Reader reviews

Finally, a book that treats game development with the care it deserves.

I had been on the fence about this one for a while, and I should have bought it sooner. There is a section near the end that ties several earlier ideas together in a way I had not seen before. The author clearly knows the subject deeply and has thought hard about how to teach it. The exercises at the end of each chapter are worth doing — they caught a few misconceptions I did not know I had. An easy five stars from me. I look forward to whatever the author writes next.

A useful guide. The examples assume a particular environment, but that is fixable.

I had been on the fence about this one for a while, and I should have bought it sooner. A couple of chapters felt like they could have been merged, but that is a minor complaint. There is a section near the end that ties several earlier ideas together in a way I had not seen before. Worth picking up if you already have the basics. Set realistic expectations and you will get a lot out of it.

Good in places. I would borrow it before buying if you can.

I was looking for something that would bridge the gap between tutorials and proper reference material, and this does that well. I appreciated the honesty about what the book does not cover — it saved me from expecting things that were not there. A few of the examples could be more realistic, but the underlying points come across clearly. It is denser than the page count suggests, and I found myself slowing down around the middle. Fine, but there are stronger books on the same subject if you look around.

Outstanding. I kept finding reasons to come back to it.

I read this over a couple of weekends alongside a small side project, which turned out to be the ideal way to approach it. The exercises at the end of each chapter are worth doing — they caught a few misconceptions I did not know I had. Some terminology is introduced without much ceremony; I had to look a few things up along the way. An easy five stars from me. I look forward to whatever the author writes next.

A superb guide. The examples are small but complete.

I came to this book already familiar with the basics, and it still had plenty to offer. Some of the diagrams are dense and I had to reread a few sections, though that may just be me. A couple of chapters felt like they could have been merged, but that is a minor complaint. The index and cross-references are surprisingly good, which matters for a book I will come back to. I have already recommended it to two colleagues and will recommend it to more.

Finally, a book that treats game development with the care it deserves.

I was looking for something that would bridge the gap between tutorials and proper reference material, and this does that well. The author is unusually honest about where the simplifications break down, which I appreciated. The author avoids over-explaining, which keeps the pace up but means you need to pay attention. This is the book I wish had existed when I started working with game development.