games

This book was the answer to my prayers.

Although I have a fair bit of programming experience, I'm new to C++ and even newer to client/server programming. I've been digging through page after page after page of code from open-source games and other assorted game projects, and mostly getting swamped. This book and the CD with it saved my sanity.

After an overview of the field, it starts out with the simplest communication examples, and then builds from there. By the time you get to where you're putting the code to practical use, you thoroughly understand what it is, what it's doing, and why.

Todd Barron's friendly, programmer-to-programmer style made it much more enjoyable than the dry-as-dust books that you have to soak in water for an hour before reading. I emailed the author with a few questions, and had an answer the next morning. The answer I needed, I should add.

If you want to not just learn but understand the essentials of writing a multiplayer game, this is the book to start with.

I have been working on my own game projects for a couple of years now and was always confused when it came to implementing network communication within my games. I tried to understand the DirectX SDK documentation but the examples are too confusing. After little more than a couple of hours with this book, everything started to make sense! I love the fact that the writer walks you through each piece of code, step-by-step, without assuming anything.

It is true, some of the code is duplicated throughout the book, but I would have been confused otherwise. I would rather have too much code than too little. The sections on Direct3D, DirectInput, and DirectSound are some of my favorites from any book as well. I have read other books dedicated to these subjects but none of them made the subject matter as clear as this book does. Sure, the book is about network communication, but graphics and sound are part of gaming too.

Did I mention the book includes a couple of working games as well? Its amazing how many gaming books fail to include working games; thankfully, this book does not let you down. I recommend this book for anyone who wants to learn how to incorporate multiplayer support into their games or projects.

My position was, I had done some C++ for a few weeks, and wanted to move onto bigger things.

Windows programs, networking, multiplayer games all interested me. This book helped me understand all the above.

I like the amusing comments, cartoons and the way the book is styled. It keeps me interested and never bores me.

Overall a fantastic read and I personally, learned a lot without the pain, maybe not for the super-advanced programmer, but great if you havn't been doing C++ for 20 years.