What's your favorite programming books?
Ideally focused on games programming, langauage isn't really important as I'm wanting to apply the theories to Blitz3D and C#. so I'm looking for things more like how to write efficient tile mapping engines, and colision mapping algorithms and route finding etc....
flameduck is going to say thinking in java by bruce eckel but I beat him to it
flameduck is going to say thinking in java by bruce eckel but I beat him to it
Not for game programming, I doubt he was.
I'd still say Thinking in Java is a good choice, from there move on to a game programming book.
The few game programming books I read I was not impressed with. If starting with a new language I would go with the following route.
1 - A good general purpose book on the language.
2 - A more detailed book on efficient programming in the language.
3 - An intro book on the desired game API
4 - A more detailed reference on the game API
For C# I don't know, if you were asking about VB I go with the Rod Stephens books, followed by the VB pro book from Wrox press. They have C# books as welll so that might be a good place to look.
id like to see more on the innards of a game than the lets code a game, the vbasic games programming for teens was taking forever just to make a rather basic rpg/rts or something, so although some of the bits can be re used in other games it was more of 'here is a game, lets ALL make this kinda game'
i keep on meaning to make my own "from pong to quake the evolution of video games" type book, just focusing on the games themselves, the logic etc so you could make it in speccy basic if you want (well perhaps not quake ;) )
some books ive read in the same series spent too much going over the same ground, C++ primer, getting to grips with dx etc.
what they should have done was have a generic primer to C, C++ and DX as a separate book that all the writers contributing to the serise with their genre adheared too for continuity.