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Author : Luke Ahearn
Number of Pages : 368
Publisher : Focal Press
List Price : $54.95
Amazon Price : $33.00
Used Price : $34.00 |
Product Description Game artists, architects, simulation developers, web designers and enthusiasts alike can learn to create everything from bricks to books in Photoshop with this step-by-step instructional guide. Because texture is 99% of what a gamer sees when playing, this topic deserves considerable coverage but has gotten little attention. Unlike anything on the market, this book is the first of its kind to provide an in-depth guide to game texturing with hundreds of high-quality examples. This guide teaches everything a game artist will need to know--from researching textures, basic artistic principles, tools and techniques, to specific step-by-step tutorials that explain how to create textures for a myriad of environments. The goal of this book is to give the reader a guide that will actually help them secure a job as a developer/artist-even providing them with images created using the tutorials that can be used in a portfolio. * Learn everything you need to create stunning, professional textures from one easy to follow guide which features tutorials and over 500 high-quality images * Follow the step-by-step tutorials to learn how to create suitable images which you can add to your portfolio and WOW prospective employers * Companion CD includes sample textures and electronic versions of images you saw in the book-all the tools you need in one place! * Hit the ground running or get a leg up on the competition with the tips, tricks, and real world examples featured in this comprehensive guide Customer reviews good textures  by .. Matthew J. Melchior ()
the final textures are excellent. the only problem is sometimes the insructions are a little vague and the software in the book is outdated
For a beginner, I'm very impressed.  by .. L. C. MacDonald (Abilene, Texas)
There's a lot to like about a book like this for the beginning texture artist, such as myself. It gives you the fundamentals of how to recreate a texture from the ground up without actually having to paint hardly anything! Just use what Photoshop has to offer and you can follow this book all the way through.
That would be the downside though, must have Photoshop! If you don't then I wouldn't see you getting much out of this book except the techniques, which may or may not be done in another paint program.
This is just a beginner's book because it doesn't cover anything about skin or human painting and texturing, which is what I'm now looking for in another book. This just covers inanimate objects, but it just blows my mind how easy it now is using his techniques. I'm no longer intimidated by a blank white screen with no textures, and am now cranking stuff out a lot better looking (not professional yet, but getting there).
Deffinantly worth getting for beginners or people apprehensive towards texturing.
get it cheap if you want it by .. JJ ()
I already know texturing and wanted to take my texturing to the next level. I compared textures before and after, and I noticed a difference. Its easier to make hand painted textures for me now.
There are step by step examples of how to make bricks, windows, doors, etc.
It even discusses how to take pictures of textures yourself, and how to make your 3d scenes seem more real by placing objects, breaking up plain parts, etc.
The only thing missing is how to create history on textures and as far as I can tell, there are no books.
I recommend going to cgsociety and check out the forums. Stephen Morrell has a good pdf on texturing somewhere.
Useful introductory overview by .. Christopher Roe ()
This book is useful as a jumping-off point for using Photoshop to create textures, and covers most of the basic topics that someone new to both Photoshop and texturing would need to know. However, you'll need to search for additional resources to complete the journey that this book starts you on, since it's a pretty basic overview with a few confidence-building exercises that give you a taste of the possibilities.
Excellent. Really! by .. Pavol Almasi (Pennsylvania)
Unlike the rewiever who gave this book 1 star, I am giving 5. Because unlike him, I find this full-color book very well written and very useful. It goes beyond basic texture creation tutorials. The first half of the book explains theory behind good textures and texture creation as well as ways to take pictures for your own textures. It gives lot of examples to demonstrate various points. The second half of the book is the tutorial part. The tutorials are detailed and easy to follow. The only negative thing I find about this book is, that the tutorials give you exact values for everything without explaining why these values were actually chosen. However, it is up to the user to make his/her own tweeking and see, how changing these values effect the final result. Also, I would like to see how these textures are applied to a specific UV layout, which the book does not discuss. But then again, the book is about creating textures, not applying them to your model, so I do not hold it against it. After all, the textures that are created in the tutorials are nicely done and you certainly can find a good use for any of them. So, five stars it is.
Related Search : art using , 3d game , photoshop  |
Author : Luke Ahearn
Edition : Pap/Dvdr
Number of Pages : 400
Publisher : Focal Press
List Price : $49.95
Amazon Price : $29.00
Used Price : $31.95 |
Product Description The ultimate resource to help you create triple-A quality art for a variety of game worlds; 3D Game Environments offers detailed tutorials on creating 3D models, applying 2D art to 3D models, and clear concise advice on issues of efficiency and optimization for a 3D game engine. Using Photoshop and 3ds Max as his primary tools, Luke Ahearn explains how to create realistic textures from photo source and uses a variety of techniques to portray dynamic and believable game worlds. From a modern city to a steamy jungle, learn about the planning and technological considerations for 3D modeling, UV layout, and creating textures that goes into developing a realistic and appealing game environment with: * The entire game world development process: from planning to modeling and texturing. * Exercises and projects to practice with: each section includes projects to practice creating different world genres. * CD with source art to practice with and use in your own projects, program demos, and plug-ins. Customer reviews a book that has been needed for a long time by .. Brad ()
I just got this book today, so far it looks good. Its strange that this book has no reviews yet considering Ahearn's other book "3D Game Textures" has 28 reviews. I have that book and in my opinion it is very lacking, reason being that it only covers how to make textures in photoshop of things like metal, brick walls and wood surfaces. There is nothing wrong with having the ability to make textures like that from scratch, but you can more easily make take texture from photos you take or even use photos off the internet which will give results that are as good or better than anything you could make on your own. So this new book on Game Environments covers the whole process of composing scenes and how to texture them, something that has been very lacking in 3D graphics books. So I give it 4 stars just on my first impression from thumbing through the book, that I think it will be just what I need to get started making 3D scenes.
