Part VI: Appendix
Appendix A: Developing a Level Creator	389	(8)
Writing the Level Creator	389	(8)
Index	397

Excerpts

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