Written for the intermediate or advanced C++ developer, 3D Game Programming with C++ provides an outstanding tutorial and reference to the essentials of today's DirectX game programming. This book doesn't skimp on the nitty-gritty details of serious 3D graphics while remaining approachable for any competent C++ programmer.

This title is remarkable in two ways. First, it covers the essential features of today's 3D virtual worlds--like textures, lighting and fog, vertices, and transformations--while providing a thorough, yet comprehensible, introduction to the powerful DirectX game platform. This book covers all the visual effects you'll need to create state-of-the-art games with DirectX. A second standout section is the author's re-usable, clearly documented C++ classes for simplifying essential API's involved in DirectX, including DirectDraw (for 2D graphics) and DirectSound (for sound).

The text focuses on the "serious" 3D graphics mode of DirectX--Immediate Mode (IM)--which is used on some of today's hottest games. Direct3D IM programming is tough, but this text is one of the best at showing how it's done. Besides DirectX objects and API's, this book provides some of the "rules" in pseudo-code needed to program successfully with 3D graphics. This title also serves as a reference with over 400 pages on DirectX classes, including over 150 pages on Direct3D. (Plus, there's material on some of the math required for 3D graphics.) Overall, this book will serve as a valuable resource to any programmer who works with DirectX on a day-to-day basis.

Armed with this remarkably clear and thorough title, any C++ programmer can start learning 3D game programming on the Microsoft DirectX platform. This book sets a high standard as an introduction for serious game development using DirectX and C++. -- Richard Dragan, Amazon.com

Topics covered: DirectX overview, graphics hardware, 3D virtual worlds, COM basics, DirectDraw API's and C++ classes, Direct3D Immediate Mode basics, 3D transformations, textures, mipmaps, lighting, rendering primitives, optimizing techniques, physics: detecting collisions, DirectSound API's and C++ classes, DirectInput and joysticks and C++ classes, Artificial Intelligence (AI) basics for game characters, DirectX reference, 3D graphics math reference.