Video game design for dummies.
March 7, 2011 1:44 PM   Subscribe

I want to turn off my work programming brain and turn on a game design programming brain as a hobby. What books should I read to start down this path?

My favorite kind of learning method is a book that takes me from step 1 to step 3022, allowing me to go through an entire creation process. Ideally, I can deviate from any step in the book, and the deviations are where learning truly takes place. But, as a fall back, I like the option to just go through the steps without making modifications and finishing a project that way.

I am a seasoned programmer, so no need for the book to start an explanation of basic programming skills. Ideally, it would start with the assumption that you already know how to program but just are not familiar with the right libraries.

The language is not too important, but I'd prefer to avoid flash type web game design. I am well versed in c, c++ and Java.
posted by ShootTheMoon to Computers & Internet (1 answer total) 9 users marked this as a favorite
 
I develop games in Java, so feel free to PM me with questions. What kind of game would you like to program?

The book I can think of that most fits your bill is Invent Your Own Computer Games With Python, which probably starts at too basic a level about programming itself, but will teach you the basics of game programming - and you can always skip the introductory chapters.

Also, here's a bunch of helpful websites:

OpenGL Tutorials
Slick Library A good 2D graphics library for Java
Java 4k games competition You can look at the source of individual games

As always, it's a good idea to have a modest project to tinker on.
posted by Zarkonnen at 12:46 AM on March 8, 2011


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