Top Notch: The BEST book I've ever seen on Game Programming
592262
Relevent, real and jammed with good info.  Good stuff for beginner and  experienced people alike.  Written mostly by guys who are actually in the  biz as opposed to guys who just write books.  Two words: Buy It!  Puts all  other game books to shame.
2144517
The author clearly has a great mastery of his subject, the very popular Cocos2D game programming framework for iPhone (and Mac).  He also does a good job of communicating it in a logical order and supplying all the information needed to get going with making basic games in Cocos2D.  Note that this book does not cover the C++ or Javascript versions of Cocos, nor the older Python version.

If you want to write games in Objective-C for the iPhone and iOS devices, this is the right book.  The book is also up to the minute with version 2.x of Cocos2D and does a good job of being relevant in this fast moving area.

There were a significant number of irritating niggles however, and the book was also marred in my opinion by the author's promotion of his own flavour of Cocos2D, called Kobold2D.

I really wanted to just start off with plain vanilla Cocos2D for iPhone, because I'm planning to expand later after I get things working on iOS, and port my game to Cocos2Dx, which is a C++ version of Cocos, that provides access to Android and other platforms.  Because of this I wanted Cocos2D, warts and all - without any helpful wrappers.

I'm sure that Kobold2D provides a lot of great value, and the author certainly does cover a number of issues such as converting your Cocos2D library & project to use ARC manually - whereas Kobold2D does all that for you.  That's just one example - there are a number of places where Kobold2D fixes up the pain-points in Cocos2D.  So you do learn from the book how to do the things you need to do when you don't have Kobold2D's helping hand.

But this is "Learn Cocos2D" not "Learn Kobold2D", and I really think putting a whole chapter in about Kobold2D was starting to stray over the line between useful information and handy promotion of one's own project.

The niggles - I kept coming across typos and strange grammar in the book.  Not a huge amount and not enough to actually detract from the informational value of the book.  For example in one place the word "certificate" had been spelled "cerjpgicate", and in another the word "beautiful" had been spelled "beaujpgul".  So it looks as though someone has done a search and replace in the book text, finding instances of "tif" and replacing them with "jpg".  Very strange.

I have the Kindle edition, so maybe whomever transcribed it for Kindle made some mistakes.  I don't have the print edition to compare.

The niggles were just that - nothing that you could not easily work out from context.  Also the technical content - code and other references - were spot on and error free as far as I could tell.  Even though the book comes with some downloadable companion content to save typing in manually, I like to learn by typing in what is provided in the book and playing with it as I go.  So as far as I can tell the niggles did not extend to technical areas as such.

The actual content is very good.  The first few chapters follow the model of the Big Nerd Ranch books (which I recommend to get in addition to this if you're serious about iOS programming) in that you get a setup chapter or so at the beginning and then straight into building a basic game.  From there you are taken through how to use CCNode to build game logic (instead of sub-classing CCSprite), and also complexities of the CCSprite class for example and how to use it efficiently with sprite sheets, and texture packing.

Itterheim's experience in the industry shows through as he catalogues a lot of essential tools such as TexturePacker, and traces a path around the foibles of Cocos2D giving you the techniques that work.  References like the links to his own version of the API documentation on his website are valuable as the Cocos2D doco is at times a bit difficult to use.

The last chapter is a bonus read, ranging over a lot of topics, including tools and references - I particularly liked the section on publishing your games.

Good book, but please fix the niggles.  And now we just need Mr Itterheim to please write "Advanced Cocos2D".  :-)
4244429
The "advanced" part of the title seems to reflect the expectation that you know C++ or at least a lot about how programming works.  If you have that under your belt, this book takes you through a wide variety of topics involved in game programming, including a very good chapter on the mathematics involved in 3d graphics programming.  This is the chapter that I've found lacking in so many other books, since my advanced math skills (especially with matrices!) aren't all that strong, but when someone explains how to do something clearly, I can usually follow along.  Yes, you probably need to have taken trigonometry at one point, but this book gives a good refresher in that area.
The CD-ROM comes packed with source code to different popular 3d games (like Quake and Doom), and with a 20,000 line example game that demonstrates most of the techniques that appear in the book, so there's a lot to work from in this package.
However, you need to have some idea of what you're doing, both in terms of game concept design and programming, in order to get the most out of it.
The fact the book is written by a college student is a plus to me: the style may not always be perfect, but it's written at a level that other college students can understand.
2790442
While there are many books on game, some can be hit or miss (most of them being misses). Roosh's book "Bang" is one of the most unique and original books on game I've read since Strauss. Not giving away anything from the book, I have to say the examples from his own experiences really tie in with what he tries to bring across to readers. Anyone who is new to game should definitely go for this first (I wish I found this book first, to be honest.), because it lays out the plans to getting the girl so precisely that it's mind-boggling when it actually works. Highly recommended.
4226740
Whether you want to make games or just have a curiosity about how game designers think, this book is great. Written by people that know games and game design, the text is on track and fun to read.
4508466
Game Development Essentials (3rd Ed.) - Lays out the groundwork to help readers develop the foundational knowledge and common language required to get into the game industry, or brush up on their existing knowledge.  Straight to the point, factual and comprehensive, the third edition of the book brings readers up to speed on everything they would need to know about game development.  From its humble beginnings, all the way up to the most current trends, this book covers it all.  Since it is impossible to go too in-depth on any one topic, this book is an excellent stepping stone to the author's other game development books, of which are numerous.  My favorite sections are the interviews with industry professionals, which offer a glimpse of what is going on in the real world, as opposed to topics you may find only in purely academic textbooks.

The author is knowledgeable and accomplished in her field, and I would highly recommend this book as a must read to anyone interested in game development.
4235149
Written in the same format as the Game Programming Gems books this book should be the first thing you buy if you're serious about AI. Well written and edited by some of today's most knowledgable AI programmers the topics covered include path planning, race AI, team tactics, finite state machines, scripting etc. The path planning section of the book alone is priceless. I did feel there may have been a little overlap with some of the AI sections in the Game Programming Gems books and one or two pearls of wisdom could have been expanded upon but other than that it was hard to fault the book. Therefore, get it! Read it! Treasure it!
4954267
I'm a professional game designer with 7 years experience and found Ms. Novak's book to be a great introduction to the process of game development. It is well-organized and covers a wealth of relevant topics. The lucid writing and full color screenshots make it easy to read.

Unlike many other introductory books, Ms. Novak's text does not mislead the reader into thinking that becoming a game developer is an easy path, where a great idea and good pitch can allow you to create your dream game. It is a responsible and accessible text that anyone interested in game development would find helpful and insightful. Obviously, as an introductory text, its content is not particularly useful to industry professionals, though I found the profiles and the section on history to be enjoyable.

I don't understand Mark Baldwin's objection to the profiles, because I feel that they provide insight to the industry that is immensely valuable to those new to the field. Ranging from industry greats, such as Louis Castle and Richard Garriot, to current students, a wide variety of perspectives and thoughts are presented. As an aside, I can understand some of Mr. Baldwin's comments from an academic perspective, but from a practical point of view, I must disagree with his harsh appraisal.