I want to give Kudos to Focal Press the publisher for printing this book on high quality paper and giving it a very strong binding, as well as high quality color photos. Too many computer graphics books go cheap with B&W on cheap paper nowadays.
Related Search : environments create , professional 3d , game worlds  |
Author : Fletcher Dunn
Number of Pages : 476
Publisher : Wordware Publishing, Inc.
List Price : $49.95
Amazon Price : $27.99
Used Price : $28.00 |
Product Description 3D Math Primer for Graphics and Game Development covers fundamental 3D math concepts that are especially useful for computer game developers and programmers. The authors discuss the mathematical theory in detail and then provide the geometric interpretation necessary to make 3D math intuitive. Working C++ classes illustrate how to put the techniques into practice, and exercises at the end of each chapter help reinforce the concepts. This book: * Explains basic concepts such as vectors, coordinate spaces, matrices, transformations, Euler angles, homogenous coordinates, geometric primitives, intersection tests, and triangle meshes. * Discusses orientation in 3D, including thorough coverage of quaternions and a comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of different representation techniques. * Describes working C++ classes for mathematical and geometric entities and several different matrix classes, each tailored to specific geometric tasks. * Includes complete derivations for all the primitive transformation matrices. Customer reviews Great intro by .. Thomas S. Thorp (Janesville, WI USA)
I was getting started on a 3d visualization project and learning opengl.
This book helped give a solid math understanding to transformations. Sample code worked great also.
Excellent book by .. D. Norton ()
I found this book to be the perfect introduction to 3D math and game programming. I've been programming for a living in C/C++ for 10+ years but never done anything 3D and very little GUI. This book is great for someone that has at least a year or two of programming in C++ (possibly Java, C# or other OO language with similar syntax). I read this book from cover-to-cover and worked almost every problem in it - treating it sort of like a self paced course in school. The authors did a fantastic job of keeping things simple and it laymen's terms as much as possible. There's plenty of 3D vocabulary to learn but unlike more advanced texts that might assume you're already familiar with the terminology (or expect you to figure it out elsewhere), this text explains the new terms as it goes.
The thing I liked most about this book is the consistent structure throughout. Every concept is introduced, explained in mathematical terms, explained in visual real-world terms and finally demonstrated in C++.
By the end of the book, the reader (student) will have working 3D code (nothing fancy, mind you) and a good understanding of basic 3D concepts.
Be sure to visit the book's website and download the errata for some important corrections before you start reading. They're minor but important...like most details in math and programming. :)
Great Companion Book for Intro Graphics APIs by .. mikfig ()
I am reading this book alongside Introduction to 3D Game Programming with DirectX 9.0c: A Shader Approach by Frank D. Luna, and so far 3D Math Primer has really helped. It took me from a basic trigonometry/geometry/algebra to understanding the basics of the math described in Intro to DX9, I can't wait to get to the more complicated parts that explain the graphics pipeline. The things that Intro to DX9 took a page or so to explain 3D Math Primer is able to go into detail and explain well.
Great read
Good, with a few problems... by .. J. MOLDOVAN ()
I needed a book to recommend to a friend whose offspring is trying his hand at game programming and needed some introductory maths to get going.
I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of this book. The content, writing and layout are excellent and the level at which it deals with the various topics is just right. I also like much of their code and the implementation details which go with it. I can wholeheartedly recommend it for beginner developers.
The reason I didn't rate the book 100% is because there are a fair number of questionable opinions expressed by the writers. These are mostly based on their collective experience in game development and while I respect their expertise, I disagree with them on these points. A quick example. Their advice in Chapter 6, "Don't use information hiding" almost made me choke on my tea. The reasons they give for exposing their vector class data are simply bizarre. Encapsulation is one of the three pillars of object oriented development. This is not the place to discuss the dangers developers face by subverting this powerful idea, but I strongly urge beginner programmers to ignore the authors' advice on this point.
Despite these reservations, the book is a must-have for novice and intermediate programmers.
PS: I have now looked at the associated website gamemath.com. It contains solutions to exercises for Chapter 1 to 11 and a note "Other chapters coming soon...". The book was published in 2002. Not impressed at all!!!
GREAT BOOK! by .. Carmine T. Guida (NY, NY)
I picked up this book and within a week I was working on my own 3d engine. The explanations are very clear. This book is great for ANYONE. This is the book you are looking for!
Related Search : primer graphics , game development , 3d math  |
Author : Kenneth C Finney
Edition : 2
Number of Pages : 1085
Publisher : Course Technology PTR
List Price : $54.99
Amazon Price : $31.35
Used Price : $24.30 |
Product Description Are you an aspiring game developer with a great idea, but no practical knowledge for turning that idea into reality? 3D Game Programming All in One is the comprehensive guide you need! This new edition updates the original coverage with the latest version of Torque from GarageGames, and provides the very best tools available to the Indie game maker. This hands-on book not only teaches the technical skills behind 3D game programming, but also provides you with the practical experience you need to create your own games. As you create a first-person shooter, you'll cover the techniques behind the programming, textures, and models that go into successful game creation. You'll also cover the Torque Engine and will learn how to integrate sound and music into your game. 3D Game Programming All in One provides you with the training, experience, and tools you need to turn your dreams of game creation into reality! Customer reviews longlasting by .. Micahel Bruno (oak lawn, IL)
Our teacher told us this book was to be used in some of our other classes so saving $$ a plus.
Very misleading title but good introduciton to Torque  by .. T. Lilly ()
Pros:
Well written in an informal and easy to follow manner.
