Windows Game Programming for Dummies, Second Edition

André LaMothe | Andre Lamothe

1 For the Naysayers:
There are many reviewers here who claim Andre Lamothe is not a real programmer, just a guy with a book deal. This cannot be farther from the truth. Here's a snip from an online interview:

Andre LaMothe is CEO of Xtreme Games LLC, and has authored many books on game programming. He has degrees in Mathematics, Computer Science, and Electrical Engineering. He has been in computing industry for 20 years and has worked on 2D/3D graphics, Artificial Intelligence, Compiler Design, Robotics Engineering, Virtual Reality, and Telecommunications. He was also the inventor of one of the worlds first virtual reality games.

This book is a great start to anyone interested in game programming with DirectX.

2 One of the best books on this subject
This book is one of the best books about game programming. Even as a newbie you have a good and easy way to learn a lot about game programming, you don't need much pre-knowledge. It's a good balance between a simple entry and advanced programming-technics.
The style is nice and the examples are easy to understand and big enough to become a master of game programming. And last but not least: Every $ is a good investment because the structure of this book is very well for learning every other project which the novice want to do for himself or some customers.

3 Good, but not great
The book starts out great, with clear step-by-step explanations about everything. One really begins to feel like they're getting somewhere. However, just over half way through, the author abandons this step-by-step approach and dumps a massive 'library' of code in front of you with little explanation, and leaves you for dead. From here, one is expected to tinker with the existing code, making alterations as necessary to fit one's own idea for a game. A very disappointing conclusion to what started out as a great book.

4 the best way to get started!
This book is really good for a begginer just getting into the world of game programming. It describes every aspect of game programming, and does a great job of making DirectX easy and entertaining. It even comes with 2 simple sample games and a game engine to make your first games easy. It also goes into a lot of detail about how DirectX and Windows works. But beware! the parts on DirectX can be very confusing if you skim. I also would have liked it if the author gave more code samples in the book itself so you can see how it all works. Nevertheless, if you want an introduction to the world of DirectX with C++, buy it. Oh, and get Visual C++ because it took me hours to get the game engine to work on my Metrowerks Codewarrior. That's what real game programmers use anyway. Enjoy!

5 Simple concepts
Reading the author's brief bio reveals he's not really a programmer, and certainly hasn't programmed any of the high-tech games that came out in the last few years. Being an actual game developer myself, I don't see much value in this book. The only value is the beginner stuff about coding and basic game programming concepts. The book does present a lot of code, but in a way it satisfies a lazy dummy's desire to see what programming code looks like. Real game programming in these days of 3-D bells and whisles is much more complicated. I haven't got around writing a true game programming primer yet -- and in the publishing business it's often whom you know rather than how much you know about the subject that gets you a book contract -- but let me say this. If you want to write games, develop a solid foundation in C++, program a lot on a daily basis, and go work for a game company, or publish your own games as freeware. Reading a book and poring over somebody else's old-time code won't make you a game developer.

6 Best book I've ever spent my money on
At least compaired to Game Programming All In One, this book is $20 dollars less and instead of leaving you with a crappy game library that the author made, this gives you enough info to create your own. The book was very easy to follow. When I first looked at some windows code I almost wanted to kill myself. This really simplified everything.

Do note that this book is for those who already have a basic understanding of C or C++. If you know how to make DOS based C or C++ programs, want to get straight to making games, and want to learn windows, this book is perfect for you. You don't even have to have that good of an understanding of C or C++.

This book will be especially perfect if you know C. You can still make very good use of it if you only know C++ but you might end up taking a few short online C tutorials. The languages are both very alike, so you should have a problem.

The bottom line: if you already know how to program in C/C++ and want to learn a bit of windows plus directx, this is the perfect book for you.

7 Man do it
do u know i am the best. Just kidding. U all know dummies books are for begginers. This book is indeed a starter book for game programming,only game programming. Game programming is related to graphics and animation. That is why u need to be famaliar with C language.

8 Informative and humorous
Just because this is a "...for dummies" book, doesn't mean it's for dummies. This book is what is says: "Windows Game Programming", not "Programming" or even "Game Programming". What I'm getting at is that this book will teach you how to get a simple game going in Windows, not teach you how to program. He states that he will assume that you are at least familiar with the C programming language with no Windows programming experience.

That being said, I found this book very informative and easy to follow. Mr. LaMothe approaches each subject as an objective to achieve, instead of just something that must be learned.

9 Great for new "game programmers" not new "programers"
This book provides a perfect window into game programming. I've written all the boring text applications I'll ever need to and I wanted some insider knowledge on how to turn programming knowledge into game programming knowledge. Andre's book provided the answers. Excellent introduction to Win32 and GDI, excellent explanation of COM, and excellent stuff on DirectDraw. And if you want even more help, use Andre's graphics/sound/input library that he created to wrap around DirectX to make it even easier to use. I've already created a Tetris like puzzle game using Andre's engine. The next step for me is to buy his more advanced book and see how far that will take me. An excellent introduction to game programming.

10 Not a book for the beginning programmer!
I am a middle-aged "dummie" rather new to programming, and this was my third computer book, the first one being the wonderful Beginning Programming for Dummies, by Wallace Wang. Somewhat naively I bought Mr. LaMothe's book in the hope of learning more about game programming in general and perhaps even creating a simple game for my son to play with. A big mistake! You need to have some knowledge of the C programming language in order to find this book useful. The book is very technical and not aimed at beginners such as myself. I was looking for a gentle introduction to game programming, similar to Mr Wang's book, but have not found it yet. Mr. LaMothe's book may be of value to more experienced programmers, but I do feel that it does not fit in with the Dummies concept of a clear, user-friendly introduction for the beginning layman. It should rather be marketed for "advanced Dummies". The hard fact is that game programming is advanced programming. If you are an amateur programmer wishing to learn about and play around with game programming, I would rather suggest that you first buy one of the books dealing with the Liberty Basic language, such as Mr Wang's general introductory book mentioned above (which also contains a CD-ROM with a LB compiler), study the language and its tutorials and then concentrate on developing simple games in Liberty Basic.

11 The Greatest Game Programming Book for Beginners
I've been reading tutorials and books for a year on Game Programming in C++ (after being a C++ veteran for 3 years) but didn't get anything out of them until I got this book. Now I'm working with full 3D games and am doing quite well. This book is the definite choice for beginners to game programming.

12 Good book for one with a LONG attention span
... I just started programming 2 years ago I learned BASIC, Perl, MySQL (if you call that a language), JavaScript, And I have known HTML since I was 6 or 7. So I decided to try and learn C/C++. I was pretty good at C And C++ Because of all the languages I already know. The whole reason I got into programming
was to program GAMES. I tried this book because I saw at 75% off books. The book says to use Visual C++..."You should pick it up at your local computer store ....I dont have that kind of money and my compiler (DEV-C++) gives me errors when I compile it. The book does not tell how to install DirectX at all. Also if you buy the book and plan to make the next Metal Gear Solid 2 that night...DONT, the code to even make a window is about 3 pages long.

