Do you love video games? Ever wondered if you could create one of your own, with all the bells and whistles? It?s not as complicated as you?d think, and you don?t need to be a math whiz or a programming genius to do it. In fact, everything you need to create your first game, ?Invasion of the Slugwroths,? is included in this book and CD-ROM.

Author David Conger starts at square one, introducing the tools of the trade and all the basic concepts for getting started programming with C++, the language that powers most current commercial games. Plus, he?s put a wealth of top-notch (and free) tools on the CD-ROM, including the Dev-C++ compiler, linker, and debugger--and his own LlamaWorks2D game engine. Step-by-step instructions and ample illustrations take you through game program structure, integrating sound and music into games, floating-point math, C++ arrays, and much more. Using the sample programs and the source code to run them, you can follow along as you learn.

Bio: David Conger has been programming professionally for over 23 years. Along with countless custom business applications, he has written several PC and online games. Conger also worked on graphics firmware for military aircraft, and taught computer science at the university level for four years. Conger has written numerous books on C, C++, and other computer-related topics. He lives in western Washington State and has also published a collection of Indian folk tales.

Anybody who wants to start developing games can do with this guide--no programming (or computer) experience required! * Computer-based games have surpassed Hollywood movies in revenues, amounting to $40 billion annually worldwide! * Fun projects, a wealth of diagrams and illustrations, and an accessible, friendly writing style, David Conger puts game development within everyone’s reach. * Author David Conger is an experienced game developer and teacher.

David Conger has extensive experience in software and game development for clients such as American Laser Games and Microsoft. He has written numerous computer books (including The Complete Idiot’s Guide to C# Programming) and extensive software documentation.

Do you love video games? Ever wondered if you could create one of your own, with all the bells and whistles? It’s not as complicated as you’d think, and you don’t need to be a math whiz or a programming genius to do it. In fact, everything you need to create your first game, “Invasion of the Slugwroths,” is included in this book and CD-ROM.

Author David Conger starts at square one, introducing the tools of the trade and all the basic concepts for getting started programming with C++, the language that powers most current commercial games. Plus, he’s put a wealth of top-notch (and free) tools on the CD-ROM, including the Dev-C++ compiler, linker, and debugger--and his own LlamaWorks2D game engine. Step-by-step instructions and ample illustrations take you through game program structure, integrating sound and music into games, floating-point math, C++ arrays, and much more. Using the sample programs and the source code to run them, you can follow along as you learn.

Bio: David Conger has been programming professionally for over 23 years. Along with countless custom business applications, he has written several PC and online games. Conger also worked on graphics firmware for military aircraft, and taught computer science at the university level for four years. Conger has written numerous books on C, C++, and other computer-related topics. He lives in western Washington State and has also published a collection of Indian folk tales.

Author David Conger understands what other computer authors and publishers have failed to grasp: That for users like yourself, games don’t represent just another fun thing to do with the computer, they’re the raison d’etre for computers--and you want to start creating them the minute you start using your PC! With this in mind, David assumes no prior programming knowledge, no mathematical genius, and certainly no extensive understanding of what goes on inside PCs. Instead, he starts from ground zero, taking you under the hood of your machines, explaining how monitors work, and grounding you in C++ basics before moving on to major sections on object-oriented programming, the essentials of game development, more advanced C++, true game development, and the big payoff--creating the book’s supercool Invasion of the Slugwroths game, complete with two levels of game play, a salt-shooting supergun, and more! Along the way, you’ll learn how to animate with DirectX, structure their games, add sounds, use floating point math, work with arrays, and more.

such a shame

Too bad. This book starts out fantastic. Props to the author for putting together the best 95-page introduction to C++ I’ve yet read...but all of a sudden, at page 96, it becomes utterly worthless as the instructions for installing all the included software are fake or wrong or incomplete or something. Whatever happened, I hope it was the publisher’s fault and not the author’s, because I believed in him 100%. Really, too bad.

RECALL!!!

this book has been recalled due to fualty programing in the game engine that comes with this book and the inability to get past chapter 4 with out that specific game engine.

Dissappointment!

As other reviewers have stated, you cannot not get past Chapter 4 with the included CD. Either files are missing from the CD or the book does not give the proper information on exactly what files it needs you to move from the CD to your computer. The first few chapters are in-fact well written and easy to follow, but beginning at Chapter 4 the instructions become vague and the lack of working files on the CD do not allow you to continue any further.

I have wasted good money on a poor book. Look elsewhere for an intro to C++.

Worst book ever

The programs supplied on disk do not work. I have spent hours on the peachpit web site. I am not alone having problems, read all the problems other readers are having. THIS IS NOT A BOOK FOR BEGINNERS.
I am not bad at c++ and todate I can’t get the game engine to work!
Don’t buy it.
Read the reviews on amazon.com where USA readers are having same problems.
BE WARNED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This book has been recalled by the publisher

This book has been recalled by the publisher

Creating Games in C++: A Step-by-Step Guide

Warning!!!! Warning!!! Do not buy this book!!! Too bad there is not a rating for zero stars. I am not a computer novice nor a programming beginner. The Good: The author tends to write in a very simple and straight forward way that makes the book easy to read and understand. The Bad: Too bad none of the code or examples work, including the infamous LlamaWorks2D engine that the book is centered around. Oh and by the way, the so called website for the engine does not exist. Question: How can anyone with a conscious ship this garbage knowing that none of the code works? Answer: Someone that needs to pay the rent, because they can not get a job programming.

Examples don’t work

As the other reviewers have stated, the examples in the book don’t work. I contacted the publishers more than a month ago and I haven’t gotten a working solution back from them.

code won’t work for me

Although I am well above average with a pc, I am still new with c++, so it could be a mistake on my part. Then again, I did everything the book said and I cannot get the code from the CD to work. I really can’t do anything from here since the rest of the book is based on this game engine. I feel like I wasted my money. I would love to know if anyone can get the code to work. If so then there is hope for the book. For now I’m stuck and not very happy.

A decent book with non-working code

I liked this book at first. Everything is explained in an easy-to-understand format, and it covers many basic topics. However, in chapter 4, you are required to use source files from the CD to continue, and they don’t work. Furthermore, the book doesn’t explain what is on those files, or what you need to do to write an equivilent yourself. Functionally worthless.