DirectX Books

Introduction to 3D Game Programming with Direct 3D 10: A Shader Approach (Wordware Game and Graphics Library)

Frank D. Luna

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Introduction to 3D Game Programming with DirectX 10 presents an introduction to programming interactive computer graphics, with an emphasis on game development, using Direct3D 10. It teaches the fundamentals of Direct3D and shader programming, after which the reader will be prepared to go on and learn more advanced techniques. The book is divided into three main parts. Part I explains the mathematical tools that will be used throughout this book. Part II shows how to implement fundamental tasks in Direct3D, such as initialization, defining 3D geometry, setting up cameras, creating vertex, pixel, and geometry shaders, lighting, texturing, blending, and stenciling. Part III is largely about applying Direct3D to implement a variety of interesting techniques and special effects, such as working with meshes, terrain rendering, picking, particle systems, environment mapping, normal mapping, shadows, and rendering to textures. The book is designed for intermediate-level C++ programmers who are completely new to Direct3D and game programming, 3D programmers experienced with an API other than Direct3D (e.g., OpenGL), and programmers experienced with previous versions of Direct3D wishing to learn the latest version--Direct3D 10.

Introduction to 3D Game Programming with Direct X 9.0c: A Shader Approach (Wordware Game and Graphics Library)

Frank Luna

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 16 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Introduction to 3D Game Programming with DirectX 9.0c: A Shader Approach presents an introduction to programming interactive computer graphics, with an emphasis on game development, using real-time shaders with DirectX 9.0. The book is divided into three parts that explain basic mathematical and 3D concepts, show how to describe 3D worlds and implement fundamental 3D rendering techniques, and demonstrate the application of Direct3D to create a variety of special effects.

With this book: * Understand basic mathematical tools used in video game creation such as vectors, matrices, and transformations. * Discover how to describe and draw interactive 3D scenes using Direct3D and the D3DX library. * Learn how to implement lighting, texture mapping, alpha blending, and stenciling using shaders and the high-level shading language (HLSL). * Explore a variety of techniques for creating special effects, including vertex blending, character animation, terrain rendering, multi-texturing, particle systems, reflections, shadows, and normal mapping. * Find out how to work with meshes, load and render .X files, program terrain/camera collision detection, and implement 3D object picking. * Review key ideas, gain programming experience, and explore new topics with the end-of-chapter exercises.

Beginning DirectX 10 Game Programming

Wendy Jones

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Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Discover the exciting world of game programming and 3D graphics creation using DirectX 10! "Beginning DirectX® 10 Game Progmramming" is an introductory guide to creating fantastic graphics, amazing creatures, and realistic worlds for games. Written specifically for the beginner programmer, the book uses step-by-step instructions to teach the basics of DirectX 10, introducing skills that can be applied to creating games for both PC and game console platforms. You’ll start by learning how to install the DirectX SDK and how to get your first application up and running. From there you’ll be introduced to the 2D and 3D graphics components of DirectX allowing you to draw animated sprites and create 3D objects. Put your new skills to the test with a final, hands-on project that shows how to bring together everything you’ve learned. If you have a basic knowledge of C++ and 3D math concepts then you are ready to learn how to program amazing 3D game graphics with "Beginning DirectX 10!"

Programming Role Playing Games with DirectX, Second Edition (Game Development Series)

Jim Adams

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 17 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

No game draws a player into its world in quite the same way as a role-playing game does. In role-playing games, players break through the barrier that exists between their actions and the fantastic world that they’re navigating through and instead become an inhabitant of that world. Get ready to put your creative ideas in motion and try your hand at creating your own role-playing game! "Programming Role Playing Games with DirectX, 2nd Edition" will show you how to do it as you create cool graphics and combat engines, handle players in your game, use scripts and items, and make your game multiplayer-capable. This book breaks a role-playing game down into its essential components, examining the details of each and showing you how to use them in your game project. Learn how to draw with DirectX Graphics, play audio with DirectX Audio, network with DirectPlay,and process input with DirectInput. By the time you finish, you’ll possess the skills you need to create a complete role-playing game.

Advanced 3D Game Programming with DirectX 10.0 (Wordware Game and Graphics Library)

Peter Walsh

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Great beginner's book 5 out of 5 stars.
12 of 12 people found this review helpful.