13 Not a good book
Sorry by my english, it is not very well.

I bought this book thinking I can learn to program video games. I was WRONG.

The first chapters introduce you to C (ONLY introduce, not a good explanation), and later LaMothe begin to talk about DirectX and explain the declarations of the functions, only that. I think this book is not for dummies, is for C and DirectX experimented programmers. Don't buy it, it's a waste of time and money.

14 Excellent Material for All Levels of Experience.
Andre' knows his stuff, This is an entertaining and comprehensive book. It shows you what you need to know with Win32, API and more. Its hilarious on alot of aspects, just plain fun to learn this way. Cuts out the clutter that isnt needed. Keep it up Andre', you make it easier for the rest of us. I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to dive right on into windows game programming yes its in C++, the soon to be standard for programming, so learn it while you can. Get this book and get coding.

15 HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
This book is an excellent primer and resource for those who have an interest in developing their own DirectX Windows games. The author has certainly done his homework about explaining the fine art of Win32 API, COM and DirectX that is easy to understand.

If you are considering buying only one book on computer programming , I highly recommend Andre' Lamoth's comprehesive book. He's even available through email to answer your nagging questions concerning the topics in his book!

16 HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
This book is an excellent primer and resource for those who have an interest in developing their own DirectX Windows games. The author has certainly done his homework about explaining the fine art of Win32 API, COM and DirectX that is easy to understand.

17 HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
This book is an excellent primer and resource for those who have an interest in developing their own DirectX Windows games. The author has certainly done his homework about explaining the fine art of Win32 API, COM and DirectX that is easy to understand.

18 It's Okay
The book is kinda good in c++ programming, but I think that VB is A MUCH BETTER CHOICE for game programming. C++ is used to make more powerful tools but let's face it. How can your games look good if you can't design them with the eye. VB ROCKS!!!

19 Very well written
This is a great value and an overall well done book. The C++ code in this book ranges from beginner to intermediate level. It also provides an engine that makes game development easier. About the only complaint is that he doesn't go over things that would be useful in games like scrolling. But it is a good value and I highly recommend you buy it if you want to make games.

20 This book is great!
This book made me realize how powerful DirectX really was. With this book, you are able to understand how to create your own video games. It also has a chapter on how to publish your game, once you have completed it. One of my favorite sections in this book is 'The Part of Tens' where the author lists the ten basic rules of game design and the ten biggest mistakes game programmers make. This book is definitely a must-have.

21 Finally!
Finally, a new edition of this classic game programming text. Wonder what took the publisher so long to update it. This is the book that got me on the way to writing and publishing my own games four years ago, and now that it has been reissued, I've bought it for my college-aged, game-obsessed nephews. If you've recently learned C++ or just haven't flexed that muscle in a while, this is a great way to utilize it, and this book contains everything you'd ever need to know to get up and running quickly with DirectX.

22 Way to go Andre!!
Though this is one of the simpler game programming books I own it is my favourite. It is simple, straightforward, and to the point with well explained concepts and useful demos to get you up and running in no time. This book is accessible for beginners and still useful for more experienced programmers as well. ...

Writing my own video game has been a lifelong dream of mine. ...

23 A Great Book For Starting Game Program
This book will teach you (if you read it carefully) how to write
basicly any 2D computer game.
It would be a good idea to know a little about c++ though.
But all in all a great book.

24 Way out of date
I'm writing this in May 2002. This book is now four years old, so the information is pretty much irrevelant. While one can argue the principles of Windows game programming are the same, you simply can't do much with the information in this book any more. The content, while useful when the book first came out, is just outdated. Besides, there are a lot of inaccuracies in the book (e.g., "first games were written for UNIX mainframes in the 60s and 70s"... UNIX mainframes?).

If you are an aspiring game programmer, look for books published within the past 12 months -- and there are many good volumes on DirectX 8 programming.

25 Andr� Lamothe is Awesome!
This has got to be one of, if the THE best 'Teach yourself' book I have ever bought. There is not much else to say. The author is funny, intellegent, understandable, and competent. What more do you want. The code is flawless, the samples incredible, and the ease of understanding is right in line with the Dummies books. I also bought Tricks of the Windows Game Programming Gurus (more advanced, ISBN: 0672313618) by Lamothe. These two books make an excellent foundation if you want to learn DirectX and game programming!

26 Another Andre Lamothe Book
This book is very much like most Andre Lamothe Books. They will get you off the ground and programming VERY fast BUT they won't get you much further (dummies books arn't suspose to). If you don't yet own an Andre Lamothe book - Buy one (they're all for beginners). If you DO own an Andre Lamothe Book, remember - the first half of all of his books are identical.

27 Ok in its day probably but far too outdated now
Bought this a couple years back. Unfortunately, with DirectX 8 currently (with major revisions nontheless), this book is of little use currently unless you want to learn and develop in ancient technology. Your time and money would be better spent learning DirectX 8 IMHO though...

28 Game programming at its worst...
I bought this book because I thought it would be a good place to start in the world of DirectX game programming. But, this book just seemed to drag on and on, and didn't really explain everything in the best of details. You might pick up one thing here and another thing there, but its not really worth the money. I must have spent half of my time trying to figure out one tiny thing, and I ended up looking around for tutorials. If you want a good book on DirectX, you probably wont find one. I do however suggest reading Microsoft's DirectX 8 documentation, which includes great examples and everything you will ever need. For a paper reference, you should also get Microsoft's "Inside DirectX". It might be a little outdated and a tiny bit advanced at times, but it does help in many situations since DirectX will always look and feel the same with every version.

29 Why are You Picking on this guy?
The book is from before the C++ STL was verified, so how would he be able to write in C++? And it don't say DirectX programming for dummies. It says, Windows Game programming for dummies. Get a grib guys. The man is doing an honest job, writing this book.

30 Half fast job...
This book isn't what i expected. I expected this to teach me DirectX instead it throws functions at me, and shows an example. For the complete program of each function, I look on the CD and theres lines of code he hasnt covered and doesnt bother to explain. Andre Lamothe does a half fast job of explaining DirectX. I give this 2 stars because I was enjoying the book up until Chapter 9. His Windows coverage was very good. This book is 3 years old now, but thats now excuse for the poorly described code.

31 Buy his "tricks of the 3d programming gurus" instead
Based on the amazon reviews, I purchased both this book and Andre's more recent tricks of the 3d programming gurus. His newer and much more detailed book covers everything in this book in more detail.

Both books are definitely excellent tools for learning the basics of game design. Game programming can be extremely difficult due to the real-time nature of the application. Because of this, a good game programmer knows how to write efficient code.

My suggestion to ANY aspiring game programmers is to learn C or C++. C++ is MUCH more difficult to learn due to the added complexities of Object Oriented Design. Get comfortable with dealing with data structures (such as arrays, linked lists, binary trees) because many times efficient code requires efficient management of data.