Provides a good overview of the game development process with a focus on indies.
Great intro. to the Torque game engine. Far superior to the online documentation from Torque.
Cons:
The title "3D Game Programming All in One" is terriblly inappropriate. This book is packed with 1000+ pages of good information but it should have been called something along the line of Introduction to Torque scripting, emphasis on the Intro part.
Many detailed pages are spent on agonizingly basic tasks while more difficult subjects get glossed over, with the reader left spending a few hours inventing a step B cause the author magically went from A to C.
More then once you'll be following one of his cookbook lessons and you are presented with an options menu with something like 50 options with unintuitive names and he tells you to just accept the defaults then moves on and never looks back. Maybe some tables explaining what those options do would be nice. This is "...All in One" right?
Many many hours will be spent coping code from the book and then executing it in the torque game engine. However, the author has left dozens and dozens of errors in the book code, some of which are grossly inexcusable. Did the author not try his code after he typed it? Come on guy, cut and paste, I know you didn't crank out this tome using a pen.
My biggest issue is that a lot of software, files and code comes with the book. But half the software does not match versions used in the book and many of the game files aren't what they are supposed to be. Code does not say what the book says it does, some image files are none existent and some of the animations are clearly works-in-progress just dumped onto the CD. The animation for an ogre dieing is actually an ogre being bounced across the screen and then dragged under the floor.
I gave the book 3 stars because despite its many flaws I learned a lot and was able to resolve most issues at the expense of a few hours frustration. This book needs editing and lots of it. Also, I'll most likely buy his advanced version.
Was the code even reviewed?  by .. Joseph A. Jansen ()
I am ready to give up on this book. I have the second edition, and can't imagine how others are making it work. The code sample for the very first project doesn't work. I eliminated typing errors by using the code provided on the CD, and it still doesn't work.
There does not appear to be an errata website.
Many items seem glossed over without any explanation given as to what they do.
Given the price I paid ($65), and the name of the book, I would have expected more breadth, rather than a straight shot at building a FPS game. Running the final version of the end product, it is bad enough that I am now questioning the $150 that I spent on TGE. The physics of the vehicle are so poor, that it frequently gets into oscillation or total rollover on the smallest of obstacles, for example.
I can't imagine using this tome to attempt to learn TGE. I hope that TGE is better than what is portrayed in this book. At least I didn't blow the $300 for TGEA!
Pretty Good by .. W. Hage (Jersey)
This book is actually a text book for my school. I saw a lot of complaints from other people on how much it talks about the Torque engine. Personally I think that is a good thing at 150 the Torque engine is something that most people who want to get into creating games could afford. The unreal engine costs thousands so it would be bad if it went into that or another engine like that, because most of us could not afford to get the engine and use what the book is teaching.
The book is comprehensive and easy to follow by .. Fawry A. Aboyoussef (Gold Coast, Australia.)
A COMPLAINT.
The book is a treasure of information about the subject matter. However, the included CD if faulty. It doesn't install. T tried to install it on two different machine in vain. I emailed Thomson Course Technology about this matter and I received no response.
THE PREDICAMENT OF OVERSEAS BUYERS.
Althaugh overseas buyers pay the full amount including postage, they are oftern ignored when it comes to faulty products.
AMAZON Authority should consider overseas buyers' helplessness in this situation.
I need the CD badly and I am willing to pay any amount for a sound one.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to raise this matter.
Regards,
Fawzy Youssef.
Related Search : 3d game , programming one , second edition  |
Author : Kenneth C Finney
Edition : 1
Number of Pages : 616
Publisher : Course Technology PTR
List Price : $59.99
Amazon Price : $36.19
Used Price : $29.93 |
Product Description Take your 3D game programming skills to the next level! Advanced 3D Game Programming All in One uses the Torque Game Engine to teach experienced 3D game programmers advanced concepts. You'll use the Torque Game Engine to learn each new skill, maximizing your game engine experience. Quickly conquer TorqueScript, simulation techniques, the ins and outs of the game engine, player control, and using applied artificial intelligence. Then take it up a notch and discover how to spice up your game with enhanced game modeling using character and shape modeling and dynamic skins. Advanced 3D Game Programming All in One reveals the techniques and mechanisms that will give you an insider's look into the realm of game development so you can create your own amazing games just like the pros. Customer reviews Vale de teoria, a trabajar. by .. Carlos Artaso Gonzalez ()
Me ha parecido un buen complemento a la guia oficial de Torque, da un paso más alla. Comparando con otros engines (comerciales) en la misma banda de precio/licencia, Torque esta de enhorabuena.
Excellent Writing Style by .. James Nordman (Jacksonville, FL United States)
As a retired computer application trainer as well as a programming teacher, I find this book superior to MANY computer books of most ANY genre. Unfortunately many "techies" suffer from some deficits as writers.
First, though they may know their content very well, when they begin writing about their subject, they tend to skip steps that will confound a beginning learner or assume some nebulous prior knowledge or what must seem to them as perfectly "obvious" information or sequences. Mr. Finney doesn't make this all-to-often made error. He also follows the tried-and-true educational practice of - "Tell them what you're going to tell them, tell them, then tell them what you told them". It allows the reader to feel the scope as well as the details of what's being taught.
Second the writing style is very relaxed. The reader doesn't need to feel that they are learning in a large lecture hall. The style is person-to-person.
Third, He writes in English. That is to say, the writing is grammatical and well organized. That might seem like how things SHOULD be. I've found many technical writers simply don't - or can't do this! It seems to be well edited. Homonyms haven't snuck in because the words could pass by a spell checker. His early English teachers must have cracked his knuckles to develop this trait. (I keep wanting to write publishers to ask them if they would like me to do a final edit before they put their books on the street. It's embarassing to us as a culture. OK, I'll get off my soap-box.) This book is refreshing.