So, the title of this book is "Advanced 3D Game Programming With DirectX 10.0", which seems to imply that the text is designed for intermediate/experienced programmers who want to up their skills to the next level. This book isn't really "advanced" at all -- it's an introductory DirectX/game programming book. So, keep that in mind if you're looking to buy this.

However, if you're an experienced C++ programmer, but you're a newbie to DirectX game programming, then this book is absolutely perfect. It covers DirectInput -- teaching you the fundamentals for programming input in your game in a very straightforward non-pretentious manner. Direct3D, typically daunting to newbies, is given a very lucid, clear, and succinct treatment. Walsh also covers more advanced topics like scene management (in truth, he glosses over it, so you'll need to do additional reading elsewhere, but it's a good start...), pixel/vertex shaders, and several cool graphics techniques (pre-computed radiosity was especially cool).
Walsh also covers the rudiments of network and sound programming, so your game will be "complete".

I guess what I like most about this book is that while it's not too in-depth with regard to any topic, it goes over the basics of all necessary game programming topics, so that you can start writing basic games immediately (full games, mind you...not just a flyby through a room of cubes). It's a great fundamentals book that, if you read and understand fully, will allow you to transition relatively painlessly to more advanced books/techniques.

While I was tempted to give this book 4 stars for the misleading title, I simply cannot find it within myself to give a book that is so good at what it does lesser than a 5.

Oh, and for those of you wondering, "where do I go next after this book?", here's a list of what I'm using as a hobbyist graphics/game programmer...I hope it helps:

- The ShaderX series (advanced real-time graphics topics)
- GPU Gems series (more advanced, scientific real-time graphics topics)
- "3D Game Engine Design" by David Eberly (great book that teaches you how to design a professional quality game engine)
- Real-Time Rendering, 2nd edition (all the real-time graphics considerations and algorithmic fundamentals are here)
- Game Programming Gems (these are like the ShaderX/GPU Gems, only for general game programming, including math, sound, input, graphics, scene management, etc.)

I hope this review helps anybody interested in becoming a game programmer!

Editorial Review:

This update to the best-selling Advanced 3D Game Programming with DirectX 9.0 focuses on developing cutting-edge games with DirectX 10.0. Beginning with the foundations of 3D math and the components of DirectX, programmers new to graphics and game programming will learn how to implement networking, collision detection, and multithreading. Full source code is provided for the examples and for the client/server networked 3D first-person game that brings together many of the techniques discussed in the book.

Learn how to:
* Acquire input from the user through the keyboard and mouse.
* Simulate intelligence using steering algorithms and motivation engines.
* Render using HLSL shaders.
* Use advanced 3D techniques such as forward and inverse kinematics, subdivision surfaces, and radiosity lighting.
* Manage scenes via portal rendering.

Visual Basic Game Programming with DirectX (The Premier Press Game Development Series)

Jonathan S. Harbour

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 31 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Needs to be updated to VB .Net 3 out of 5 stars.
4 of 5 people found this review helpful.

This book was written about the time VB .Net was coming out and the author even mentions that he considered writing some of the code in .Net. I bought the book, realizing it was dated, thinking that it would be a good learning experience to convert the examples to VB .Net. Of course, it's proving to be very frustrating.

This is a good book and well written and if you are determined to stick with VB6 and want to learn game programming. However, if you're moving on to .Net I would suggest looking for a different title. (If you find a good one let me know.)

I really wish they would publish a new edition with re-written examples. That would be ideal.

Editorial Review:

Think Visual Basic is just to slow to write a decent game? Think again! Microsoft Visual Basic Game Programming with DirectX gives you all of the tricks and techniques that you need to create awesome games using Visual Basic. Offering equal parts theory and hands-on exercises, the chapters in this book begin with a discussion of completing a task using Visual Basic then move on to enhancing the code with the Windows API. When applicable, the chapters conclude by delving into the details of how DirectX fits in. The final section of the book is devoted wholly to developing a variety of complete games: role playing, strategy, scrolling arcade games, and more. Whether you are new to game programming or new to Visual Basic, this book gives you everything you need to create amazing games by combining the hidden power of Visual Basic with DirectX.

Managed DirectX 9 Kick Start: Graphics and Game Programming (Kick Start)

Tom Miller

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 40 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Decent approach, bad information 3 out of 5 stars.
10 of 10 people found this review helpful.

