Introduction to 3D Game Programming with Direct X 9.0c: A Shader Approach (Wordware Game and Graphics Library) | 
 enlarge | Author: Frank Luna
Publisher: Wordware Publishing, Inc.
Category: Book
List Price: $49.95
Buy New: $26.85
You Save: $23.10 (46%)
New (15) Used (7) from $19.12
Rating:  13 reviews
Sales Rank: 157072
Media: Paperback
Pages: 544
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.8
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 6 x 1.4
ISBN: 1598220160
Dewey Decimal Number: 794.81526
EAN: 9781598220162
Publication Date: June 25, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Ships immediately! Perfect and New! 2006 Paperback.
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Product Description
Presents an introduction to programming interactive computer graphics, with an emphasis on game development, using real-time shaders with DirectX 9.0. 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 elementary 3D techniques, such as defining 3D geometry, lighting, texturing, alpha blending, and stenciling by using shaders and the HLSL. Part III is largely about applying Direct3D to implement a variety of interesting techniques and special effects, such as working with meshes, character animation, terrain rendering, picking, particle systems, environment mapping, normal mapping, and rendering to textures.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 8 more reviews...
 Excellent for anyone wanting to learn Direct X, HLSL and other game concepts January 2, 2007
Jonathan. S. (Hamilton, NZ)
18 out of 18 found this review helpful
Overall this is an exceptionally well written book. The text is easy to read, and concise, though that's not to say you understand everything the first time you read it.
The code framework is also pretty good, the naming conventions are decent and the code is clearly written. The framework is consistent throughout the book, and uses inheritance and minor polymorphism which manages to hide a lot of the Direct3D / Win32 initialization, so once you are past these chapters you needn't concern yourself with this code again, and you can intend focus on the code that Frank is trying to explain.
The design is also very modular, a good example of this is found in Chapter 21: Exercise 4 where it asks you to integrate an Environment Mapped sphere for the sky, and Normal mapped water, into a scene which shows a Castle and trees / grass. This was pretty easy, as it just required shifting a few art / source files and tying some loose ends.
The book contains many exercises, a lot of which I found very helpful in understanding the material presented in the text and code samples, they give a good sense of accomplishment and I recommend them if you want to fully understand the concepts taught, and most are generally doable with a bit of research into the DirectX SDK, and rereading the text.
The text also does an excellent job of explaining key DirectX functions, and is usually a lot more approachable than the SDK. It also explains the use of the DirectX texture tool, and Terragen ( a free terrain generator, which is very easy to use)
For anyone looking to learn DirectX 9, HLSL, and the fundamental concepts behind games, then this book will serve as a solid foundation for those willing to take the time to read and understand it.
Very good book for learning how to use DirectX9 December 24, 2006
Chris Long
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
This is a great book. Mr. Luna provides an incredible amount of information all with good detail and clear wording. He doesn't waste time by teaching you irrelevant or outdated topics that aren't used anymore like other books. The more difficult topics are explained well and example code is abundant. This book is recommended for any aspiring game programmer.
THE 3D Game Programming Book to Get! May 13, 2007
MegaCoder (California, USA)
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
This book is absolutely amazing! I could gush for pages about what a great book this is, so I will keep it short and tell you simply to buy this book if you want a great intro to 3D Game Programming!
This book is nicely laid out! August 24, 2006
Jeffrey S. Hartman (Phoenix, AZ)
13 out of 15 found this review helpful
I have been publishing 2-d and flash games for a bit, and now need to hit DirectX for 3d again (stopped at v8) and need to catch up. There were several things I needed for the new game project starting and it was easy to find all of them right off the bat. I checked first in the index. e.g. I need landscape/terrain generation, .x file loading, and concepts described in pure mathematics (not pseudo code) before showing the actual code. Don't be afraid of matrix math/calculus and get this book. It is a total re-write from the ground up of a previous book. I like this guy.
A great intro to the world of DirectX graphics programming June 4, 2008
Paul Austria (Redmond, WA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I've been programming for two years now and have relied on online tutorials and sample code for "learning" how to do graphics programming with directX. I needed a basic knowledge of 2D graphics programming for a class, but after a semester of blindly using the directX sprite drawing funtions, I decided to stop, step back, and actually understand directX from the bottom, up.
I purchased this book recently and have been working through the chapters (currently up to the first shader and effects content). I find this book to be a great way to learn to be comfortable with using directX for graphics programming (and some game programming in general with very handy sections on win32 programming for games, input, etc). Like a previous reviewer said, this book is by no means meant to be all about shaders. Instead, this book will give you a strong foundation on graphics with the API with a little taste of shaders. Im sure you could learn all of this content if you got lucky enough to find all the right well writen tutorials, but its very convenient for me to have everything I need in one book.
Recommended if:
- You have never done graphics and wish to take a directX method
- You have done graphics before and want to learn the API (makes a great reference)
- You want a complete 'beginners guide' to graphics for games and game programming with the API
Not if:
- You do not meet the author's prerequesits
- You want a book on shaders
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