I got both volumes of Mr. Finney's books for my grown son, since he is interested in going into this field. I think he'll get them when I'm done. More than likely, I'll end up getting an addutional set for him. I want to keep these!
Keep up the good work, Ken!!
Very Good Book by .. cappaucino (Milford, CT USA)
I think the only thing this book does wrong is clarify it is not for noobs and that you should have read the first book to know what is really going on. This a great book for A. Mid Level Programmers or B. Very Persistent Beginners. :0) It's far better than the forum and helps you pinpoint what you need; else you wouldn't know what to look for.
If you have Torque, get this book
Not a Beginners Guide? by .. Michael Phillips (Dallas, TX)
You will find the on-line documentation at Garage Games more helpful.
A beginners guide it is not. Code is too buggy.
A Torque reference? Not exactly. It tells you what tools you can use with the Torque engine but the Torque parts themselves are to buggy especially if you are new to programming.
The code very seldom works without tweaking. You better have programming knowledge if you want to tweak the bad code.
It is good as a general reference book for people who want to know what kind of tools to use for programming and what are some of the components for developing a game.
Can you go from start to finish and develop a working demo from the book or one of your own? Not unless you are an intermediate to advanced programmer.
where is my sttuf? by .. Atila C. Cunha (Brazil)
I did not receive the book. I would like to know what is happening.
Related Search : advanced 3d , one , game programming  |
Author : Allen Sherrod
Edition : 1
Number of Pages : 560
Publisher : Charles River Media
List Price : $59.95
Amazon Price : $35.00
Used Price : $34.79 |
Product Description Ultimate 3D Game Engine Design and Architecture teaches how to design and create a video game engine that can be used to create gaming applications on the PC. Written for beginning programmers, beginning game developers, and those aspiring to get into the fi eld, the book covers the various systems and processes that go into a complete game engine, with an emphasis on architecture issues. The book focuses on building a complete game engine, including graphics, physics, programming, audio, AI, data structures, memory management, and more. The sample engine is called the Building Blocks 3D Engine and it's designed to give you the basics of each system that you can build from to create your own engines and games. The technologies used include OpenGL, C++, and the Windows XP, MacOS X, and Linux operating systems. This cross-platform approach makes the information and techniques easy to apply to any type of project. The book is broken into five main parts, beginning with introductory material, the engine core, input, sound, and networking systems. Next comes graphics and environments, including the rendering system, the drawing of static models, and more advanced rendering topics such as level of detail, scene graphs, graphical effects, resource management, and scene management for environments in general. In the third part, Physics, AI, and Scripting are covered. The custom physics system is detailed, along with point masses and soft bodies. A variety of AI techniques are covered next, followed by scripting-- command, property, and compiled scripting. In the fourth part the engine is ready to use for the two demo applications you'll create-- a black jack game and a 3D walkthrough using a portal rendering system. In the final part, you'll review what you've done, what you could do, and what resources you might need in the future to enhance your game engine. Customer reviews How game engine components come together by .. Michael Gonzalez ()
This book is not an instruction manual for a programming language. Rather it designed with the avid game designer enthusiast in mind. This book will cover briefly the code necessary to create game engine components. Moreover it will focus primarily on the structure of a game engine.
In other words, from a architectural point of view it will describe how the various components: Game Physics; System; Network; Interface, etc come together. Unlike most books who give broken snippets of code it brings attention to how these components interact with each other. Thus it is an essential book to add to any game library as it describes the critical necessities of all game engines. Again this book is not focussed on learning the code, you should already be familiar with classes, and data structures in both C++ and OpenGL.
This book simply shows you how to organize what you know into something powerful. I highly recommend this book. I keep it in my library and refer to it often.
Is this Ultimate 3D Game Engine? by .. Agha Khan (Bellevue, WA United States)
I was looking book on 3D engine and bought Ultimate 3D Game Engine Design & Architecture book. The primarily reason to buy that book was reviews. I was disappointed because it used OpenGL as a base for rendering. Why on earth I have to know OpenGL, why not from scratch? That was my goal to buy for engine. I do not want to look or watch picture of cubs, rather I would like to see how that can be done if I am developing an engine. This makes this book absolutely meaningless.
Sub-par and Somewhat Disappointing by .. Michael Warcholik (Myersville, MD USA)
I purchased this book in hopes of learning how a game engine worked; and while I did not come away with nothing, I did not gain much from this book.
The tutorials and ideas presented in the book are helpful, I must admit, but they are geared entirely around building someone else's engine - not a very intuitive or personal learning experience.
I do not recommend this book.
An OK first book on the subject of game engine design by .. calvinnme (Fredericksburg, Va)
This book does an OK job of walking through the basic anatomy of a game engine. You won't have anything too complex at the end of the day, because at only 500 pages, this allows only roughly 50 pages per chapter. Imagine trying to get everything you need to say about game physics in 50 pages! What was David Eberly thinking when he wrote that 800 page book on the subject? The book walks through the basics, adding features to the game engine as it goes, while never going very deep at all into any one subject. It's a good first book on what the skeleton of a modern game engine looks like, but you'll almost need a separate book to match the subject matter in each chapter in this book if you intend to put meat on those bones. On the plus side, the author uses standard C++, making the code easy to read and understand. Also, this is one of the few books on game engine design that mentions network programming issues and audio along with all of the 3D graphics issues. Another plus is that several of the chapters include student exercises, making it a good textbook choice in a class on basic game engine design. One odd thing the author does is that he continually uses UML diagrams in the book. Beginning game programmers need to focus on engine architecture and not get befuddled with software engineering issues. In general I thought the author's figures subtracted more than they added to the understanding of the book and its subject matter. The following is the table of contents:
Part 1 INTRODUCTION TO GAME ENGINES
1. Introduction to Game Engines - a "flyover" of the entire book including coding conventions used.
2. Engine Core - A discussion of data structures used, memory allocation and file I/O, and timing utilities - the basic workhorse elements of the engine.
