In this book, XNA expert Reimer Grootjans brings together a selection of the hottest quick-start recipes in XNA programming for the Xbox and Windows PC. Advanced XNA programmers, experienced coders new to games development, and even complete beginners will find XNA Game Programming Recipes an invaluable companion when building games for fun or as commercial products. Numerous problem-solving recipes cover topics from cameras and angles, to textures, models, and lighting and shadowing, and will get you over the common hurdles encountered in both 2D and 3D XNA application design.

At the edge of one of America's most defining eras in its history, salvation comes from the most unlikely source: video games. Playin' To Win: A Surgeon, Scientist and Parent Examines the Upside of Video Games, is inspired, in part, by many edgy titles that have previously probed the expanse of what could be. It is a Freakanomics with a more grassroots subject matter that elicits an instantaneous visceral response from citizens of every walk of life. It is an Everything Bad Is Good For You with grittier details on how the unexpected can be incorporated into raising our society to the next level. Ultimately, it makes a case that video games can promote a Tipping Point with a focus on contributing to real world solutions. It is direct, thought-provoking and consistently challenges perceptions of the boundaries of reality. It has to be! Because the readers will be the first to bear witness: this is a call for the start of a second American Revolution!

This book provides readers with an introductory resource for learning how to create compelling games using the open source Python programming language and Pygame games development library. Authored by industry veteran and Python expert Will McGugan, readers are treated to a comprehensive, practical introduction to games development using these popular technologies. They can also capitalize upon numerous tips and tricks the author has accumulated over his career creating games for some of the world's largest gaming developers.

Learn iPhone and iPad cocos2D Game Development provides a rock-solid introduction to the cocos2d iPhone game engine and related tools. It focuses on the process of creating several games made entirely with cocos2d and little-to-no iPhone SDK and OpenGL code. By creating 2-3 sample games over the course of the book, you'lllearn key concepts of the cocos2d game engine and relevant tools like Zwoptex (TextureAtlas), ParticleDesigner (Particle Effects), and others. The example games are modeled after popular App Store games so that they are relevant, recognizable, and immediately fun and inspiring. The games increase in complexity andhighlight common recurring cocos2d beginner questions.As you move along, you'll learnabout possible stumbling blocks and how to navigate them successfully.As you move frombeginning to advanced, you'llencountergeneral game programming wisdom, tips for performance improvement, as well as pointers to alternative implementations and further reading. What you'll learn Familiarity with the core cocos2d game engine API and the Box2d physics engine Understanding of the process and best practices of game development, in the context of cocos2d and its related tools Enthusiasm and excitement to createyour own games paired with a realization thatyou areable to create games which can compete on the App Store Where to go from here: further information and alternative implementations Who this book is for

The book is aimed at beginning game developers looking for an easier and even more powerful way to create compelling 2D graphics using OpenGL and Objective-C. It is assumed that the reader will have some knowledge of object-oriented programming and the Apple and iPhone/iPad developer environment. Check out the forum for Learn iPhone and iPad cocos2D Game Development: http: //cocos2d-central.com Table of Contents Introduction Getting Started Essentials Your First Game Game Building Blocks Sprites In-Depth Scrolling with Joy Shoot 'em Up Particle Effects Working with Tilemaps Isometric Tilemaps Physics Engines Pinball Game Game Center Out of the Ordinary

Castlevania is a multi-generational video game series developed and published by Konami. The franchise was first released in 1986, but has evolved from a side-scrolling platformer into a full-scale adventure series - and has sold over 20 million copies worldwide. The series is a fan-favourite, and has influenced generation after generation of games since first being released.

In this latest work, Selfe and Hawisher explore the complexly rendered relationship between computer gaming environments and literacy development by focusing on the stories of computer gamers in the United States at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Using the words and observations of individual gamers, this book offers historical and cultural analyses of literacy development, practices, and values.

In Respawn Colin Milburn examines the connections between video games, hacking, and science fiction that galvanize technological activism and technological communities. Discussing a wide range of games, from Portal and Final Fantasy VII to Super Mario Sunshine and Shadow of the Colossus, Milburn illustrates how they impact the lives of gamers and non-gamers alike. They also serve as resources for critique, resistance, and insurgency, offering a space for players and hacktivist groups such as Anonymous to challenge obstinate systems and experiment with alternative futures. Providing an essential walkthrough guide to our digital culture and its high-tech controversies, Milburn shows how games and playable media spawn new modes of engagement in a computerized world.