The way that this book approaches teaching Managed DirectX is a pretty good one compared to some other books I have looked at, provided that you are willing to do most of the work of trying to understand what you're doing yourself.

However, the book has loads and loads of errors. Many of them are simple and easy to correct if you know a little about C# or .NET (which you should if you want to use the book), but there are some that will probably confuse most beginners. For example, the book gets a pretty fundamental bit of information about back face culling completely backwards from the way things really work.

For those interested in the technical details, this book tells you that counterclockwise culling mode means you must specify vertices in counterclockwise order for them to be displayed and that clockwise-ordered vertices are not rendered. This is completely wrong. Counterclockwise culling mode means that counterlockwise-ordered vertices are the ones that are not displayed (if you check the official DirectX SDK documentation [and most every other source of info about DirectX available on the Internet] you will see that this is the case).

While probably not the worst DirectX book you could possibly find, this book should not be used by itself. Just about everything it tells you should be double-checked against the SDK documentation or some other DirectX reference to make sure that the information is correct.

Editorial Review:

Managed DirectX was released with the latest version of the core DirectX libraries in DirectX9. It enables developers using the new .NET languages (i.e. C#, VB.NET, etc.) to develop rich multimedia applications with DirectX. Unfortunately the Managed DirectX runtime was released without adequate documentation, and developers are having a hard time figuring out the best way to write managed applications. This book covers how to use the Managed DirectX objects, how they differ from the core DirectX libraries, and how to create these rich multimedia applications in C#. It also covers in depth graphics techniques and the new high-level shader language shipping with DirectX9.

Programming a Multiplayer FPS in DirectX (Game Development Series)

Vaughan Young

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 16 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

If you have experience with C++ and DirectX and have always wanted to program your own game, this is the book for you. Programming a Multiplayer FPS in DirectX takes you from the basic game design to a fully functioning game! All of the source code, assets, and tools are included–you just work through the tutorial-based chapters and watch the game come to life as you develop it. And as new features are added, you can begin playing with them to see them in action.

Following a typical game development process, the book is separated into two distinct parts: Part One focuses on the design and development of the game engine, and Part Two concentrates on putting the game together using the engine. The theory has been kept to a minimum, so that you are following a hands-on approach and adding new functionality to your engine as you proceed. In the first part, you'll learn about the many facets of DirectX, C++, and object-oriented programming. You'll also learn how to design the engine and put the infrastructure into place. The next chapters will each add a new module to your engine including input, scripting, 3D rendering, sound, networking, and scene management. The second part covers the final development stages, including everything from game play to player management; it culminates with the complete multiplayer FPS game.

Throughout the book you'll learn key topics that will bring you up to speed with industry proven techniques, while improving your confidence as a developer. And because DirectX is the most prevalent game development tool available, once you master this project, you'll have the skills you need to create a variety of games!

FEATURES * Provides a detailed, step-by-step approach through the creation of a complete multiplayer FPS

* Covers a variety of key topics beyond the basics needed for the game creation, including occlusion culling and scene management

* Prepares users with the skills needed to code using the latest DirectX API

* Includes a companion CD-ROM with all the source code and assets for the complete game, the DirectX SDK, and other useful tools

On the CD! * All of the source code and assets used to create the complete game

* The DirectX SDK 9.0c installation package used to develop the code in the book

* Panda DirectX Exporter (by Andy Tather) to use in conjunction with 3ds max to produce meshes in .x file format

* Paint Shop Pro fullfeatured, trial version– great for creating textures

* Improved Collision Detection Article (by Kasper Fauerby): provides more details about the collision detection algorithm used in the sample game

*************************************** Take your game development to the next level. After reading this book, you’ll know how to program your own FPS game.All submissions must be received by November 4, 2005. Final prizes for the competition include the entire Game Programming Gems Series (Volumes 1 – 5), valued at $350. Others are still being added. ***************************************

Beginning DirectX 9 (Game Development Series)

Wendy Jones

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 18 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Old Edition 2 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This is a book that teaches you directX 9b NOT 9c or 10. If you use the new 2005 Visual Studio the code may not compile, but with a few fixes it is still possible. The code on the CD is understandable if you read the chapter, but you need at least a good understanding of C++. So I recommend you look for a newer edition and get a book on beginning C++ as well.