3. Input, Sound and Networking - A long chapter that includes a look at the XBox 360 and XInput. OpenAL, which is a free API for 3D audio, along with XACT, which is Microsoft's cross-platform audio creation tool,are discussed for adding audio. Finally, networking with sockets is discussed.
Part 2 GRAPHICS AND ENVIRONMENTS
4. Rendering Systems - Includes a basic math library as well as a discussion of geometry primitives, shaders, and texturing.
5. Rendering Scenes and Scene Graphs - Describes the scene graph and how to work with it. Talks more about special effects than the more important subject of Level of Detail. Geometry sorting and culling is also discussed.
Part 3 PHYSICS, AI, AND SCRIPTING
6. Physics - Newtonian physics and games are discussed some, but there is a relatively long discussion on cloth simulation, which seems odd.
7. Artificial Intelligence - Barely touches the surface of the subject. It mentions path finding, finite state machines, and scripting, but not in near enough detail to be helpful.
8. Scripting - A very general chapter on this subject, and all too short.
PART 4 DEMOS
9. Game Demos - Discusses two demos using the engine - "Black Jack" and "The 3D Walkthrough Demo". A pretty good chapter.
PART 5 GAME OVER
10. Conclusions - A short and very general discussion of how the engine might be improved.
Appendix A. Additional Resources
Appendix B. Additional Tools
Appendix C. About the CD ROM
This is an OK first choice on understanding the basics of game engine design, just don't expect to walk away an expert after reading it.
Writing a Gaming Engine from Scratch by .. John Matlock (Winnemucca, NV)
At the heart of any complex computer game there's an engine that handles the actual stuff you see on the screen. This book is on programming such an engine. It isn't a beginners book. You should have a pretty good knowledge of programming in C++, some concept of file formats, graphics design, and so on.
The layout of the book is to build a working engine. It is neither the most simple, nor the most complex but is a solid foundation for understanding what such an engine entails and can form the foundation upon which the engine can be customized and expanded to fit your needs.
There are several reasons for reading this book:
You may want to build your own engine
You may want to work for an engine company
You may be thinking of using a commercially available engine and want to know more about what's in them.
Or whatever?
Gaming engines are among the most complex probrams being written today. This book should be viewed as a basic introduction to how they are written. The CD supplied with the book has several ancillary packages as well as the full source code for the engine being developed in the book.
Related Search : game engine , design architecture , ultimate 3d  |
Author : David H. Eberly
Number of Pages : 752
Publisher : Morgan Kaufmann
List Price : $78.95
Amazon Price : $43.41
Used Price : $43.00 |
Product Description Dave Eberly's 3D Game Engine Design was the first professional guide to the essential concepts and algorithms of real-time 3D engines and quickly became a classic of game development. Dave's new book 3D Game Engine Architecture continues the tradition with a comprehensive look at the software engineering and programming of 3D engines. This book is a complete guide to the engineering process, starting with a walk-through of the graphics pipeline showing how to construct the core elements of 3D systems, including data structures, the math system, and the object system. Dave explains how to manage data with scene graphs, how to build rendering and camera systems, and how to handle level of detail, terrain, and animation. Advanced rendering effects such as vertex and pixel shaders are also covered as well as collision detection and physics systems. The book concludes with a discussion of application design, development tools, and coding standards for the source code of the new version of the Wild Magic engine included on the CD-ROM. Wild Magic is a commercial-quality game engine used by many companies and is a unique resource for the game development community. *CD-ROM with the complete C++ source code for Wild Magic version 3, a commercial-quality game engine for Windows, Linux, and OS X. *A comprehensive, practical guide to all the steps necessary to build professional-quality real-time simulations with just minimal mathematics required. *Emphasizes the application of software engineering principles and describes the architecture of large libraries. Customer reviews Yes, gives a good start to 3D graphics development by .. Yatin Shelke (Windsor, Canada)
The book combined with the working(!) examples on the CD really get you started. The very first example shows how you can draw an object, view it in perspective projection, rotate and translate the object, and rotate and translate the camera.
The examples use OpenGL API, and I compiled only the VC++ 7.1 project that use OpenGL as the rendering mechanism in VC++ 8.0 on Windows Vista - this works well.
Only complaint is that there is no chapter that explains the matrix model of OpenGL. Sure enough this is to be found in a lot of other books, but if the author had decided to put in a chapter explaining the matrix model - e.g. how the perspective transformation matrix is derived from first principles, then this would be the only book you ever need.
It got me programming by .. Gary G. Forbis ()
I've had several false starts at 3d programming. I've tried using the code from several other books but quickly gave up after getting a short distance into the concepts. Making the sample programs work with Windows XP and Visual Studio just isn't that easy in most cases. These programs worked as indicated with Visual Studio. I was quite happy.
None the less the code could use more documentation and clarity. For instance in the simple drawmesh program the LoadBmp24 routine returns Hight and Width as a side-effect of the call. I tried my own odd shaped bitmap and the routine kept failing. These two comment lines would have been really helpful:
// OpenGL prior to 2.1 requires textures be in 2d arrays
// whose dimensions are multples of 2.
After spending hours tracking that down it was easy to adjust the routines to actually work with arbitrary bitmaps and triangle meshes.