Once you have a grasp of the language, then move on to Andre's gurus book. The learning curve will be fairly steep at first as you try to understand windows programming, although you really only need to know how to design a basic shell to create a window and handle messages.

Andre's DirectX explanations are usefull, but VERY outdated. DirectX 8.0 marks a vast change in many areas as it seems to be becoming more openGL-like.

I would not suggest that anyone writing a game today use the older direct draw 2D methodology. Instead, you can utilize the added functionality of direct3D and get access to the 3D accelerator and still create a top-view or side-view game that appears 2D. What this means is that you're working in a 3D space (x,y and z coordinates) but placing all of your 3D objects on the x-y or x-z or y-z plane and using the third axis to view this 2D plane.

Get a hold of the DirectX 8.0 SDK from the msn website. Go over the documentation and look at and edit their sample programs until you understand the concepts you want to learn. They provide you with predrawn 3D meshes in their 3D donuts game, which also contains all of the source code.

I'm actually writing my first game now after a long time of researching to make sure I do it right. The game is a simple asteroids like top-down game except that I'm using 3D ships, asteroids and such. I first learned how to render my 3D ship in a window, then learned how to move (translate) it and also rotate it by reading the keyboard inputs. I then figured out how to render a background behind the ship. The next step was to learn how to use directShow to play an mp3 theme when the level started. The next steps will be to learn how to play a .wav file when say thrusting or firing, and then editing the lighting effects of the models and the entire scene.

If you break the project down into small steps, as described by Andre, the task because much less daunting.

One last thing, C++ is definitely going to become a HUGE asset to engine and game programmers. It's portability and modularity makes for easy partitioning of tasks and reusability. Even John Carmack (Doom, Quake)is debating learning C++ as the games are getting extremely complicated over time and reusability could save him a great deal of recoding.

32 It's OK, but it doesn't teach much for a Dummies book
First let me start out by saying that the book is written in C. Not beginning-level C, mind you, but anywhere from intermediate to advanced C! This wouldn't have annoyed me so much if the language was C++, but it's not. This greatly limits the capabilities of this text, and leaves it being very outdated.

Another thing that I have a complaint about is that this book really only teaches you one thing, Windows programming. If you're good at interpreting what the author might have meant in his or her programs, you MAY be able to pick up on some basic game logic and algorithms. It also uses the infamous LaMothe-line, "You don't need to know how it works, just that it does." That has always really made me angry. I'm one of the people who wants to be able to understand everything that you're typing, because that's how you become a GOOD programmer, regardless of what language or for what purpose.

I have to admit, the Windows programming section is fairly good. It teaches you about menus, mouse coordinates, mouse and key states, and other good stuff you need to make a game. It has the pieces, but it just doesn't have enough glue in it for the reader to be able to figure out how to do very much on their own.

If I can give you one piece of advice, it would be to not make the same mistake I did in purchasing this book. If you want a real good introduction to game programming, buy Isometric Game Programming with DirectX 7.0 by Ernest Pazera. You will need to know some C++ for this though, so I would also recommend you get an intro to the language such as Teach Yourself C++ in 21 Days or something to that liking.

P.S. I highly recommend the new game programming series by Prima Tech, despite the fact that LaMothe is the series editor.

33 Something not quite right
Okay this is the deal. The book is based on direct X 6 or something. Too out dated. I bought the book for the direct X stuff but I realised the documentaion that comes with direct X are easy enough to learn from. This books only good as a game programming. You learn some neat tricks and ideas....

34 Good, but...
This is a good book, but i'm not so sure about the 'for dummies' part. I am now a professional game developer, and i own a development house which has made 10+ commercial games, and many freeware products. I brought this book, because i was curious what else Andre Lamothe could write about, having written loads of books about the subject already. I remember how hard it was for me starting out, and i don't think this book would of helped me, as it really uses too complicated language for a newbie. But also, this book isn't really that good for pro game programers either, because it doesn't go into that much detail about the subject. So i am unclear as to which audience this book was aimed at, too hard for a newbie, and not fulfilling enough for a pro developer. I would recommend Game Programming Gems, by him also, as it one of his 'better' books.

James

35 Window game programming Review be me John
When I first heard about this book I was real sceptical, I didn't believe that a dummy book can help me. Nut as I read , and read some more I realized that this nook not only helped me understand the difrent ways to program , but it also gave me a yearning to want to program. I don't know how the authors of this book did it? But I am going to buy the next version, If it comes out

36 Great book, this REALLY IS easy enough for dummies
Everyone else has pretty much said it all about this book, but I would just like to say to all the beginners out there, that even YOU can program a game with this book. I have only had 1 1/2 semesters of C++ in my high school, and I am using an old compiler made for Windows 3.x, but I can still figure out this book. At times it gets a little confusing, but after reviewing the section that confuses me, I always get it down pat!

37 Good book for Direct X beginners
I started off with this book awhile ago, not knowing anything about DirectX and having a fair understanding of C++. There are a few mistakes in the code and I really didn't care for his game engine. However, the rest of the book was instrumental in my understanding of DirectX and Windows programming. If nothing else, I have to say Thank-You to Mr. Lamothe for making his WinX shell program. It bridged the gap of my understanding on how to make a Windows program without using Visual C MFC. The DirectX code is dated, but the book is getting old and I definitely recommend his newer book for anyone wanting to learn DirectX. Contary to what some people have said, It is possible to learn DirectX from this book, although it does require some work on your part. Studying the code from his game engine is probably the most productive way of going about it. I've used a few snippets from the engine, but 98% I have thrown away in favor of developing my own. This book prepared me for Kawick's book which does a horrible job of explaining DirectX, but has some nice 'real world' code and handles more advanced subjects.

38 Excellent Book!
I'm very new to programming, in fact, I do not plan to do it as a career, just to make a few games for fun. However, for people who don't know anything about C++ in general will have a hard time following this book when they first pick it up, but the coding is so simple you can figure it out in a flash just by reading a few simple programs, so don't worry if you don't understand it when you first see it. Trust me on this one though. The book includes many examples throughout the book, as well as in "Tricks of the Windows Game Programming Gurus," and also tells you what you're doing as you go. Plus, who can resist a little bit of humor here and there, along with tips on making commercial quality games. With this book, creating your own game doesn't seem so far out of reach...

39 Great
I love this book. It is really good, and describes all u need to know to be a game programmer. I don't really agree that a novice can't catch on, although some knowledge of a programming language would be good. I think anyone who wants to program games should add this to their collection.

40 Excellent reference book.
UPDATED NOTE (as of 10/03/2001): For folks who may have forgotten: MS Windows(R) operating system has been through several improvements and generations, so has DIRECTX - the function library used to write games discussed in the book. Therefore, some information covered in the book may have been outdated. This is VERY COMMON in the computer world, and none of it is the author's fault (unless he republished it with a new title, such as "THE NEW AND IMPROVED ..." WITHOUT UPDATING the book's contents). So, save your speech!

ORIGINAL COMMENT: I wrote this review kind of late (over two years after the book was published), so my rating is probably useless for the readers to decide whether s/he should buy this book (there is quite a number of reviews for this book available here already). However, I strongly recommend it to any game programmers (especially starters) who would like to have a good reference book as well as a good starting point.

About the good things about this book, there are a lot. You can read other comments and get the ideas. In my opinion, it is a must-have in your collection of game programming. The reasons are as follow:

1) It is a good introduction to a daunting task: programming Windows.

2) It is a good introduction to a daunting task: programming Windows in C. 3) It is a good introduction to a daunting task: programming games for Windows in C.

Just for these daunting tasks, which were introduced nicely by the author, the book is worth reading by starters (the so-called "Dummies"). Yet, there're more:

4) It is a good introduction to daunting tasks: computer graphics, I/O (for games), multimedia, animation, artificial intelligence.

5) It is a good introduction to a daunting task: how to start investing for your career as a game programmer (required software, networking, etc...).

And more...

Picture this: all those squeezed in 460+ pages, written for complete "dummies" (no offense, simply AKA "starters"). It is a daunting task to do. Yet, the author has done a great job accomplishing what the book was set to do: (note: read the front cover, need I say more).

If you are serious about game programming, get this book to start with. If you are a beginner with little knowledge of C/C++/Windows programming, but expect to write breathtaking, addicting, top-notch, best-selling, ..., games, the right attitude would be just read the book and refer to it often.

My famous last word: "FIVE-STAR!"

41 Definately not for "Dummies"
As a beginning C++ learner, I was anxious to do something besides "cin" and "cout". So I bought this book thinking it would be easy. (When I bought this book I barely knew what a pointer and a struct was). It was easy...until about chapter 3. Chapters 3 and up are really tough, but it was worth it. I can now program a simple 2d game with a little effort. I ran into some problems in Chapter 14 because my Visual C++ 6.0 compiler kept on saying that the DirectInputCreate function was an "undeclared identifier", but then I realied that the book was using an older DirectX version than what I had. I solved this problem by putting in #define DIRECTINPUT_VERSION 0x0500 at the beginning of the program. All in all it is a really good book even though it is also pretty tough for a beginner.

42 A great book for absolute beginners
This is a great book to get started with if you have no experience programming games. It's also a good book to introduce yourself to DirectX with. LaMothe has a way of wording things that keeps the readers interest and teaches the material quite well. His code is a software engineer's nightmare, but it not written to be perfectly engineered, but rather to teach... and it does a good job at that.

My only advise to those who are thinking of purchasing this book is that LaMothe has another book in print called "Tricks of the Windows Game Programming Gurus." That book is just a more complete version of this book. It is, in my opinion, better to get "Tricks of the Windows Game Programming Gurus" than this book, but this book is cheaper, although less thorough.

43 Best place to climb the mountain
if you want to start to write games, it is the best place where you can start. With clear english and good explains makes this book valuable. If you want to write games on windows do not hesitate to pay money on that book. You will see that it worth....

Yaskil :o)

44 AWESOME book...wished it had better 16-bit support though...
This was an absolute awesome book. I typically love Lamothe's books. He really knows how to get the point accross and always puts a little humor into it. His tutorial games (with complete source) are very good (simple 2-D games like DigDug) and use his famous GDUMB engine. Remember though, this book uses DX5 which is outdated. However, it's still a great book to add.

My only complaint was the lack of 16-bit color support. While he does cover it and even has some code, most of the book deals with palettes. Of course when this book was written, 16-bit wasn't as common. He also states that most 16-bit cards use the 5-5-5 scheme (which his 16-bit codes uses).

Basically, if you don't have this book, BUY IT NOW! -Cecil

45 This book will walk you through it
If you have a moderate background in C++ (that is to say, you understand up to arrays, and maybe have heard of pointers), this book will take you to a moderate level with DirectX. It handles everything nicely, and I found it extremely well written.

If you want to understand a little about how games are programmed, including Finite State Machines, DirectX surfaces, sound, control interface, and all the rest, get this book, I can't stress it enough.

Be careful though, as this book does have a couple parts dealing with DirectDraw that are a little hard to grasp, but if you stick with it, and follow the examples, you'll be programming games in less than a week. Using the principles in this book, I programmed the Tile Engine for my 2d RPG (Still working on it), it loads a map from disk and allows you to walk around it, modify it, and save it back to disk. It's pretty much ready to go, and I couldn't have done it without this book.

I strongly suggest you get this book and see how YOU can apply the principles within.

46 Great Book, Honorable Author
I have heard the experts say the book is stupid, but for the beginners, they said it was the best book for them. Unfortunately, I use MSVC++ 6, which isn't backwards compatible (not much, anyway), and made the correction in the book, but still had problems. None of the code worked, and I thought, "How can I learn to program when none of this stuff works?" I even almost downgraded for 20 bucks to VC++ 4. Then I emailed Andre, and he told me to call him! What a guy, he was going to a meeting while helping me. I fixed the problems, got the programs to work, and now I just need to get my schoolwork done. Not many authors would give you that kind of support. Btw, the problems were: DirectX was set to a lower directory in the Tools-Options-Link menu, so I dragged it to the top (simple). I need to click on Build-Set Active Configuration, and change the WIN32 debug highlighter to highlight WIN32 release. And I needed to drag ddraw.lib (add it to) the "source" subdirectory in the file view. Also, I had to change the error mentioned in the book, which is explained in the book, for all who are wondering. Then, it worked fine, and now I'm on my way to program... oh, soccer, then homework... Well, the point is, I'm 15, and this book makes perfect sense to me. Oh, and I didn't have time to wish good luck to Andre at his meeting, so good luck to your next one!

47 The Best To Get you started on game programming
If you are beginning game programming,Look no further tis is the book for you. Anyone with knowledge of C can understand the chapters In a month's time you can start writing your own games.Everything that you need to create a 2D game is explained clearly

48 First and basic step into game programming
I'm the kind of person that wants to program computer games for life. This book gave me the very basics I needed to understand the windows environment used for programming games, and then it starts building on top of that. A basic knowledge of C++ is very helpful. The first five chapters are the basics of how to create and manipulate a window, and after that you get into directdraw(DirectX), etc. Now when I look at a game not only I understand the logic behinde it bu I've made a few of my own. a must have for beginners.

49 The Best Game Programming Book For Beginners
This book was great! First he talked about the simple game programming techniques and design and simple window creation. Then they talk about using graphics with the GDI (Graphics Device Index). Then he shows you the skeleton outline of the GPDUMB game creation engine. Then you jump straight into DirectX and all of it's features. If you don't know how to program in C very well then I think you should learn before buying this book. Because I was good at C++ and knew nothing about C so I got a little confused until I went to my computer and learned the basic's of C. Then I came back and everything made since. So learn before you buy that way you can understand what your reading, also never skip a single section!