Dark Horse Books and Nintendo team up to bring you "The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia", containing an unparalleled collection of historical information on "The Legend of Zelda" franchise. This handsome hardcover contains never-before-seen concept art, the full history of Hyrule, the official chronology of the games, and much more! Starting with an insightful introduction by the legendary producer and video-game designer of Donkey Kong, Mario, and The Legend of Zelda, Shigeru Miyamoto, this book is crammed full of information about the storied history of Link's adventures from the creators themselves! As a bonus, "The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia" includes an exclusive comic by the foremost creator of "The Legend of Zelda" manga - Akira Himekawa!

Take it to the next level! Bursting with the biggest games, latest trends, and hottest news, Next Level Games Review 2023 is the ultimate annual gaming guide. Inside you'll discover a recap of the last twelve months in gaming and a preview of what's coming soon, plus an exclusive intro written by YouTube, TV, and radio presenter Julia Hardy. Whether you want to relive the action in Deathloop, learn about the exciting new Steam Deck, get a head start in Switch Sports, explore Minecraft biomes, become an MMO champion, join the Guardians of the Galaxy aboard the Milano, catch new Diamond and Pearl Pokemon, check out indie adventures, build your Ultimate Team in FIFA, or return to The Lands Between in Elden Ring, this guide is a game-changer! 200+ GAMES: Find out surprising stats and entertaining facts on over 200 games, including Mario, Demon Slayer, Forza, Call of Duty, Genshin Impact, Roblox, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six, Sonic, Final Fantasy, Madden NFL, and The Legend of Zelda. PERFECT FOR NEW GAMERS: Packed with tips and tricks for new and young gamers, plus a special glossary section so you can learn the lingo. ESPORTS CHAPTER: Catch up on all the news and read fascinating trivia on the top eSports games, including League of Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Fortnite, Dota 2, and Overwatch. INSIDER INFO: Get the inside take from gaming experts and learn all about your favourite game studios, including FromSoftware, EA, Bandai Namco, 343, Eidos Montreal, and Gearbox Software.

Understand what shaders are and what they're used for: Shaders are often seen as mystical and difficult to develop, even by skilled programmers, artists, and developers from other game design disciplines. This book dispels that idea by building up your shader knowledge in stages, starting with fundamental shader mathematics and how shader development mindset differs from other types of art and programming, and slowly delves into topics such as vertex and fragment shaders, lighting, depth-based effects, texture mapping, and Shader Graph. This book presents each of these topics with a comprehensive breakdown, the required theory, and some practical applications for the techniques learned during each chapter. The HLSL (High Level Shading Language) code and Shader Graphs will be provided for each relevant section, as well as plenty of screenshots. By the end of this book, you will have a good understanding of the shader development pipeline and you will be fully equipped to start making your own aesthetic and performant shader effects for your own games! You Will Learn To* Use shaders across Unity's rendering pipelines* Write shaders and modify their behavior with C# scripting* Use Shader Graph for codeless development* Understand the important math behind shaders, particularly space transformations* Profile the performance of shaders to identify optimization targets Who Is This Book For This book is intended for beginners to shader development, or readers who may want to make the jump from shader code to Shader Graph. It will also include a section on shader examples for those who already know the fundamentals of shaders and are looking for specific use cases.

How to Make a Movie on a Tight BudgetToday's indie film market is growing by leaps and bounds and filmmaker Rickey Bird and screenwriter and novelist Al Guevara are on a mission to help indie moviemakers everywhere. Bird and Guevara want to show aspiring filmmakers how to overcome common movie and video production problems: Not enough money for crews Over budget and likely making the wrong movie Can't get the attention of an indie studio Should have started with a short film to gain attention Amateur Movie & Video Production. Thousands of aspiring filmmakers are learning how to use cheaper, widely available filmmaking technology, and the craft of making movies from books pulled from bookstore and library shelves. Their work is totally DIY and they are the most creative people you will ever meet. Rickey Bird's Hectic Films is a Southern California enterprise building a filmmaking empire on a budget. His short films, feature films, micro docs and tutorials have landed in some of the biggest American film festivals and been seen online worldwide. The result? Millions of views worth of exposure from films online, in festivals and creative marketing literally on the street. His many projects have seen leading B actors like Hulk Hogan and Vernon Wells (Mad Max Road Warrior), make-up artists from the TV show Grimm, and stuntmen from the Call of Duty games. What you'll learn in this book: How planning and shooting a short film today can lead to a feature-length project tomorrow Everything you need to know about writing a movie project on a burger budget Tips on how to find locations and not get arrested Shooting tips galore for building exciting scenes Sound and film editing tips and all kinds of special effects wizardry, including puppetry Screenings, promotions, and juicy tips on film festival strategy If you liked books such as How to Shoot Video That Doesn't Suck, The Filmmaker's Handbook, or Rebel Without a Crew, you'll love Cheap Movie Tricks.