Good software engineering book by .. Rodrigo Damazio (São Paulo, Brazil)
Well, needless to say, Eberly rocks. This is a great book on game engine architecture - even though it's less mathematically intensive than Eberly's other books (which, for many, is a good thing), it has a very good coverage of software engineering aspects of game engines, as it explains in detail how (and why) the WildMagic engine is organized. Do keep in mnid, though, that the book's purpose is not teacing how to develop games or algorithms for that - it's a software engineering book, and a good one at that.
Acceptable book with some significant failings by .. Michael C. Sikora (Canada)
This is an acceptable introductory book for the architecture of an AAA-quality game engine, under the consideration that it has so little competition.
The most significant criticism I have of the book is its repeated digression of topics into a documentation of the Wild Magic engine. If you intend to use the Wild Magic engine, I highly recommend the book, but for anyone not using it, this book saves far too few pages for discussions of general engine architecture.
For example, the entire second chapter is basically a documentation of the basic types defined for the Wild Magic engine. If you are architecting a large scale project, you do not want to start the discussion with talk of a smart pointer class. Or an array class. Unfortunately, this is exactly how the book begins.
Throughout the book, the reader is constantly forced to shift through documentation for each Wild Magic class. While the author does use the engine to illustrate points, often the point is so heavily mixed with the documentation that it is tedious to pick out the general discussion.
My secondary criticism of the book is that too many words are used in specific (but uncommon) ways - making it hard to follow at times. The sad part is that the author acknowledges this for some words (which helps the reader) but fails to for others. An example of the latter is when the author concedes that he uses the word `animation' to mean any event that happens over a period of time. You will not find that definition in any dictionary, but at least he specifies his intent, which is slightly forgivable. What is not forgivable is the other phrases/words that are not acknowledged as being uncommonly used, such as `world bounds' and `local bounds'. Too often I found myself carefully following discussions not because I found the material difficult, but because I needed to extract the context for which the author is using a word or phrase. In this sense it makes it hard for anyone to simply use the book for reference purposes.
This book deserves three stars because it is a good (although sometimes short) treatment of the many subjects that are part of a 3D game engine. It loses one star for trying to combine two related, but what should be separate discussions - general engine architecture and documenting Wild Magic. It loses another for being overly verbose and dry (see my secondary criticism). It has so few competitors that you might just have to accept its failings and shift through the material to dig out the general architecture nuggets that are dispersed throughout the book.
3d Game Engine Architecture by .. Rodrigo P. Martins ()
The title says everything, this book treats most aspects concerning game engine design architecture and programming. Although not focusing in the next generation graphics architectures and shaders, it does provide an excellent basis for core engine and underlying graphics architecture design. General programming topics such as memory layout and shared object references are also discussed. A great book for begginers and a nice reading for professionals.
Related Search : engine architecture , technology , magic morgan  |
Author : Eric D. Grebler
Edition : 1
Number of Pages : 440
Publisher : Course Technology PTR
List Price : $29.99
Amazon Price : $17.50
Used Price : $14.95 |
Product Description "3D Game Programming for Teens" is a comprehensive, step-by-step introduction to 3D game programming for both teenagers and non-programmers. Organized into three parts, the book begins with an introduction to the game development industry, the game development process, and game engines including WildTangent. Part two covers JavaScript and Web programming and illustrates multiple concepts including variables, loops, and arrays. The final part of the book brings all of the concepts learned together, as you incrementally build a 3D game as each skill is introduced. "3D Game Programming for Teens" assumes no prior programming experience and focuses on teaching the basic skills needed to build a simple 3D game. Once you have mastered the basics, you can apply each skill to more complex game engines and game building. Helpful definitions, examples, sample code, and a hands-on tutorial approach make the book a simple yet complete introduction to 3D game programming. Customer reviews Not worth it -- learn C++ instead.  by .. Derek D. Rumpler (Somerville, OH USA)
I initially approached this book with much enthusiasm. The author is a very engaging writer, intermingling an otherwise boring subject with much humor.
However, this book is not really all it is cracked up to be. For starters, the book deals with a little known 3D game engine based in BASIC known as Blitz3D. For those interested in pursuing a career in game design, C++ is the standard, not this obscure programming language which few know about.
The book contains a fair amount of typos, some even in the programming code itself. In the section on audio, the author forgets to add quotation marks around an audio file name. I wondered why my program didn't start, as I copied his code line-for-line, and had to gruel for four hours before I finally discovered the result. A beginner to programming languages shouldn't be forced to figure things out on his own, as the user is often left to do. This may not be the author's fault, but his copy-editor should have been fired.
The book delves a little bit into 3ds Max and Corel PhotoDraw which actually are industry standards. It should be commended for this (hence the reason I gave it two stars). However, it touches on them only briefly. The section on 3ds Max is incredibly vague. 3ds Max has a very detailed and thorough GUI (graphical user interface) and it can be fairly difficult to find things without more detailed instructions (preferably with pictures, as there are few in this section). Likewise, the author often copy-and-pastes information from previous exercises in Corel PhotoDraw. What you actually get is a rehash of what you already just read, down to the same file names, instead of focusing on what the section should ACTUALLY be about.
This book had the potential to be better, but a large part of it was sloppy editing. However, I think the name "3D Game Programming for Teens" is a misnomer. Perhaps a better title would be "Blitz3D For Teens" (you could even drop the "For Teens" part and call it "How To Program in Blitz3D"). If people want to learn how to program real 3D games, I'd suggest learning C++. It is not that difficult if you put in the time and effort.
However, if you are fine with making sub par games, then I'm sure there's a better reference. In fact, the free package of Blitz3D comes packed-in with programming tips and examples to practice with. But be prepared to spend $100 to make larger projects. The free package only allows files up to a certain size; another reason to consider C++ because it is virtually free if you get the correct compiler.