50 Actually a pretty damn good book for starters
I have read several dummies books in the past and quite frankly I told myself I'd never purchase a 'Dummy Book' again because I thought they were all just terrible, and only successful because of the marketing team at IDG. :) But I had to purchase this book for one of my classes in college. I was actually suprised that it wasn't bad at all and quite good. The writing style is pretty clear cut with no ambiguity. A good brief overview of DirectX. In some cases the author is not very clear about things because he would have to get into lengthly language sematics or OO abtract concepts like COM but if you know C or C++ with Data Structures you shouldn't have any problems with this book at all. In fact, if you are an aspiring game programmer this is probably one of the best books to get your start in, you can then move on to more advanced stuff later like 3d programming.

This book will not teach you C or C++! You have to already know it and contrary to the cover stating that you need a little C (probably there to generate sales), you should at least know data strutures (stacks, queues, linked lists, binary trees, etc...). If you know that you won't have any problem with this book and you can breeze right through it and you'll be writing video games in no time, but not 3d games it does not cover that. The reason why I say having data structures is important because it was proven in my class, the only students remaining in the class at the end of the semester had a data structures class already or were concurrently taking one. Everyone with just a C class or some C experience dropped.

My only complaint with the book was that in some sections the author would just skim over material sometimes not providing any explaination on what is going on. But if you know how to research you can find it elsewhere which is usually a trait of a successful developer.

I've outline my opinion on the requisites to this book and hopefully will help you in your buying decision, I definately recommend this book even if you want to just write games for fun or just want to see how it is done.

51 Very good for beginners like me.
I completed my first Windows game ten days ago.

So you cansee for yourself what this book can do for beginners like me. The reviewer from July 26, 2000 complained about having the DirectX code just thrown at readers. I also had a lot of trouble with various points throughout the book, but with some investigation I worked out my misunderstandings and learned a lot about Visual C++ 6 along the way.

For beginners, I recommend supplementing this book with Ivor Horton's "Beginning Visual C++ 6" and also visiting Microsoft's web site to learn how to configure Visual C++ for compiling DirectX code.

If amazon.com blacks out my web site URL, please email me at alfredh@asu.edu

I'd love to communicate with others enthusiastic about making games. My next goal is learning how to allow two people on two different computers on a network to play against each other on my game.

52 Great for beginners, but...
This book is great for those new to Windows game programming and DirectX. Andr� covers all elements of DirectX 5.0, with the exception of Direct3D. His writing style is easy and enjoyable to read, with a lot of sample code, which, although not perfect, is good for educational purposes. The disadvantage to this book is it is becoming rather dated, so you're probably better off with LaMothe's Tricks of the Windows Game Programming Gurus, which is more recent, about twice as big, and covers everything this book does.

53 Diamond in the rough or a rough Diamond?
I'm professionally a somewhat advanced c and c++ programmer. I've worked and been contracted in the field for quite some time. If I were to slap a block of C++ code in front of your face, and tell you that is how you create a class, you might just be able to go off and create a great deal of similar classes (emphasis on might). However, the first time you want to build a class of your own with parameters not in that block of code... you're out of luck. That's what this book does. It slaps some directx code in front of you and says 'that is how you do that'. Normal C and C++ programmers will not go far with this book at all! Those of you who are uproaring about the bad reviews for this book and insulting those who gave the bad review... have all probably had some experience with directx. For a programmer who is trying to learn to use directx for the first time, I would recommend not bothering with this book. I want to have directx explained to me... not thrown

in front of my face with a companion code block showing the mere function definition. This book isn't very robust for learning the practical 'real world' game programming uses of directx, and will confuse you to the point of self hatred. And those of you who found this book easy, well, number one, have probably already been staring at msdn for years now... what do you expect? The level of this book says 'beginner'. Its a lie. Plain and simple. The people writing reviews here that are insulting those who had trouble with this book, are probably only on some self-endulged ego trip and are plainly expressing an elitist attitude toward those who had trouble with it. I'm a c++ programmer that makes 90k a year... who just threw a dummy book out the window for being to complicated for beginners of directx.

54 Outstanding ability to teach!
Andre Lamothe knows his stuff. There is no doubt about that. This book is an excellent tutor and will successfully introduce anyone with some knowledge of C-programming to the fundamentals of DirectX, excluding Direct3D. I never had any trouble digesting his examples or explanations. He is very lucid and straightforward, speaking from experience in every instance, giving the reader advice tempered with theory and practice. The book begins by shedding light over and teaching the basics of windows programming. Creating a custom window and handling events therein will never again become a problem. It then delves right into DirectDraw, covering all the basics of both pixelling and bitmapping, the use of surfaces and clippings. One is led so smoothly to creating animations that one hardly notices it, and all along one feels the excitement of thinking thoughts like, "Ah! With this I could...", inspiring one to experiment and even look into the DirectX SDK-documentation to find out more capabilities. The book continues by introducing DirectSound, DirectInput, DirectPlay, and even covers how to create installation programs for your games. All along, as one is learning, one finally ends up with a complete game engine -however basic- that almost completely encapsulates the complexities of DirectX. Finally, Lamothe offers some great theory on game-physics and artificial intelligence. Nothing is perfect, however, and unfortunately neither this book. The reader will undoubtedly have to think for hirself along the way in order to make some code workable, depending on compilator and system. One flaw that I myself never managed to solve on my system is the usage of more than 256 colors. In this case, Lamothe neither gave me workable code nor explained enough to help me make this work on my system by myself. Further, a topic which was left out that I consider important was that of tiling and creating scrollable scenarios. One is left at the end of the book with only one-screen, static levels. Nevertheless, three factors make this understandable: 1) Lamothe had a limited page-count to fit all this knowledge into, 2) It is an introduction to DirectX, and obviously cannot cover everything, and 3) To write code that is workable within every concievable system is an impossible task. To sum up, Andre Lamoth offers the reader a great book! This is not your average "for Dummies" book, and certainly it shouldn't even be called thus. It will get you well on your way to understanding the complex DirectX-API. The rest is up to you. A wonderful beginner!

55 Appropriate Title
At first I thought the book was great... it seemed to explain things very well. However the problem is that the code and examples he gives you only work on certain things and in certain situations... For instance, the 16-bit programs don't work on my computer (with an GeForce2 Card btw). Therefore, if you're a dummie and have no aspirations of writing programs different from the one lamothe provides, buy it... otherwise, dont! also some of the info is old and converting to directx 7 is a pain. I would tell you what book to buy but im still looking... maybe "inside directX"

56 Excellent Book
I truly never believed that I would ever be able to program games, but after reading this book, I have 3 done! I now have a pretty good understanding of the basics of direct x. I must confess however, I did write these games using his game engine included in the book. But, that's not a bad thing. I don't have the time to write my own engine, I just wanted to have fun programming a game and his engine allowed me to do this. A+++++++!

57 When they say for dummies, they mean for dummies!
If you are just starting out at game programming, this is the place to start. This book starts with the very basic game design to the most advanced directx programming! I know very little about c++ but I think this is the best book for game programming. Many books just include how to do animation and sound and really cool graphics, but this book has all that AND tells you the steps of game programming, unlike most other books.

58 Hard concepts explained cool, they way you understand them
This book is totally cool. You don't need to be an expert of any area because the author takes you by the hand in each chapter.

Don't be afraid of game programming if you have this book. The author shows from how to build windowed applications using simple and self explanatory C code. You can do your stuff without messing with C++ nor MFC.

The book shows you how to do the hard stuff, such handling graphics and sound. The author explains some concepts with enough detail for newbies. Then he creates a game library you can use to start building your games.

The examples provided in the CD are great. However, I could not run some demos in my NT workstation. You'd better test them in a Win9x system.

I bought this book because I wanted to see what kind of algorithms are used in game programming but, let me tell you that the game area is really fascinating.

For a couple of bucks you'll get a really good book that can be used as a reference book too. Is more of what you can expect from a For Dummies book!

59 Good For Beginners
I found this book a bit in the 'not very helpful' side. The reason I bought the book was to learn about the essentials of using DirectX. Instead, I found a book centered on Andre's code with quite a few wrappers to the DirectX Interfaces [in the sources] that are briefly|poorly described.

If you are looking for a good to average explanation of the different interfaces that DirectX offers and how|when to use them effectively, you should try another book (such as 3D Game Programming with C++; John De Goes; ISBN 1-57610-400-1).

The text does offer brief discussions on topics such as the Win32 GDI, Game Physics and Sprite Animation among others. On the DirectX side, the book briefly covers DirectDraw, DirectSound and DirectInput. Unfortunately, to get the most out of the chapters, I found myself reverse-engineering the game engine--not the typical 100 lines of simple code.

As abovementioned, however, the fact that the book is centered on Andre's engine(s) and how to use it, makes it a good buy for beginners who wish to delve into coding a game's functional logic and (mostly) not worry about the game's Input, Video & Sound subsystems.

60 Good for starters
This book is not a COMPLETE guide on writing games in Windows. It would take an entire library to handle such a topic in a thorough manner. Rather, this book gets you started down the road to windows programming and directx. Be forwarned, though, that there are a few errors in the code listed in the book (a missing (HBRUSH) cast being the most notorious), and that the final result of the book is a directx wrapper that is supposed to be a game engine. On the plus side, this book has the single best windows api crash course I have read to date, and Andre has a great style of writing, so you won't get bored with the material. You will learn the BASICS of directx, but will definitely need to suppliment your knowledge with some other source (I suggest the internet).

61 This book not for dummies!
This book is not bad although it dont teach you much you can learn from the DirectX SDK helpfiles!

The examples are hard to follow for the dummie game programmer at some point you get lost and dont know how to combine these code examples to a cool game.

Maybe this book give you some details about Windows programming and a reference to DirectX but dont expect to write a tripple A game from the examples provided in the book.

Furthermore I think some remarks from the author like: You need about $750.000 for creating a game is not something a newbie likes to hear!

NOT 4 DUMMIES

62 A Great Book to get your feet on the ground!
An idiot who slapped the 1 - star rating on this book is, in fact, a dummy. You CANNOT expect to write any game without having C or C++ down. Before buying this book, make sure that you are strong in using pointers and such 'advanced' things found in the C language. Some Windows programming is nice, however, Andre LaMothe is able to explain it nicely in the pages that are in the book, without going into explicit detail (which is a good and a bad thing). If you want to learn how to write games using your C language, then this book is a very good one. It explains Direct X fully, although, it doesn't go into explicit detail. On a final note, this game teaches a lot in the pages that it houses. It teaches basic Windows Programming, DirectX, as well as Physics and AI. Don't expect to get an extremely detailed tutorial on each concept taught in the book. If you need every detail found in Win32 Programming, then head off and purchase Windows 98 Programming by Schildt. If you want to learn DirectX (no D3D..) by going into explicit detail, Inside DirectX is the way to go. However, if you want a brief and somewhat detailed tutorial of both (including many, many other aspects of game programming), you'll find that this book provides you with everything you need to know. However, don't expect to write ANYTHING 3d. Right now, after reading that book, I am able to program my own Secret of Mana type game. How many people can say that after reading a 480 page book?

63 Great Book
I really liked this book, it was fun and easy to read.

64 Outstanding!
Game Programming is a very dificult and time consuming thing to learn. I have never read a book or online review about this topic that even comes close to this book.

I read the book over about two months, and by that time I had all the knoledge I needed to make any 2d game I wanted.

Don't get me wrong, game programming is not easy, it is just this book will make it easier.

Also, don't expect this book to get you wrighting games if you have never programmed before. Buy this book when you have a well rounded knoledge of C and a tad of C++. Knoledge of the Win32 api not essential, but would help.

65 Great book, but confusing at times
Windows game programming for Dummies was the first book that I bought that taught me a little about DirectX programming. I must say, it is an excellent read and the sources and executables that the author provides are very helpful in creating a few games. To tell you the truth, this book is geared more towards beginners, like me, who just want to know what makes DirectX tick. If you're one of those "C++ Gods" that beleive they could write Quake in just a few days with a few lines of Assembly Code, then get another book. The book's only drawback is the fact that after the author explains the details of DirectX, he provides a game engine that insulates the average programmer (like myself) from having to handle the details of DirectX. This is an advantage in the fact that you can go ahead and start programming your own games quickly. However, I found myself skipping a few chapters at the end of the book to see what the new features of the engine would be and, as a result, passed off everything else as a reference. Still, this does not detract from the usefulness of the book. If I ever want to go back and write a few wrapper functions of my own to make my game programming go along a bit quicker, then I have a good jumping off place. Overall: This is a great book for the beginner.

66 should be 10 stars
this book is extreamly helpfull, the only downside is that it isn't long enough, and that "tricks of the windows game programming gurus", writen by the same author, has twice the number of pages (good) and 3 times the information (very good) and has tons more text on the cd (can you say Direct3D). i have read both books and they are both very very good just one has more info, so its up to you (by both) this book also has a different "full" game at the end with a contest for who can improve it the most.

67 Not the way to go.
Unless you are dumb as a brick, I would NOT recommend this book. If you are dumb as a brick, you shouldn't be making games! Get Inside DirectX instead, and go on a game programming web site to get the extremely simple "pathfinding" and "game logic" routines found in this book. There is nothing about games here you couldn't learn yourself without thinking for 5 minutes. The DirectX portion is also confusing. The code doesn't compile, it is messy, and quite frankly, wrapper classes are not the way to teach anything. This book is a dead end. It IS funny to read, however.

68 Just a few words about a great book
I just wanted to say that the people that say "I want to be able to make Unreal in one sitting" are absolutely wrong! I am working on a tile-based game right now and I've been working on it for about a week now. It isn't even close to being done, but am I giving up? No. If you want to make Quake, be prepared to throw away the next few years of your life, and get a really comfterable computer chair!