Beg your professor to change textbooks. 2 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Miserable and frustrating. I wasted an entire weekend trying to learn from this book. I seriously think they outsourced the actual coding in the CD, because there are so many ridiculous inconsistencies.

For one thing, the in-book code samples and example(from CD) code samples are completely different. The example code is written in a bizarre style that overuses uses spaces and parentheses in a way not used by the book and generally atypical to American code. There's also a number of devastating errors with both the book AND CD which made this a frustrating learning experience:

- Book code for a basic Windows program has error that causes program to not close properly. (have to ctrl-alt-delete) CD code for this actually works, but it's uncommented and very ugly.
- CD code for the entire third chapter does not execute. It compiles, but it doesn't run.
- CD code has this dxManager structure that is simply not explained.
- Book doesn't tell you that you need to add .lib files until far too late. Sometimes it doesn't tell you what .lib files you need to add at all.
- No VC++ 6.0 project/workspace files are provided. This is sheer laziness...it'd take them 10 minutes to add these.

I spent my whole weekend trying to use their base code, then trying to use the DirectX SDK's base code, then experimenting until I finally figured out a way to get their ransom-note HELLO WORLD program to work. I wasted an entire weekend on this. I had to hollow out chapter 4 example 1 code and plug in the chapter 3 example 3 code in to work with it. I've never had this much difficulty coding in my life.

Waste of time, waste of money. Find something else.

Editorial Review:

As a beginning programmer, you've probably noticed how difficult it is to find introductory guides to game programming. If you're interested in learning DirectX and are looking for a book that helps you go beyond the 3D component of DirectX and gives you complete coverage of this amazing product, then look no further! "Beginning DirectX 9" gives you examples that build on previous chapters and culminates in the completion of a playable game.

Real-Time 3D Terrain Engines Using C++ and DirectX 9 (Game Development Series) (Game Development Series)

Greg Snook

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Total reviews: 22 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

With recent advancements in programmable 3D rendering hardware, game developers can create engines capable of making complete outdoor landscapes. Many of todayfs popular games include entire outdoor environments, but making these environments realistic and fast is a challenge for even the best programmers. Real-Time 3D Terrain Engines Using C++ and DirectX 9 is written to help make the process more efficient, and to bring new programmers into the field of 3D computer game programming.

The book is dedicated to teaching the fundamentals of programming a popular 3D engine type „Ÿ the gReal-Time 3D Terrain Engine.h Throughout the book, the focus is on the essential topics of outdoor terrain rendering. So whether you are new to 3D engine programming or a seasoned veteran, Real-Time 3D Terrain Engines Using C++ and DirectX 9 will teach you how to use the latest advancements in hardware accelerated rendering, and provide all of the tips, tricks, and ideas you need to build your own, complete 3D terrain engine.

Skills Needed: It is assumed that you are familiar with C++, Direct X, math, and geometry and that youfre ready to move into 3D engine design and real-time terrain visualization.

ON the CD-ROM
* The complete real-time 3D terrain engine documented in the book
* All model, texture, and effect files
* The Microsoft DirectX 9 SDK
* 3DEM (Visualization Software LLC) and a demo of T2 (Keith Ditchburn) to help you create your own terrain

System Requirements:
Windows 2000/XP,Pentium III Processor 1Ghz+, DirectX 9 compatible video card providing hardware-accelerated, programmable vertex, and pixel shaders (NVIDIA® GeForce™ chipsets (versions 3, 4, FX, or greater) and the ATI® Radeon™ chipset (8500 series and greater), CD/Hard Drive, 128 MB RAM (256 MB recommended), 500 MB of free disk space is required to install the DirectX 9 SDK, the sample source code, and the tools provided. Sample code was written using Microsoft Visual Studio.NET® (Visual Studio 7.0), which is the recommended compiler for working along with this book. Project files are also provided for Microsoft Visual Studio® version 6.0 for convenience. Compilers from other vendors might compile these files, but have not been tested. The source code is intended for Microsoft Windows XP, but might also function under Windows 98, Windows ME, or Windows 2000. However, support for these older versions of Microsoft Windows is not guaranteed because DirectX 9.0 drivers might not be available for all video cards on these older operating systems. DirectX is Licensed Software, the use of which is governed by an English language break-the-seal EULA inside the Licensed Software.