Game Programming Algorithms and Techniques is a detailed overview of many of the important algorithms and techniques used in video game programming today. Designed for programmers who are familiar with object-oriented programming and basic data structures, this book focuses on practical concepts that see actual use in the game industry. Sanjay Madhav takes a unique platform- and framework-agnostic approach that will help develop virtually any game, in any genre, with any language or framework. He presents the fundamental techniques for working with 2D and 3D graphics, physics, artificial intelligence, cameras, and much more. Each concept is illuminated with pseudocode that will be intuitive to any C#, Java, or C++ programmer, and has been refined and proven in Madhav's game programming courses at the University of Southern California. Review questions after each chapter help solidify the most important concepts before moving on. Madhav concludes with a detailed analysis of two complete games: a 2D iOS side-scroller (written in Objective-Cusing cocos2d) and a 3D PC/Mac/Linux tower defense game (written in C# using XNA/ MonoGame). These games illustrate many of the algorithms and techniques covered in the earlier chapters, and the full source code is available at gamealgorithms.net. Coverage includes Game time management, speed control, and ensuring consistency on diverse hardware Essential 2D graphics techniques for modern mobile gaming Vectors, matrices, and linear algebra for 3D games 3D graphics including coordinate spaces, lighting and shading, z-buffering, and quaternions Handling today's wide array of digital and analog inputs Sound systems including sound events, 3D audio, and digital signal processing Fundamentals of game physics, including collision detection and numeric integration Cameras: first-person, follow, spline, and more Artificial intelligence: pathfinding, state-based behaviors, and strategy/planning User interfaces including menu systems and heads-up displays Scripting and text-based data files: when, how, and where to use them Basics of networked games including protocols and network topology

The Ultima legacy is unquestionably vast in its own right, but over the years it has inspired many other fine works as well. This Companion Guide covers everything beyond the scope of the main Ultima & Ultima Online guides: - Ultima Dragons - A diverse collection of 826 unofficial remakes, add-ons, editors, tools, and much more. Primarily the work of the UDIC fan group. - Wing Commander - Origin's hugely popular sci-fi series. Includes 571 listings. - Origin Worlds - The many other Worlds that Origin Systems created. Includes 555 listings. - Destination Worlds - A sampling of 131 games from the legendary designers at Origin after they left. From Looking Glass to Portalarium and beyond. - Tabula Rasa - The complete collector's guide to Richard Garriott's second epic MMOG. 62 items. - Origin Legends - Gameographies for 35 designers, programmers, artists, musicians and more. - 2013 Addendum - Updates and new additions to the 2012 Ultima Collector's Guide. Black & White Edition. For the complete Ultima Saga be sure to check out the entire book series: Ultima: The Ultimate Collector's Guide - 2012 Edition Ultima Online: The Ultimate Collector's Guide - 2013 Edition Ultima Online: The Ultimate Collector's Guide - 2013 Gold Edition Ultima: The Ultimate Companion Guide - 2013 Edition Ultima: The Ultimate Companion Guide - 2013 Gold Edition

The unusual marriage of Romantic ballet and artificial intelligence is an intriguing idea that led a team of interdisciplinary researchers to design iGiselle, a video game prototype. Scholars in the fields of literature, physical education, music, design, and computer science collaborated to revise the tragic narrative of the nineteenth-century ballet Giselle, allowing players to empower the heroine for possible "feminine endings." The eight interrelated chapters chronicle the origin, development, and fruition of the project. Dancers, gamers, and computer specialists will all find something original that will stimulate their respective interests. Contributors: Vadim Bulitko, Wayne DeFehr, Christina Gier, Pirkko Markula, Mark Morris, Sergio Poo Hernandez, Emilie St. Hilaire, Nora Foster Stovel, Laura Sydora