I would recommend Ms. Novak's book to anyone who wants to learn the basics of the game development process.
4751709
Five years ago when I decided I wanted to teach myself OpenGL, this was the book I bought. It gave me exactly the foundation I needed to write my several 3D engines and expand on my knowledge to learn all of the latest graphics techniques. I certainly owe a lot to this book for giving me the knowledge and the motivation. Enough about myself. This book is comprehensive in every subject it covers, and unlike a lot of the game development books out there, this one teaches you the basics from the ground up instead of resorting to the ineffective breadth-first mentality of throwing bits and pieces about a wide range of game development subjects. You might wonder, why learn from an out-dated book about mid-nineties graphics techniques? Well, you have to start somewhere so you might as well learn the basics thoroughly. Once you read this book, learning advanced techniques like shadow maps or HDR lighting is a piece of cake since you already know enough about OpenGL from this book to understand the more advanced reference materials out there. Nothing in this book is out-dated. Not only do you learn the basics of OpenGL, you learn how to properly design a 3D engine and a simple game. You also learn how to load MD2 models with key frame animation. Kudos to the authors for choosing an easy-to-parse format to start off with. Consider this book a stepping stone. You have to start a journey somewhere, and the best way to start is by building a solid foundation. Every bit of knowledge in this book is useful in some way or another. For a REAL beginning game development book, read this one instead of the "Design Your Own Game in 24 Hours" hacks. Finally, ignore the one-star reviews. This book deserves much more praise than it has been getting. If you are having trouble compiling stuff in there, you are only hurting yourself by learning programming via the cut-and-paste method. Try to really learn the concepts so you know enough to write your own code.
3247960
Do you have an overwhelming desire to learn how to program games? Let me guess, you have this great idea for a game but you have no idea where to start. You don't even have to know C, C++, or even C#; or any other flavor of C, for that matter.
Do you know HTML5? Great! Then lets get started! First, run, do not walk, to the nearest book store, or even your own PC and buy this book! Im serious. You can learn how to program games with this book. It has code, so you can save time and not have to type all of it in.
I like how it uses the step by step method, meaning you start with chapter one, then progress to chapter two and each chapter builds on the previous chapter. This way you won't get lost in the maze of trying to learn.
The book is written in a straightforward and interesting manner, and is easy to follow. Look at Project 2, the Card Battle game. It even has 3D! All the games are interactive.
 Project 2: Card Battle! 47
Mission briefing 47
Creating the game scenes 49
Creating a 3D card-flipping effect 55
Selecting a card 60
Adding a power value to the cards 64
Creating the opponent's card 67
Building the battle animation 69
Adding health points to the game 74
Restarting the game for the next round of battle 78
Mission accomplished 80
Hotshot challenges 80
So, if you have a really great idea, or even one that you consider to be fantastic, go for it! You just might be the author of the next award winning author of a game for the web.
4932908
I just finished chapter one of Tricks of the 3D game programming gurus and I knew NOTHING about 3D graphics, but now I feel confident I finally am going to be able to understand all of the concepts. The author starts off by starting from nothing, but the perspective equations and a little about 3D space and in no time has you writing a complete game that fits on a few pages of code -- Raiders 3D. This little game is amazing. I can't think of any other book that delivers like this, and I am only on chapter 2 now! I have bought numerous 3D books like Principles of interactive computer graphics, and they are defintiely thorough, but they are just too hard to follow, if I wanted to read a math book they would be great, but maybe the authors think readers are just too smart -- I am a little slower and need to be shown how to do it. This is a GREAT book, but I had some trouble running some of the demos on my slow machine (only 700 mhz). I know the book recommends a 1-2 ghz machine, so I am not upset, but it would have been nice if they ran faster on my slow machine!
1004994
The author has obviously spent a good deal of time and effort organizing the material.  Concepts are presented clearly and in a logical progression with each chapter building on the next.  The sample project provides a visual aid to help the reader understand what code presented in each chapter actually does.  The author has done a great job of avoiding binding in the example project.  Each class and implementation file is a clearly defined stand-alone unit.  I found it very easy to apply what I learned from this book to other game projects.

Before you purchase this book you should consider a couple of things:

First, Direct Draw is a dated technology.  As other reviewers have pointed out, Direct Draw is being phased out by Microsoft.  Second, this is not a C++ how-to book.  You MUST have at least 2 years of C++ programming experience (or equivalent) to get anything out of this book.  If the code samples are not at least 95% clear to you on first reading then you're not ready for this book.
2884508
I am in the process of designing a game for the iPad and other tablets based on games I created 40 years ago as a student.  I wanted to get a well-rounded idea of what makes up a game, how they differ and what makes a game great.  I bought and learned a great deal from the game history and design books of Crawford, Parlett, Aldrich, Koster, Schell, Chen, Prensky, Adams & Dormans, Fullerton, McGuire & Jenkins, Bjork & Holopainen, and Salen & Zimmerman.  But it struck me that none of them really reached high enough, knitting together the best we can learn from Poker, Canasta, Risk, Diplomacy, Ticket to Ride, Settlers of Catan, Othello, and many other games from different parts of the game industry.  This book is the first book that really rises to that level and stays there, seeking the most important characteristics and distinguishing features of games great and small.  It is like a curtain has opened up; these authors are at the early stages of understanding this field in the way that we understand other aspects of society, culture, commerce, media, and art like we understand film and architecture.  I congratulate the authors and highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to really understand what games are all about, not just the superficial differences or the technical skills to execute a game design.
1787983
LaMothe has out-done himself once more.  This book is an excellent starting point teacher/guide/reference for any programmer who is interested in learning how to create windows games.  LaMothe teaches the reader the basics of windows game programming and design through well partitioned chapters.  The book guides the reader in basic techniques for making a 2d game engine, introduces how to use direct x api's, and then goes into important optimization and advanced techniques.  There are also two even more advanced books on the cd as well as an entire library/collection of EXTREMELY useful tools.  If you want to make games... this book is a MUST.  The first edition was great, but the second is an updated, more thorough, more valuable MANDATORY ASSET for those out there who are ready to dive into the world of game creation.
2042824
This is the best book I've ever read on any videogame. The author artfully weaves together his own personal experiences in Japan with a very poignant review of Chrono Trigger's themes and game elements from a critical perspective. The writing is joyful, and at times it's so good it gave me shivers, or made me laugh out loud.

