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Learning Windows 8 Game Development
Windows 8 brings touchscreens to the tablet and PC. This book will show you how to develop games for both by following clear, hands-on examples. Takes your C++ skills into exciting areas of 3D development. Overview In Detail With the recent success of a lot of smaller games, game development is quickly becoming a great field to get in to. Mobile and PC games are on the rise, and having a way to create a game for all types of devices without rewriting everything is a huge benefit for the new Windows 8 operating system. In this book, you will learn how to use cutting-edge technologies like DirectX and tools that will make creating a game easy. This book also allows you to make money by selling your games to the world. Learning Windows 8 Game Development teaches you how to create exciting games for tablets and PC on the Windows 8 platform. Make a game, learn the techniques, and use them to make the games you want to play. Learn about graphics, multiplayer options, how to use the Proximity + Socket APIs to add local multiplayer, how to sell the game outright, and In-App Purchases. Learning Windows 8 Game Development guides you from the start of your journey all the way to developing games for Windows by showing you how to develop a game from scratch and sell it in the store.With Learning Windows 8 Game Development, you will learn how to write the code required to set everything up, get some graphics on screen, and then jump into the fun part of adding gameplay to turn a graphics sample into a proper game. From there, you’ll look at how to add awesome features to your game like networking, motion controls, and even take advantage of new Windows 8 features like live tiles and sharing to make your players want to challenge their friends and keep playing. This book wraps up by covering the only way a good game can finish by shipping the game on the Windows Store. You’ll look at the things to remember to make certification painless and some great tips on how to market and sell your game to the public. What you will learn from this book Approach A standard practical tutorial running people through Windows 8 RT with a specific focus on game development is the approach chosen here. This type of approach will more likely appeal to an audience that is in need of a structured guide that they can emulate and learn from, unlike the usual reference text available in the market. Who this book is written for Learning Windows 8 Game Development is for any developer looking to branch out and make some games. It’s assumed that you will have an understanding of C++ and programming. If you want to program a game, this book is for you, as it will provide a great overview of Direct3D and Windows 8 game development and will kick-start your journey into 3D development.
244 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 11, 2013
For a book with a rather unassuming title, this book does a great job giving an in-depth technical dive into developing 2D games using DirectX 11.1 for the Windows 8 Metro/Modern interface.
Throughout the book, the author presents comprehensive technical information and lessons in a coherent manner, and provides good explanation of the well-formatted code examples. I was pleased to find a good introduction for game loops, graphics, swap chains and the graphics pipeline.
The author also uses to good effect, the DirectX Tool Kit that helps with writing DirectX 11 code in C++. Those experienced with developing games using XNA will find some familiar classes and patterns used throughout the book as well.
The rest of the technical coverage on input, gameplay, sensors (accelerometer, gyroscope, inclinometer, GPS, light) are more than ample to help you include all the features you need in your own Windows 8 game. I also liked the more Windows 8-centric sections, such as Live tiles and sharing on new media.
The book rounds off with good coverage on how to get your Win8 app on the Windows Store and other ways of monetizing (vs selling).
Some gotcha's to watch out for: Microsoft has released Windows 8.1 and Visual Studio 2013 since the book was published, so you may find the templates described in the first chapters do not really match those you find in Visual Studio 2013. The good news though, is that the code samples from the website will open in Visual Studio 2013, and will compile and run. It would be nice if the author could update the website by providing a list of differences in working with VS2013 (the code and samples were built with Visual Studio 2012), so that folks can work through the examples using VS2013.
In all, a good book that provides good, sound technical coverage into building a Windows 8 DirectX 11.1 game.
Throughout the book, the author presents comprehensive technical information and lessons in a coherent manner, and provides good explanation of the well-formatted code examples. I was pleased to find a good introduction for game loops, graphics, swap chains and the graphics pipeline.