69 GREAT BOOK
This is a very good book, if you are a beginner to directX this book is a must. Mr. Andre you are THE BEST.

70 Great author = great book
Andre Lamothe is a great author of video game programming. This book is evidence of that fact, it is filled with useful examples and it really targets the appropriate audience. I think some people don't understand that books (especially game programming books) are not real time and the author can't predict how new technology could add new requirements to the example code. That is why some of the examples need a little tinkering here and there, but not many do. If you buy a book written within the last year and you keep up to date with the latest compiler you should be fine. A job well done.

71 great book, but you need to know c++
the other guy did 1 star to this book, because he wants to learn how to make games like unreal with a 400 pages book,and without knowing c++ , and he cant even realize what is a compiler, this sucks

72 O.K.
The content of this book was pretty good but the format in which it was done was apalling. It should have been done in the (sams) 21 day format it would have made it a lot clearer. The author did well to handle such a vast subject.

73 CLEAR, FUN and POWERFUL
Well, I love this book. I really had no experience in windows programming and other books were too serious to be easily understandable. Andr? Lamothe is a special person, because he has the knowledge and he his able to explain the most complex things in an easy and fun way; if only other programmers could be able to share their knowledge this way then you will need half the time to learn whathever you want. Mr. Lamothe please go on!

74 NEOPHITER
First of all this book is great. It explains everything perfectly well. Anyone who saw the review of this book by Neophiter, just ignore it because he doesn't know anything. How do you expect learn how to make a game like UNREAL in one sitting and not knowing a programming language? It says perfectly well that it teaches game programming using C/C++.

P.S. It took the people years to create UNREAL and they had a group of people making the game. You think you are going to make a game like that in a couptle of houurs?

75 I wish there were fewer stars...
I hate this book! Who wrote this thing? It didn't explain anything, all he did was throw code out, and I can't catch anyway. I don't know C++, how many dummies know C++? How can you expect me to know C++? It didn't explain what I needed, and I still can't right DOOM, and that games like 12 years old! I want to right Unreal, and I want to right it in you know, one sitting! Just tell me what to put into my computer! What the heck is a compiler, anyway? I have Word 95, but that's it. C'mon. I don't want to pay money, I want to make money! Don't buy this book if you want to be successful.

76 DO NOT buy this useless book!
I really hate this book it think is very hard to understand,Andre just throws a bunch of code at you and doesnt rally tell yo what to do with it. I got confused and contacted Andre and he was a real jerk to me and insulted me. I do not like him or his book. So DO NOT buy this book!

77 Excellent introduction to DirectX programming
First of all, before buying this book make sure you know C/C++. If you know C/C++ this book is an excellent resource for beginning DirectX programmers. The book does not cover very advanced topics but it will get you going on the right track. After reading this book you should be very familiar with DirectDraw, DirectSound, and DirectInput; these skills will allow you to make rather complex applications in a short time. If you want to learn DirectX programming, this book is a great place to start.

78 finally, a book for stupid people...
now all us dumb people can make games

79 Great book with a confusing title !
This is one of the best programming titles I've read, for someone who knows 'C' and a bit of C++. It covers most of the basics of Windoze programming (enough to get you going) and then covers DirectX quite well.

The title is a mistake. It is not "for dummies" (e.g. a beginners primer). If you have little or not programming experience you will get lost very quickly. It also undersells the book - it is a good book for experienced programmers who want to tinker with DirectX.

The *only* flaw I could find was that Lost surfaces don't appear to be mentioned, or handled by the code. It would be nice if Direct3D was covered, but this would involve the book being 6 times its current size.

If you want to learn 3D, read the author's "Black Art" book which is Dos-based, but very good.

80 Windows Game Programming for Suckers
This book is really substandard. Instead of trying to explain how to use direct X and write games, the author simply throws code at you. Worse yet, it's poorly documented code. If you don't like the "here's the code, you figure it out" approach, do not buy this book.

81 Really good!
This book, when first read, can be a little confusing, with all the BOB functions and stuff. But then you start to understand it. Right now I'm in the process of rewriting all the functions with classes and DX7.

82 GREAT BOOK!
This book is the best book I have ever read on game programming. If you have never programmed a game, but have programmed in C or C++ for DOS, and want to do game programming for Windows I would recommend this book. The book is not hard to understand, even if you are new to C programming. It covers the basics of Windows progamming, DirectDraw, DirectSound, and DirectInput without all the unnecessary details. BUY THIS BOOK!

83 A god-like book !
As the stars says :)
But as a dane some of the words are hard to read

84 Great Book
This book is perfect for people who haven't programmed in windows before, or have little experience in this field. This book is not however for people with no programming experience. I have a lot of experience in DOS programming, a little too much. I have programmed in windows with OpenGL before, but never continued to program in windows. Until now. Overall, a great intro to windows gameprogramming. Now I don't have to go to DOSGPA(DOS Game programmer anonymous) every tuesday.

85 EXCELLENT book for beginning Windows game programmers
I'm not going to bother writing another review and include all the different things that are in this book. There are enough reviews about that. As the description says, he covers the Windows basics, sound, input, graphics manipulation, AI, physics, and much more.

One thing I would like to make absolutely clear. I own all of Andre's other books, and whenever I read reviews of them, they all seem to have several people saying one thing in common. Simply put, these people say "I knew NOTHING AT ALL about programming, and I read 4 pages of his book and was not able to write my own DOOM game. This book sucks!!!"

COME ON PEOPLE!!! That is like expecting your FIRST EVER driving lesson to make you an expert. Or taking ONE class on auto mechanics and expecting to be an ASE certified tech. It isn't going to happen.

Get real. He openly says you MUST have some basic knowledge of C. The book does not suck because some people refuse to learn. I own SEVERAL assembly language books, beginner to advanced. Most of the advanced makes no sense. Did I write reviews and say it sucks? No. It doesn't suck because I refuse to learn and expect everything to be given to me like some of these reviewers.

Windows Game Programming for Dummies is an excellent book for ANYBODY new to programming. Put it this way: I have NEVER, EVER written anything for Windows. I used an old Borland C++ 3.1 for Windows compiler, took Andre's first example, changed one variable, and made it work. If it hadn't been for Andre, I wouldn't have ever tried to program in Windows.

This book makes it so easy. If you have read his previous books, but gave them a bad review (for whatever reason), give this one a shot.

In closing, if you are considering making the move to Windows game programming, but haven't because of all the complexity, the answer is here. If you are one of these people who say "I couldn't ever do it, it's way too hard", I said the exact same thing before I tried once, and I did it. And I had NEVER done it before.

Nothing complex. No MFC, COM, OWL, or otherwise. Just the basics. And it works.

Just remember that you do need to have some C (NOT C++) experience. You don't have to be an expert, but 6+ months of experience would really help. This book does not teach you C, rather, it shows you how to apply what you have already learned.

