The incredibly rich detail within this book on virtually all facets of game development on the DirectX platform is what sets it apart from other titles. The author, a truly legendary game programmer, conveys his expert knowledge with a sense of authority and flair in a massive format (nearly 1,000 pages). After a tour of basic Windows C programming, this book centers on Microsoft DirectX for game development. Though most of the printed book centers on DirectDraw (for 2D APIs), these APIs are used to render 3D worlds. (A wide variety of articles on Direct3D are included on the accompanying CD-ROM.) The author also shows how to get the most out of other Microsoft APIs for high-performance gaming, including sound (DirectSound and DirectMusic) and input (with DirectInput).
Rarely does the ordinary programmer get a glimpse into the high-powered world of video game development. That's what's offered here with plenty of techniques and tips for creating leading-edge game effects (such as simulating the laws of physics in your games, like gravity, or creating smarter characters with artificial intelligence). Whether you are an aspiring game developer or an interested game enthusiast with a programming background who wants a peek under the hood, Tricks of the Windows Game Programming Gurus shows you how it's done in an exciting, technically rich, and authoritatively told tutorial on how to use DirectX for creating realistic video games. --Richard Dragan
Topics covered: Game basics, history of video games, 3D modelers and graphics tools, Windows C programming primer, graphics, COM, DirectX and DirectDraw fundamentals, DirectDraw surfaces, double buffering, working with bitmaps, color-keying, vector rasterization, 2D transformations and clipping, input and DirectInput, sound effects with DirectSound and DirectMusic, binary search trees (BSTs) for 3D worlds, multithreading, artificial intelligence for games, physics modeling, gravity, bouncing effects and particle systems, and Direct3D and 3D programming (on CD-ROM).