The author also uses to good effect, the DirectX Tool Kit that helps with writing DirectX 11 code in C++. Those experienced with developing games using XNA will find some familiar classes and patterns used throughout the book as well.
The rest of the technical coverage on input, gameplay, sensors (accelerometer, gyroscope, inclinometer, GPS, light) are more than ample to help you include all the features you need in your own Windows 8 game. I also liked the more Windows 8-centric sections, such as Live tiles and sharing on new media.
The book rounds off with good coverage on how to get your Win8 app on the Windows Store and other ways of monetizing (vs selling).
Some gotcha's to watch out for: Microsoft has released Windows 8.1 and Visual Studio 2013 since the book was published, so you may find the templates described in the first chapters do not really match those you find in Visual Studio 2013. The good news though, is that the code samples from the website will open in Visual Studio 2013, and will compile and run. It would be nice if the author could update the website by providing a list of differences in working with VS2013 (the code and samples were built with Visual Studio 2012), so that folks can work through the examples using VS2013.
In all, a good book that provides good, sound technical coverage into building a Windows 8 DirectX 11.1 game.
December 6, 2013
Being both a teacher, and a systems developer for several years, I can say that this book performs well at those two subjects (teaching and programming). Having experience with C++ is required for you to take the most of the book. You should do fine, however, even if you don’t have any game development experience.
The book takes you through all the required steps to build a Windows 8 game (side-scrolling shooter), including publishing your game, and monetizing options, in a simple, clear, and straightforward way. While doing that, the author also explains basic video-game theory, like sprites, coordinate systems, and collision detection, also simple and clear. It also covers tablet and phone features, such as accelerometer and gyroscope.
As I previously said, this book is very straightforward, so don’t expect to read here much about the history of programming, the How’s and the Why’s behind Microsoft’s strategy for Windows 8, or any other not specifically programming related information. The book does what its title promises: It helps you learn how to develop a Windows 8 video game, and does it well.
This book is a very good choice for C++ developers who want to build their first Windows 8 game.
The book takes you through all the required steps to build a Windows 8 game (side-scrolling shooter), including publishing your game, and monetizing options, in a simple, clear, and straightforward way. While doing that, the author also explains basic video-game theory, like sprites, coordinate systems, and collision detection, also simple and clear. It also covers tablet and phone features, such as accelerometer and gyroscope.
As I previously said, this book is very straightforward, so don’t expect to read here much about the history of programming, the How’s and the Why’s behind Microsoft’s strategy for Windows 8, or any other not specifically programming related information. The book does what its title promises: It helps you learn how to develop a Windows 8 video game, and does it well.
This book is a very good choice for C++ developers who want to build their first Windows 8 game.
December 14, 2013
Wow! Love this book... I have been an application developer for 20+ years now. I forgot how fun it is just to write and play with code that gives you immediate visual results. Games are fun! This book covers game design in the Windows 8 RT environment.
My C++ was extremely rusty as I have been working with C# for 10 odd years now, but I was able to get back into it.
Not only does the book provide insight on various gaming design methods, it covers how to properly sell your game. Loved the topics on various game design methodologies!
So, if you are like me, and want to have a little fun programming again outside of work, try out the book. You will be playing with sprites, and rendering text and designing game "objects" in no time. The sample code is pretty straight-forward and easy to follow.
Note:: I would like to see the code updated to Windows 8.1 though. It took a while to figure out how to get it working in Windows 8.1.
My C++ was extremely rusty as I have been working with C# for 10 odd years now, but I was able to get back into it.
Not only does the book provide insight on various gaming design methods, it covers how to properly sell your game. Loved the topics on various game design methodologies!
So, if you are like me, and want to have a little fun programming again outside of work, try out the book. You will be playing with sprites, and rendering text and designing game "objects" in no time. The sample code is pretty straight-forward and easy to follow.
Note:: I would like to see the code updated to Windows 8.1 though. It took a while to figure out how to get it working in Windows 8.1.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews