Sams Teach Yourself Game... | Buy

Sams Teach Yourself Game Programming in 24 Hoursdemystifies game programming by providing clear, practical lessons using C/C++, the industry standard in game programming. The book focuses on the Windows API to construct games for the Windows platform and discusses game theory, including double-buffered graphics, sprite animation, and digitized sound effects and music. A fully functional game engine provides readers with the ability to create their own future games.

Michael Morrison is a writer, developer, toy inventor, and author

Introduction	p. 1
Getting Started	p. 5
Learning the Basics of Game Creation	p. 7
Getting to Know Video Games	p. 8
Game Design Essentials	p. 11
Object-Oriented Programming and Games	p. 17
Exploring the Tools of the Trade	p. 20
A Windows Game Programming Primer	p. 25
Windows Programming Essentials	p. 26
Peeking Inside a Windows Program	p. 30
Building the Skeleton Example Program	p. 37
Creating an Engine for Games	p. 45
What Is a Game Engine?	p. 46
Pondering the Role of a Game Engine	p. 47
Developing a Game Engine	p. 50
Building the Game Skeleton Example Program	p. 60
Learning to Draw Basic Graphics	p. 69
Graphics Essentials	p. 70
Examining Graphics in Windows	p. 73
Painting Windows	p. 76
Building the Trippy Example Program	p. 84
Drawing Graphical Images	p. 91
The Basics of Bitmap Images	p. 92
Peeking Inside a Bitmap	p. 93
Developing a Bitmap Class	p. 94
Building the Slideshow Example Program	p. 99
Interacting with Game Players	p. 111
Controlling Games with the Keyboard and Mouse	p. 113
Gaming and User Input	p. 114
Taking a Look at User Input Devices	p. 115
Assessing Keyboard Input for Games	p. 118
Tracking the Mouse	p. 119
Revamping the Game Engine for Input	p. 121
Building the UFO Program Example	p. 126
Improving Input with Joysticks	p. 135
Joystick Basics	p. 136
Calibrating Joysticks	p. 137
Tracking Joystick Movements	p. 140
Revamping the Game Engine for Joysticks	p. 143
Building the UFO 2 Program Example	p. 148
Example Game: Brainiac	p. 155
How Does the Game Play?	p. 156
Designing the Game	p. 157
Building the Game	p. 158
Testing the Game	p. 165
Animating Games with Sprites	p. 171
A Crash Course in Game Animation	p. 173
What Is Animation?	p. 174
2D Versus 3D Animation	p. 176
Types of 2D Animation	p. 176
Applying Animation in Games	p. 182
Making Things Move with Sprites	p. 185
Evaluating the Role of Sprites in Games	p. 186
Designing an All-Purpose Sprite	p. 186
Creating the Sprite Class	p. 188
Building the Fore Program Example	p. 195
Managing a World of Sprites	p. 205
Assessing the Need for Sprite Management	p. 206
Designing a Sprite Manager	p. 207
Adding the Sprite Manager to the Game Engine	p. 208
Eliminating Flicker with Double Buffering	p. 214
Building the Fore 2 Program Example	p. 217
Example Game: Henway	p. 225
How Does the Game Play?	p. 226
Designing the Game	p. 228
Building the Game	p. 229
Testing the Game	p. 239
Making Noise with Sound and Music	p. 243
Getting Acquainted with Digital Sound and Music	p. 245
Understanding Digital Sound	p. 246
Getting to Know Windows Waves	p. 248
Feeling the Music with MIDI	p. 249
Exploring Sound Tools	p. 251
Creating and Editing Sounds	p. 252
Finding Sounds and Music	p. 253
Playing Wave Sounds	p. 257
Accessing Wave Sounds	p. 258
Playing Wave Sounds	p. 258
Building the Brainiac 2 Program Example	p. 262
Playing MIDI Music	p. 271
Understanding the Windows Media Control Interface	p. 272
Using the MCI to Play MIDI Music	p. 272
Adding MIDI Music Support to the Game Engine	p. 276
Building the Henway 2 Program Example	p. 278
Example Game: Battle Office	p. 287
How Does the Game Play?	p. 288
Designing the Game	p. 288
Building the Game	p. 291
Testing the Game	p. 302
Taking Animation to the Next Level	p. 307
Animating the Appearance of Sprites	p. 309
Frame Animation Revisited	p. 310
Designing an Animated Sprite	p. 311
Adding Animated Sprite Support to the Game Engine	p. 313
Building the Battle Office 2 Program Example	p. 318
Creating Backgrounds for Your Sprites	p. 323
Assessing the Significance of Game Backgrounds	p. 324
Understanding the Types of Game Backgrounds	p. 325
Adding Background Support to the Game Engine	p. 328
Building the Roids Program Example	p. 334
Example Game: Meteor Defense	p. 341
How Does the Game Play?	p. 342
Designing the Game	p. 342
Enhancing Sprites in the Game Engine	p. 345
Building the Game	p. 348
Testing the Game	p. 359
Adding Brains to Your Games	p. 365
Teaching Games to Think	p. 367
Understanding Artificial Intelligence	p. 368
Exploring Types of Game AI	p. 370
Developing an AI Strategy	p. 376
Building the Roids 2 Program Example	p. 377
Example Game: Space Out	p. 385
How Does the Game Play?	p. 386
Designing the Game	p. 386
Adding One Last Sprite Feature to the Game Engine	p. 389
Building the Game	p. 391
Testing the Game	p. 405
Spicing up Your Games	p. 411
Adding Pizzazz to Your Game with a Splash Screen	p. 413
The Importance of a Splash Screen	p. 414
Looking Behind a Splash Screen	p. 415
Building the Space Out 2 Game	p. 416
Showing Off Your Game with Demo Mode	p. 423
What Is Demo Mode?	p. 424
The Nuts and Bolts of Demo Mode	p. 424
Building the Space Out 3 Game	p. 425
Keeping Track of High Scores	p. 437
The Significance of Keeping Score	p. 438
Modeling High Score Data	p. 439
Storing and Retrieving High Score Data	p. 439
Building the Space Out 4 Game	p. 442
Appendixes	p. 455
Quiz Answers	p. 457
"Learning the Basics of Game Creation"	p. 457
"A Windows Game Programming Primer"	p. 458
"Creating an Engine for Games"	p. 458
"Learning to Draw Basic Graphics"	p. 458
"Drawing Graphical Images"	p. 459
"Controlling Games with the Keyboard and Mouse"	p. 459
"Improving Input with Joysticks"	p. 459
"Example Game: Brainiac"	p. 460
"A Crash Course in Game Animation"	p. 460
"Making Things Move with Sprites"	p. 460
"Managing a World of Sprites"	p. 461
"Example Game: Henway"	p. 461
"Getting Acquainted with Digital Sound and Music"	p. 461
"Playing Wave Sounds"	p. 462
"Playing MIDI Music"	p. 462
"Example Game: Battle Office"	p. 462
"Animating the Appearance of Sprites"	p. 463
"Creating Backgrounds for Your Sprites"	p. 463
"Example Game: Meteor Defense"	p. 463
"Teaching Games to Think"	p. 464
"Example Game: Space Out"	p. 464
"Adding Pizzazz to Your Game with a Splash Screen"	p. 465
"Showing Off Your Game with Demo Mode"	p. 465
"Keeping Track of High Scores"	p. 465
Selecting a Game Development Tool	p. 467
Microsoft Visual C++	p. 468
Borland C++Builder	p. 469
Bloodshed Dev-C++	p. 469
DJGPP	p. 469
Index	p. 471
Table of Contents provided by Syndetics. All Rights Reserved.

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