after lusting for a copy of andré lamothe's Black Art of 3d Game Programming for years, i finally found an affordable copy
it does not disappoint. one of the fatal flaws of 95% of 3d game programming books is that they jump straight into mathematical proofs, instead of explaining in human terms how concepts are relevant to making a game. lamothe's programming concepts are clear, easy to understand, and provide real-world examples before diving into code
to my delight, the book doesn't limit itself to just 3d. it covers every conceivable topic for building a game engine from scratch in MS-DOS - and includes some great chapters on FM and wavetable synthesis!
#programming #c #retroGaming
10 Comments
thezerobit@anticapitalist.party · 3 pts · 1y
@vga256@dialup.cafe
I need this book now. Looking through it online, it even has instructions to build your own sound output device that attaches to the parallel port and uses a resistor ladder (actually, 2 ladders because it is stereo) as a DAC to produce audio. Epic.
It also covers state machines with probabilistic state selection for controlling enemies. That's the technique I used for the AI (that's what we called it) code to control monsters and vehicles in "Godzilla: Unleashed" for the Wii.
agersant@mastodon.gamedev.place · 2 pts · 1y
@vga256@dialup.cafe The cover art has incredible energy. How did they so perfectly blend the aesthetics of a D&D dungeon master guide and clipart collection CDs?
vga256@dialup.cafe · 1 pts · 1y
@agersant@mastodon.gamedev.place 😆 it really does look like a 3rd party published 3e book
sinbad@mastodon.gamedev.place · 2 pts · 1y
@vga256@dialup.cafe that has some Zen of Graphics Programming vibes, a book which I will never get rid of
vga256@dialup.cafe · 1 pts · 1y
@sinbad@mastodon.gamedev.place very much Abrash-level depth
clyde@mastodon.gamedev.place · 1 pts · 1y
@vga256@dialup.cafe this post has awakened a deep need
hadrienmp@mastodon.top · 1 pts · 1y
@vga256@dialup.cafe OMG that looks so cool
Computeum@mastodon.bayern · 1 pts · 1y
@vga256@dialup.cafe Andre is well known vor his close to reality books. Don't get fooled by the sheer number. None of them might be groundbreaking, but all are well worth a read.
simrak@mastodon.gamedev.place · 1 pts · 1y
@vga256@dialup.cafe I started a new leg of the gamedev journey back in the day on his DirectX7 Game Programming book : )
techokami@woof.tech · 1 pts · 1y
@vga256@dialup.cafe I should get myself a copy, what's the ISBN?