86 Excellent place to start in DirectX programming
This book is great for beginning DirectX programmers! The reader must know C and some windows programming however. The author touches on some very basic windows programming, but then gets into DirectX and how to use it in your games. The book is easy to follow but much of the source code is on the CD which is a bummer when you are reading where there is no computer available. The author includes many wrapper functions that you can use; I prefer not to but they help in learning. The DirectSound section was limited. Again, a great book to start out and get your feet wet!

87 The easy directx way
That is a 5 stars book, but is outdated and replaced by new books.

88 BEST GAME PROGRAMMING BOOK EVER!!!
Well, i own many game prog. books. but this one is the best of my collection. If you know C/C++ and want to write games, this is the best book for u. I have been programming in DOS and i never thought i would switch to windows. I did, after reading thru this book. I could program in WINDOWS in JUST FOUR HOURS. U HEARD IT RIGHT. If you can read thru the first 6 chapters and understand it you can do basic programming in windows. then it is up to you to develop your skills. YOU HAVE DONE A VERY GOOD JOB ANDRE. KEEP IT UP.THIS BBOK IS FOR EVERYONE WHO WANTS TO PROGRAM GAMES IN WINDOWS USING DIREXTX. This BOOK is worth every penny.

89 Da Best Yet of Andre
This book rocks. True, there are a few slight problems, but it has seriously helped me get off the ground with DirectX. 5 months ago I got this book, now I'm programming DirectX with style and games like the professionals. I can't wait for Andre's new book ! :D

90 Great place to start.
This book is a great place to start in programming under Windows 95/98/NT, but it lacks a little in game logic. LaMothe's writing style is as great as ever. I still find myself reading just for the sake of reading.

This book introduces you to three of the DirectX components, which is what the book is really about. It should have been entitled along the lines "Windows DirectX Programming for Dummies". The game programming aspect of the book really is in the first two chapters, after that, the only real attention to game logic is in his two example games included on the CD. Therefore, get ready to read through the (sometimes confusing)source code.

If you never programmed with DirectX or gave up learning it, then this book will get you going. Overall, a great book to add to any programing library.

91 Great book!
The perfect starting book for anyone wanting to learn directx basics or how to make a fairly simple game. Andre's explanations are very down to earth, quite entertaining at times, but still peppered with enough detail to help anyone. (unless of course you don't know how to code!) Andre rocks!!!(Pun was intended.) So follow this book up with his new book published on Sep 17.

92 Good book but the title is deceiving
I am an beginning/intermediate C/C++ programmer and I picked this book up. DO NOT BUY IT UNLESS YOU ARE PROFICIENT IN C++. It is definately not for any just dummy to pick up. I am barely keeping my head above water trying to make a simple game. The book's biggest flaw is that, unless you absorb material very well, you will probably end up copying source from the book or CD rather than writing your own and understanding it.

The book is pretty well written and the final chapters are the best because they give you great pointers on how to develop and market your game and profit from it. It doesn't say "a good 3D game takes a long time and costs a lot to make" like some books might say; it says "A 3D game has an unlimited upper boundary, but 15 months and $750,000 is the absolute lower limit for any quality game." and so on.

So this book is well written, but the source code is cryptic and poorly explained. Or maybe I'm just too much of a dummy.

93 Trust Me This Is Well Worth The Money.
This is one of the best books you will ever buy. No joke. I was at first skeptical of a "dummies" book, but I assure the tittle has nothing to do with the book. The explantions the author gives is in plain English (easy to understand). I assure that if you dedicate some time and effort to this book you will not regret it.

Trust Me, my word is who I am and I am not lying. If you would like to contact me about more info about this book than feel free to do so.

94 The best...
I read the first 150 pages of the book and I must say that I am impressed!!! When I was looking for information about Direct X I used to find stuff way to complicated to start with...

Andre Lamothe wrote the book that I always searched!!!

Nuff said!

95 best directx programming book!
i must truly say this is one of the best directx programming books out there. The cd-rom is one of the most helpful i have ever tried. if you are a beginner just getting started in the world of programming this is a must buy!

96 Great book for starting down the path to game development
This book is great! The simplicity with which Andre Lamothe explains Windows programming and DirectX in unrivaled in any document I've read on the subject. What took me a month to learn on my own, browsing through gigabytes of Microsoft documentation, I would have learned in several days with this book. This is by no means a complete reference to Directx or game programming, nor does it claim to be. The book gives you just what it promises, the ability to begin making games for Windows. Andre explains the messy details behind the Windows API, COM, and DirectX programming in a way that is easy to understand. I would recommend this book as an introductory reference to game programming in Windows or to firm up your knowledge of Windows API programming and DirectX programming. Don't expect a lot of advanced programming techniques, that is not what this book is about (hence: Dummies). Andre Lamothe will give you the tools to get started and then point you in the right direction when you are ready for more. I can't imagine getting into game programming without first reading this book.

97 If you're just getting started BUY THIS BOOK
I wish I had found this book 3 years ago. The author not only covers what you need to know in Direct X (which is complicated enough as it is), but also gives you a Windows Programming Primer in the first half of the book. Most other authors throw you to the wolves and expect you to "pick it up". Andrew leads you through the often confusing world of Windows Programing giving you the base to start with Direct X which he covers in detail in the second half. He gives you game programing tips throughout. The best book I've ever bought. Thanks!!

98 Buyer beware!
A quote from Andre Lamothe "You must be a programer. PERIOD." I understand a little and can make a quick little hello world, but not how he says to do it. What if you are not a programer. I know that this is a hard thing to teach but if I am a dummie then treat me like one. Don't EVER think that we know.

99 Excellent intro to Windows programming and DirectX
LaMothe has made a good effort with this book to provide beginning Windows programmers and those new to DirectX the information they need to get started. Any programmer with C experience should have no problem picking up everything they need to create working 2D Windows/Direct Draw games. No Direct 3D here - it's way too complex for a Dummies book. He provides UNDERSTANDABLE explanations of what you need to know. There are nice chapters on AI, including neural networks, among others. Look, you can't create a Win32 game if you don't even know how to create a window. LaMothe lays the necesary groundwork first, and then on to the fun stuff. Don't be put off by complaints the code won't compile. Please! He states right in the text that you have to cast the return type to an HBRUSH on VC++ 6. What do you want from the guy? He provides an excellent game template that you can use with little fuss. All the Windows drudgery is done for you already. He also provides a perfectly usable Direct Draw wrapper library to make life easier. This book is probably his best work. It's cheap - buy it!

100 A well written book.
This book is great for beginners. If you know C++ and want to write (2d) games this is the best book you can get. And at that price, it's something you shouldn't miss ! ... You get everything from Windows programming to AI concepts, DirectDraw, DirectSound, DirectInput (with joystick enumeration) and DirectSetup.

Really what a beginner needs.

But if you aren't a beginner, don't buy it. It won't do you much good. If you're like me you'll find this book to be too easy. But since it's a beginner book I still give it 5 stars.