Core Techniques and Algorithms in Game Programming


Book Description

To even try to keep pace with the rapid evolution of game development, you need a strong foundation in core programming techniques-not a hefty volume on one narrow topic or one that devotes itself to API-specific implementations. Finally, there's a guide that delivers! As a professor at the Spanish university that offered that country's first master's degree in video game creation, author Daniel Sanchez-Crespo recognizes that there's a core programming curriculum every game designer should be well versed in-and he's outlined it in these pages! By focusing on time-tested coding techniques-and providing code samples that use C++, and the OpenGL and DirectX APIs-Daniel has produced a guide whose shelf life will extend long beyond the latest industry trend. Code design, data structures, design patterns, AI, scripting engines, 3D pipelines, texture mapping, and more: They're all covered here-in clear, coherent fashion and with a focus on the essentials that will have you referring back to this volume for years to come.




Game Programming Algorithms and Techniques


Book Description

Game Programming Algorithms and Techniques is a detailed overview of many of the important algorithms and techniques used in video game programming today. Designed for programmers who are familiar with object-oriented programming and basic data structures, this book focuses on practical concepts that see actual use in the game industry. Sanjay Madhav takes a unique platform- and framework-agnostic approach that will help develop virtually any game, in any genre, with any language or framework. He presents the fundamental techniques for working with 2D and 3D graphics, physics, artificial intelligence, cameras, and much more. Each concept is illuminated with pseudocode that will be intuitive to any C#, Java, or C++ programmer, and has been refined and proven in Madhav's game programming courses at the University of Southern California. Review questions after each chapter help solidify the most important concepts before moving on. Madhav concludes with a detailed analysis of two complete games: a 2D iOS side-scroller (written in Objective-Cusing cocos2d) and a 3D PC/Mac/Linux tower defense game (written in C# using XNA/ MonoGame). These games illustrate many of the algorithms and techniques covered in the earlier chapters, and the full source code is available at gamealgorithms.net. Coverage includes Game time management, speed control, and ensuring consistency on diverse hardware Essential 2D graphics techniques for modern mobile gaming Vectors, matrices, and linear algebra for 3D games 3D graphics including coordinate spaces, lighting and shading, z-buffering, and quaternions Handling today's wide array of digital and analog inputs Sound systems including sound events, 3D audio, and digital signal processing Fundamentals of game physics, including collision detection and numeric integration Cameras: first-person, follow, spline, and more Artificial intelligence: pathfinding, state-based behaviors, and strategy/planning User interfaces including menu systems and heads-up displays Scripting and text-based data files: when, how, and where to use them Basics of networked games including protocols and network topology




AI for Game Developers


Book Description

Written for the novice AI programmer, this text introduces the reader to techniques such as finite state machines, fuzzy logic, neural networks and many others in an easy-to-understand language, supported with code samples throughout the text.




Game Programming Patterns


Book Description

The biggest challenge facing many game programmers is completing their game. Most game projects fizzle out, overwhelmed by the complexity of their own code. Game Programming Patterns tackles that exact problem. Based on years of experience in shipped AAA titles, this book collects proven patterns to untangle and optimize your game, organized as independent recipes so you can pick just the patterns you need. You will learn how to write a robust game loop, how to organize your entities using components, and take advantage of the CPUs cache to improve your performance. You'll dive deep into how scripting engines encode behavior, how quadtrees and other spatial partitions optimize your engine, and how other classic design patterns can be used in games.




Twenty Lectures on Algorithmic Game Theory


Book Description

Computer science and economics have engaged in a lively interaction over the past fifteen years, resulting in the new field of algorithmic game theory. Many problems that are central to modern computer science, ranging from resource allocation in large networks to online advertising, involve interactions between multiple self-interested parties. Economics and game theory offer a host of useful models and definitions to reason about such problems. The flow of ideas also travels in the other direction, and concepts from computer science are increasingly important in economics. This book grew out of the author's Stanford University course on algorithmic game theory, and aims to give students and other newcomers a quick and accessible introduction to many of the most important concepts in the field. The book also includes case studies on online advertising, wireless spectrum auctions, kidney exchange, and network management.




Programming Game AI by Example


Book Description

This book describes in detail many of the AI techniques used in modern computer games, explicity shows how to implement these practical techniques within the framework of several game developers with a practical foundation to game AI.




