Reviews for Beginning C ++ Through Game Programming, Second Edition

1. Good but not coding practice

   Rated 3 out of 5 stars, April 12st, 2010

   I dont want to slate this book as it does teach the basics of C++ pretty well. ALtho the title may be a bit misleading. If you are expecting to program the next generation MMORPG then yeah if you dont know any C++ this book will point you in the right direction. It does not teach you any graphical libraries though. However it does give a solid intro into c++ which is essential if you want to take the language any further.
   
   I will start with the bad point first.
   
   This book does teach a lot. However some of the vital stuff it just skims over. For example arrays. Arrays are very important in C++. However for all the examples, this book prefers to use STL vectors. Sure they are powerful objects. However one should be good and comfortable with Arrays first. QUite simply this books teaches bad coding practice.
   
   Now for the good stuff.
   
   Due to the approach this book takes. The programs are very simple to relate to. As it is all based around games. IE when you cover classes, you create a player class. Instead of "Hello World" the first program is "Game Over" which I think is a nice twist. Most importantly this book makes things like Pointers and Reference seem very simple and understandable. WHich is quite good as these topics are normally pretty hard to grasp. I would reccomend this book, but I would also reccomend getting another book as well, as this book on its own will not make you a pro programmer.

2. Games here stands for *console* games

   Rated 3 out of 5 stars, March 12th, 2010

   Nice and useful reading for real beginners.
   All the example games only use console text for input and output.
   Although I read something about this in a previous review, I somewhat expected some introduction or at least some directions for next steps into graphic games.
   There is nothing like that, so I think it would be useful to point it out again.

3. A great book!

   Rated 5 out of 5 stars, February 12st, 2010

   This is a must have for who want to learn c++ in a game point of view. Clear and written very well.

4. Superb. 5 stars easily.

   Rated 5 out of 5 stars, September 12th, 2009

   I've read the negative reviews as well as the positive reviews to see what I agree with and what I don't for a
   
   clearer, hopefully concise review of my own.
   
   Firstly, let me point out the obvious; "Begining C++...".
   Thats exactly what this book teaches and more.
   
   Some topics I wish were available, algorithms such as linked lists and searches and templates are not present
   
   but they are not necessary to teach C++; rather you are taught how to USE C++ more or less.
   
   The best thing about this book is that it's SIMPLE to understand and sets you towards GAME programming.
   
   Many might see past that fact but game programming requires a directed approach that stems away from standard
   
   programming most of the time; other books teach you more about banks or some other business strategy which
   
   made it hard for me to adapt what I knew into games.
   
   In my view; if you want to learn C++ quick and easy, enjoyably even, this is the book for you, the author says
   
   you will not be overwhelmed and that is true if you read it patiently and actually read it and understand
   
   whats read.
   
   Do not expect graphics, sound or some crazy topics in a begining type of book with less than 300 pages.
   
   You will learn:
   
   Creating basic console applications.
   IF, AND, OR logic.
   Loops.
   Objects and their uses.
   Arrays.
   Standard Template Library brief use.
   Functions.
   References.
   Pointers.
   Classes.
   Advanced Classes and dynamic memory.
   
   All the above will be explained properly and with their relevance and I missed out many things but thats the
   
   gyst.
   
   Good luck, I hope you enjoy this book if you buy it as I did.
   
   ~W
   

5. Outstanding

   Rated 5 out of 5 stars, August 12st, 2009

   About 6 months ago, me and some of my friends in an IT class decide that it would be cool to start creating are own games (being game fanatics ourselves).
   
   After doing some research, it was clear that C++ is one of the biggest and most widely used languages in the industry so, we went with it.
   
   This is the first book I bought, and by far the best. It comes with everything you need on the CD to start compiling your programmes (the IDE Dev-C++ by Bloodshed) and all examples are also on the CD.
   
   The book takes your through, step-by-step, what everything is and does and does it all from a game perspective (what ideas could be used for).
   
   A word of warning though. This book covers the Core C++ ideas and is the programs are text-based. If you want to learn C++ buy this book, if you want to start make 3D games look elsewhere.