There's also plenty of original journalism in here, including two interviews with the translators tasked with bringing Chrono Trigger to Anglophone audiences. The author himself has clearly done his homework, frequently referencing Chrono Trigger's vast lore and fandom, and his knowledge of the Japanese language gives him insights that other Western critics might lack.

This is the kind of book you'd want to give to someone who says "video game are not art." At the very least, this book is great art, and if a videogame could inspire writing like this, then that's an amazing statement on the power of games like Chrono Trigger to stir our imaginations.
2636341
Please add my positive comments toward the review of this book. I have used dozens of books over the years to help learn computer related issues and this book is by far the best I have ever seen.
Yes, it's geared  toward beginners. That's why it is so good. It doesn't assume that you know  anything. That even helped me. The last language I programmed in was 5  years ago before all the new object oriented concepts and event driven  coding.
For those who have never seen or heard the SDLC System  Development Life Cycle this book has one of the best coverages I have seen.  There are a couple of slight deviations in the chapter but I have written  those to John Smiley as suggested revisions for his next book.
I have  never read a book so quickly. In just two days I have completed almost 200  of the 700+ pages. The flow of material is unrestrictive.
I have seen  some things that get glossed over slighlty but nothing that will cause me  to not understand a concept. This book could easily be adapted to an  interactive CD ROM or video.
I'm happy and trust me when I say it takes a  lot to impress me. I was a bit unsure before my purchase so I e-mailed Mr.  Smiley and asked a couple of questions to which he gave me a very prompt  and curteous reply. I bought the first book the next morning. I will buy at  least some of his others. I don't know that I will have to buy them all, as  the projects I wish to code are not too complicated.
I wish all of the  authors of Technical Books would follow his lead. It makes learning so much  easier.
3788557
If the glowing reviews from industry professionals arn't enough, here's another one from the perspective of a game programming student.

I've spent quite a bit of time examining the various available texts on game AI programming and I have concluded that this is best for several reasons. Most importantly it focuses on the "bread and butter" AI techniques most commonly used in game development today such as Finite State Machines, Fuzzy Logic, Heirarchical Goals, Path Planning and Navigation while avoiding the more complex, difficult, and less commonly used techniques of Genetic Algorithims and Neural Networks. (which he covers quite well in his other book on the subject AI Techniques for Game Programmers.) Secondly all the techniques are illustrated with lots of example code, all in C++, both in the book and with code and executables downloadable from the publisher's web page. Furthermore these examples are illustrated in the context of a provided 2d game coded entirely in C++ called Raven that is very much like a simplified First Person Shooter which you can use to practice and test the techniques that you learn without having to learn the specific interfaces for a commercial game such as Unreal Tournament. Finally there are several chapters that focus on additional topics that are related to AI programming that are very helpful. The first chapter reviews the math and physics necessary to understand the info in the book. Chapter 6 covers the LUA scripting language which is commonly used for programming in many current games. (examples include Farcry, Baldur's Gate, and Homeworld) Apendices at the back of the book cover two more important topics, C++ templates and UML Class Diagrams.  All in all I think it's a very well written and easy to understand book that is simply the best on the topic for beginners.