Game programming books

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    • RE: Game programming books

      One of my old co-workers highly recommends 3D Game Engine Architecture. His books tend to be pretty hard core, so be prepared. ;) They're definitely worth getting, especially considering that there are a few engines that are build upon a similar architecture as Wild Magic.

      -Rez

    • Hi Rez,
      Thanks for the reply. I have been thinking of buying one of the David H Eberly books for a little while now, I'm just not sure which one to start with. I had heard that Biowares engine was built around a design from one of Davids books, not sure if its true or not.


      EDIT:

      I have just ordered '3D Game Engine Architecture: Engineering Real-Time Applications with Wild Magic.' by David H Eberly. I got the cheapest copy i could off of Amazon for £ 34.80 Stirling. I will let you know what its like once i have read it.

      The post was edited 1 time, last by draco ().

    • OK, i have now got my copy of David H Eberly's book '3D Game Engine Architecture: Engineering Real-Time Applications with Wild Magic.', so far i have only skimmed through it, but i have to say that i dread to think what his previous book was like, as this one is supposed to be light on math compared to his last book(apparently he had a few complaints about his enthusiastic math use). I think i need to scrub up on my math before i can get the most out of this book. :))

    • Oh yeah, his books are extremely heavy on math. They're not for the faint of heart. ;) His purpose is to teach you the basics of creating a real professional quality 3D engine. It's fun stuff though, as long as you're into that sort of thing.

      -Rez

    • Eberly's got a PhD in math and another in computer science. The ultimate combination. An engine of a similar size to that of wild magic is usually the work of more than one person. I have the 2nd edition of "3D Game Engine Design" and I must say it's a great book. However, you have to work really hard in order to learn what the book is trying to teach you. Also keep some math books around because you'll badly need them. "3D Game Engine Architecture: Engineering Real-Time Applications with Wild Magic" is lighter on the math side and an easier read than "3D Game Engine Design"

    • Thanks for the replies, your input is much appreciated :)

      mtf20, the book you mentioned..'3D Game Engine Design'...is that another of Eberly's books ? And i know he has a book of similar title which i was thinking of getting, but i chose the '3D Game Engine Architecture' instead. I do intend to buy most of the series, including then physics books as well.

      The post was edited 1 time, last by draco ().

    • "3D game engine design: A Practical Approach to Real-Time Computer Graphics" was the original book Eberly wrote that used his wild magic engine. Then he got a lot of feedback from people asking him how to architecturally build and organize big libraries that can make use of the techniques he mentioned in his first book. It was then when "3D Game Engine Architecture: Engineering Real-Time Applications with Wild Magic" was born. Soon after, The second edition of his first book was released to reflect the rapid changes in the real time graphics technology (specially shaders). Both books are great and both are based on the wild magic engine. The first one discusses the mathematics concepts while the second takes the software designer point of view. I suggest getting both of them. Happy reading :)