Fun and Entertaining by .. Martin Berger ()
This book was easy to read and understand. Lives up to it's intended purpose, which is to teach the basics of 3D game programming. I liked the fact that the CD contains a demo copy of Blitz3D, which, does not time out. It also contained lots of demo code, that you can study, and other useful software for creating graphics and 3D models. Buy this book along with Maneesh Sethi's "Game Programming For Teens" and you will have a solid foundation to build on.
Great book for novice programmers! by .. Andreas Lundgren (Umea, Sweden)
For a long time i've been looking for a book that offers a good, easy-learning hands-on approach on Blitz 3D programming, and this is it! The book is very versatile since it is not only focusing specificly on coding, but also what's the essence of a good game. It gives a brief history of gaming history, telling you what it takes to make you a successful game programmer and how to bring your own ideas to life. After reading this book there is one thing that i feel that i would like to see, a follow-up! This book left me craving for the learning of some more advanced programming techniques since it tend to be overexplicit to some extent (which actually is a good thing if you are REALLY new to programming!). Nonetheless, if you want to learn how to be a successful programmer, regardless of your present programmings kills, this book is definitely a good start. Every game-programmer can read this book and learn something new, and they will have a enjoyable time doing so!
Learn Basic programming concepts before reading this book. by .. Sheryl J. Brown ()
In my opinion, this book is very out of order. The author teaches you concepts about 3D programming, before he acually tells you the basics about programming. So throughout the whole book, you don't understand why or what you are typeing. I was able to understand the book very well, only because I have been programming for a bit already. If you'd like to learn basic 3D programming, this is a very good book. Just read a few other books about programming before you read this. It will make understanding this book much easier. I'd recommend "Game Programming For Teens 2E", it's the first programming book I read. And that book is very well put together, unlike this one.
Great! by .. ()
I have been trying to get a hold of a great step-by-step book on 3D programming that goes in great detail. If that's the kind of book that you're looking for, then this is for you. After thoroughly reading this book, I finally defeated the first obstacle of 3D computer programming and learned a bit of history, too.
Related Search : 3d game , programming teens  |
Author : Stefan Zerbst
Edition : 1
Number of Pages : 896
Publisher : Course Technology PTR
List Price : $59.99
Amazon Price : $29.24
Used Price : $31.40 |
Product Description Are you interested in learning how to write your own game engines? With "3D Game Engine Programming" you can do just that. You'll learn everything you need to know to build your own game engine as a tool that is kept strictly separate from any specific game project, making it a tool that you can use again and again for future projects. You won't have to give a second thought to your engine. Instead, you'll be able to concentrate on your game and the gameplay experience. Customer reviews For people who want a teacher by .. Spydrouge ()
This book is for the following person: A programmer who woke up one day and said "Wow, I'd really like to make a Game Engine. Where do I start? How should I plan this thing out? What kinds of things do I have to implement? What things should I be worried about?"
The code is solid, with just a few exceptions that a good programmer should be able to catch. The author speaks German, so he'll occasionally ramble about the war and whatnot, but overall he's a good teacher. He's answered questions about the tiny problems with his code, but you'll have to check out the forums at his Gaming University website (not his German one. Unless you happen to speak German)
He doesn't go in depth into many things because his book is designed to get you started, and show you all the steps you'll have to take in your game-engine education. That being said, you WILL create a fully functioning first-person shooter engine at the end of the book.
It's written at a reasonably moderate level, so I suggest that you learn DirectX 9 and C++ ahead of time, but once you've done that you're good to go. It provides a good bird's-eye view of the game engine process, shows you how to make each little bit in a modular, reusable way, and puts together a lovely result.
One of the reviews on this page suggests the purchase of the Game Programming Gems series. Now, as nice as that series is (And it is nice), Game Programming Gems is about tiny bits of code that make a project more exciting. In fact, I'd have to say that Game Programming Gems has absolutely nothing to do with Game Engine Design. Heck, it's the polar opposite of 3D Game engine Programming. Gems are fragments- This book is about bringing everything together.
A better suggestion would be to use the Game Programming Gems series to make this book's engine more impressive.
Overall, a very decent book by .. Techanese Master ()
I've been going through this book like a madman the past few days. I really am enjoying it. It is a little old, considering that it is from 2004 and he generally uses VS 6.0 (though makes reference to VS2003). Most of the stuff is still very relevant. He wants to take you through creating a semi-independent API for your engine (though he uses a lot of Direct3D programming).
A word of caution though: this book is full of techanese, which tends to deter newbies from learning C++. There were a few places where I got lost, and had to look things up. This is definitely not a newbie book, though you definitely can review the sourcecode included with the book instead of reading it. Most of the code is pretty self-explanatory if you are somewhat familiar with 3d programming.
Great book though. Cheers to the writer.
Its an OK buy by .. Zephadias (Santa Maria, CA or Houghton, MI)
This book has lots of great information in it. You can easily learn a great deal about 3D graphics and what it takes to create an engine. However, one of the major drawbacks is that the engine doesn't compile. Which, in my luck, has been typical of computer book. But reading the books for the concepts are great.
Build an industry standard game engine by .. P. Kirkbride (Manchester, England)
The book is unique in that it does exactly what it says it will do. Be warned however that as the book states it is not for beginner programmers who are new to Direct3D or new to C/C++ programming. However if you are familiar with the language and the API but never quite grasped the concept of fitting together all the components neccasary to make a 3D game engine then this really is the right book for you. There is not another book around as of this review that tells you bit by bit how to build a game engine and not only any game engine but a game industry standard engine the way the professionals build them.