Guide to Competitive Programming


Book Description

This invaluable textbook presents a comprehensive introduction to modern competitive programming. The text highlights how competitive programming has proven to be an excellent way to learn algorithms, by encouraging the design of algorithms that actually work, stimulating the improvement of programming and debugging skills, and reinforcing the type of thinking required to solve problems in a competitive setting. The book contains many “folklore” algorithm design tricks that are known by experienced competitive programmers, yet which have previously only been formally discussed in online forums and blog posts. Topics and features: reviews the features of the C++ programming language, and describes how to create efficient algorithms that can quickly process large data sets; discusses sorting algorithms and binary search, and examines a selection of data structures of the C++ standard library; introduces the algorithm design technique of dynamic programming, and investigates elementary graph algorithms; covers such advanced algorithm design topics as bit-parallelism and amortized analysis, and presents a focus on efficiently processing array range queries; surveys specialized algorithms for trees, and discusses the mathematical topics that are relevant in competitive programming; examines advanced graph techniques, geometric algorithms, and string techniques; describes a selection of more advanced topics, including square root algorithms and dynamic programming optimization. This easy-to-follow guide is an ideal reference for all students wishing to learn algorithms, and practice for programming contests. Knowledge of the basics of programming is assumed, but previous background in algorithm design or programming contests is not necessary. Due to the broad range of topics covered at various levels of difficulty, this book is suitable for both beginners and more experienced readers.




Essential Mathematics for Games and Interactive Applications


Book Description

Essential Mathematics for Games and Interactive Applications, 2nd edition presents the core mathematics necessary for sophisticated 3D graphics and interactive physical simulations. The book begins with linear algebra and matrix multiplication and expands on this foundation to cover such topics as color and lighting, interpolation, animation and basic game physics. Essential Mathematics focuses on the issues of 3D game development important to programmers and includes optimization guidance throughout. The new edition Windows code will now use Visual Studio.NET. There will also be DirectX support provided, along with OpenGL - due to its cross-platform nature. Programmers will find more concrete examples included in this edition, as well as additional information on tuning, optimization and robustness. The book has a companion CD-ROM with exercises and a test bank for the academic secondary market, and for main market: code examples built around a shared code base, including a math library covering all the topics presented in the book, a core vector/matrix math engine, and libraries to support basic 3D rendering and interaction.




Game Programming in C++


Book Description

Program 3D Games in C++: The #1 Language at Top Game Studios Worldwide C++ remains the key language at many leading game development studios. Since it’s used throughout their enormous code bases, studios use it to maintain and improve their games, and look for it constantly when hiring new developers. Game Programming in C++ is a practical, hands-on approach to programming 3D video games in C++. Modeled on Sanjay Madhav’s game programming courses at USC, it’s fun, easy, practical, hands-on, and complete. Step by step, you’ll learn to use C++ in all facets of real-world game programming, including 2D and 3D graphics, physics, AI, audio, user interfaces, and much more. You’ll hone real-world skills through practical exercises, and deepen your expertise through start-to-finish projects that grow in complexity as you build your skills. Throughout, Madhav pays special attention to demystifying the math that all professional game developers need to know. Set up your C++ development tools quickly, and get started Implement basic 2D graphics, game updates, vectors, and game physics Build more intelligent games with widely used AI algorithms Implement 3D graphics with OpenGL, shaders, matrices, and transformations Integrate and mix audio, including 3D positional audio Detect collisions of objects in a 3D environment Efficiently respond to player input Build user interfaces, including Head-Up Displays (HUDs) Improve graphics quality with anisotropic filtering and deferred shading Load and save levels and binary game data Whether you’re a working developer or a student with prior knowledge of C++ and data structures, Game Programming in C++ will prepare you to solve real problems with C++ in roles throughout the game development lifecycle. You’ll master the language that top studios are hiring for—and that’s a proven route to success.




A Common-Sense Guide to Data Structures and Algorithms, Second Edition


Book Description

Algorithms and data structures are much more than abstract concepts. Mastering them enables you to write code that runs faster and more efficiently, which is particularly important for today’s web and mobile apps. Take a practical approach to data structures and algorithms, with techniques and real-world scenarios that you can use in your daily production code, with examples in JavaScript, Python, and Ruby. This new and revised second edition features new chapters on recursion, dynamic programming, and using Big O in your daily work. Use Big O notation to measure and articulate the efficiency of your code, and modify your algorithm to make it faster. Find out how your choice of arrays, linked lists, and hash tables can dramatically affect the code you write. Use recursion to solve tricky problems and create algorithms that run exponentially faster than the alternatives. Dig into advanced data structures such as binary trees and graphs to help scale specialized applications such as social networks and mapping software. You’ll even encounter a single keyword that can give your code a turbo boost. Practice your new skills with exercises in every chapter, along with detailed solutions. Use these techniques today to make your code faster and more scalable.