There are a few version issues with the code on the DVD-ROM supplied. However this is always an issue if you are an intermediate programmer and familiar with C/C++ and a popular IDE then to be honest the minor issues should not be too much of a problem for you. Plus the author has even got a support website and he answers emails.
Well worth the money !!
THe author should learn how to program first! by .. Chris Mayer (California)
C'mon - at least get a CD with examples that actually compile! If he were a programmer working for me, he'd get fired. Save your money, and you can buy mine as used for 1/2 price.
Related Search : engine programming , 3d game , game development  |
Author : Eric Lengyel
Edition : 2
Number of Pages : 551
Publisher : Charles River Media
List Price : $49.95
Amazon Price : $29.00
Used Price : $19.48 |
Product Description This completely updated second edition illustrates the mathematical concepts that a game programmer would need to develop a professional-quality 3D engine. Although the book is geared toward applications in game development, many of the topics appeal to general interests in 3D graphics. It starts at a fairly basic level in areas such as vector geometry and linear algebra, and then progresses to more advanced topics in 3D game programming such as illumination and visibility determination. Particular attention is given to derivations of key results, ensuring that the reader is not forced to endure gaps in the theory. The book assumes a working knowledge of trigonometry and calculus, but also includes sections that review the important tools used from these disciplines, such as trigonometric identities, differential equations, and Taylor series. Key Features
* Includes four new chapters: the graphics pipeline, the stencil shadow rendering technique, curves & surfaces, and numerical methods
* Concentrates on key mathematical topics for programming 3D game engines
* Discusses applications in the context of the OpenGL architecture due to its cross-platform nature and long-standing industry acceptance. Sample rendering code is presented using ARB vertex programs and fragment programs
* Selected topics include quaternions, homogeneous coordinates, ray tracing, bump mapping, portal systems, polygonal techniques, shadows, and physics
* Includes exercise sets for use as a textbook New to This Edition
The following are selected revisions in the second edition:
* A new preliminary chapter that provides a review of the 3D rendering pipeline
* A new chapter containing an advanced discussion of the stencil shadow rendering technique
* A new chapter covering various numerical methods pertinent to 3D graphics programming, including numerical solutions to linear systems, numerical eigenvalue determination, and numerical integration
* A new chapter covering curves and surfaces, including Bézier curves and B-splines
* New discussions of texture filtering, mipmapping, and infinite projection matrices
* Updated lighting method implementations and collision detection techniques
* Additional exercises in all chapters Customer reviews Little more than an outline by .. Joseph S. Reid (Calif)
I was disappointed in how little explanations were included in this math book. It seemed more like a dictionary. It was as if someone listed all the math concepts that could be included and then put the list into a hard cover binder.
I did read some of the other reviews thinking I had missed something. One suggested spending a year on the book. But there is so little there. My college book on linear algebra did a much better job of explaining the material. Theorems were explained, samples worked out and 10 to 20 problems were given at the end of each section. This book as 50 problems for the entire book. This book spends eight pages on quaternions. Studying these pages over an extended period of time would not give the understanding you could get from a book like Kuipers' Quaternions and Rotation Sequences. It took 75 pages but one is able to understand the system and how it relates to game programming.
With all the colleges now offering game programming degrees, their must be a book written by someone who is use to explaining the material. That person would know the best way to present the material and could anticipate questions and include the answers in his or her explanations.
An excellent book by .. Damien Classen (Durban, South Africa)
I have personally used the C4 game engine (which is the commercial game engine developed by the author of this book), and can attest to its high quality. The engine is top notch, and so is this book.
This book is exactly what you'd expect - a description of the math involved in game (and especially graphics) development. It also includes a fair amount of additional content (not necessarily math-related, such as a description of the stencil shadowing algorithm).
The book is well-written, and does a good job of presenting fairly complex subject matter in a straight-forward manner. This is currently my favourite text book.
a disappointment by .. L. de Vito ()
the second edition brings a new chapter on the graphics pipeline. Well done, except that it is extremely obscure, for those who already understood the arcanes of the graphics pipeline.
Chapter 5 on "ray tracing": 6 pages on root finding of quadratic, cubic and quartic polynomials;
to compare with Chapter 7: "Visibility determination": The spatial partitioning deserves solely 4 pages.
What's the point on dwelling so much on something that is trivial and botching something that is hard to grasp and of paramount importance ?
One of a kind by .. M. Johnson ()
As a professional 3D graphics programmer, I can not stress enough the quality of this book. This book covers 3D math fundamentals, algorithms, and it is complete with easy to understand (!) proofs. The math is difficult because there is so many problems to be solved in 3D (and they draw from many different branches of mathematics), but it is written in such a clear way that every topic is made approachable. Unlike esoteric Ph. D papers, you aren't assumed to have any specific knowledge of math idioms or jargon. You simply need a decent grasp of college calculus and trigonometry to make the most of it. There are a few samples too to test your knowledge.
Expect to spend at least a solid year to really make the use of this book. Treat it as you would a two - three semester course in college. During this process, you'll find yourself occasionally wanting to get more practice and referring to a respective book on it.
If you could only own two books for 3D programming, buy this first and buy Ericson's book on collision detection next.
In summary, Eric Lengyel's attention to detail and mastery of 3D math / algorithms really shines and this book is an example of it.
Great book by .. Edward Wakid ()
This book is great for anyone interested in computer graphics. Even for people who do not have a lot of math/graphics experience, this book starts you off with the basics of vectors and matrices and has exercises/solutions for each chapter. It saves you the time of looking through your old linear algebra and differential equation math books and contains the must know information you will use as a graphics programmer.
Related Search : mathematics 3d , second edition , game programming |
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