Improve your game's code to make it more readable, reusable, modular and optimized following design patterns, and enhance your overall use of C++ with Unreal Engine Key Features * Explore the fascinating world of design patterns and their application to game development in Unreal Engine 5 * Learn how to translate code from Blueprint to C++ to produce performant solutions for your game's development * Discover best practices for clean code and apply them to Unreal Engine 5 and C++ Book Description Design patterns are a series of tools and practices by which we can learn to write faster and easier to work with code. With this book, you will explore a range of design patterns and how they can be applied to projects developed in Unreal Engine 5. The book begins by exploring the key principles which underpin code and develop an understanding of the concepts, challenges, and key benefits of using patterns in your code. We'll then move on to identifying patterns which are woven into the core of Unreal Engine 5 such as Double Buffer, Flyweight and Spatial Partitioning, then explore some of the existing tool sets which embody patterns in their design and usage including Component, Behaviour Tree and Update. You'll then start to develop a series of gameplay use cases through C++ to implement a range of design patterns including Interface and Event based Observers to build a decoupled communications hierarchy and explore Singleton, Command and State, as well as Behavioural Patterns, Template, Subclass Sandbox and Type Object. The final section of the book will introduce the use of design patterns for optimization including Dirty Flag, Data Locality and Object Pooling. By the end of this book, you will be able to design systems with the perfect C++/Blueprint blend for maintainable and scalable systems. What you will learn * Understand what a design pattern is and why it is useful * Understand the layers within UE5 and how they work together * Develop an understanding of the relationship between C++ code and Blueprint in Unreal Engine 5 * Translate code from Blueprint to C++ in Unreal Engine 5 * Understand design patterns found within existing Unreal Engine 5 functions * Explore design patterns to understand their purpose and application within Unreal Engine 5 * Creatively apply design patterns to existing code to simplify common problems * Apply best practice principles for clean code Who This Book Is For If you are a beginner or intermediate game developer who is working with Unreal Engine and would like to improve your C++ coding practices, this book will help you produce clean, reusable code using design patterns. The book will cover introductory tasks to show the key fundamentals of using Unreal Engine 5 however learning Unreal Engine from scratch is not the purpose of this book. You would benefit from having some experience of the Unreal Engine but deep working knowledge is not required as activities will introduce the tools and features when needed.

DAVID AHL'S CLASSIC BASIC COMPUTER ADVENTURES is back in a Special 25th Anniversary Microsoft Small Basic Edition The Small Basic text based computer adventure simulations you will develop in this tutorial are based on historical personalities like Marco Polo, Amelia Earhart, and on historical events like the Tour de France, The Longest Automobile Race 1908, and the 1847 Oregon Trail. We have also included some fiction adventure simulations like Voyage to Neptune and the Hong Kong Hustle. We even included all the original "GOTO" subroutines for your nostalgic programming enjoyment. To grasp the concepts presented in DAVID AHL'S SMALL BASIC COMPUTER ADVENTURES, you should possess a working knowledge of Windows and have had some exposure to Microsoft Small Basic programming (or some other programming language). We offer two beginning programming tutorials (MICROSOFT SMALL BASIC FOR KIDS and BEGINNING MICROSOFT SMALL BASIC) that would help you gain this needed exposure. This tutorial requires Windows 8, Windows 7, XP or Vista, and Microsoft Small Basic (Version 1.0). The Small Basic source codeis available for download from the publisher's website (www.ComputerScienceForKids.com) after book registration. "Philip Conrod has a passion for writing tutorials and books aimed at beginner programmers and he's done an excellent job of covering all the fundamentals of Small Basic programming. He has also published a faithful port of David Ahl's Computer Adventures for Small Basic. Check it out for some cool game ideas " - Vijaye Raji, Creator of Microsoft Small Basic "Philip Conrod has done a great job porting my original BASIC COMPUTER ADVENTURES book to the latest version of Microsoft Small Basic. The Small Basic Computer Adventures play just like my original adventures. I highly recommend Philip Conrod's new "Small Basic Computer Adventures" book to both kids and adults " -David H. Ahl, Founder of Creative Computing

Get a thorough and practical introduction to Unity development for Android devices with no previous experience with game development needed. In this book, you'll go through every step from downloading and installing Unity and the Android SDK, to creating fully functional games. The bulk of Learn Unity for Android Game Development is a simple project to create a 2D platform game complete with touchscreen controls, physics, enemies, respawning, collectibles and more. The book closes with a brief introduction to creating 3D games, virtual reality games for the Gear VR, and other more advanced applications. It also provides some guidance on publishing and marketing, as well as thinking about game design and mechanics. Resources including sprites and scripts are provided in the code download. What You Will Learn Install Unity with the Android SDK Understand and use scripts, prefabs and Android Studio Design a great game Build a game app Add a bit of polish Deploy for various Android devices Build and deploy for 3D games, virtual reality and more Promote your game and make money Who This Book Is For This book requires no previous experience with programming or game development of any kind. Prior experience with the Android ecosystem recommended.

Good or bad level design can make or break any game, so it is surprising how little reference material exists for level designers. Beginning level designers have a limited understanding of the tools and techniques they can use to achieve their goals, or even define them. This book is the first to use a conceptual and theoretical foundation to build such a set of practical tools and techniques. It is tied to no particular technology or genre, so it will be a useful reference for many years to come. Kremers covers many concepts universal to level design, such as interactivity, world building, immersion, sensory perception, pace, and more, and he shows how to apply these concepts in practical ways, with many examples from real games.

THE DEVELOPER'S REFERENCE GUIDE TO MICROSOFT SMALL BASIC provides an extensive overview of the Small Basic programming environment. The guide consists of 25 chapters explaining (in simple, easy to follow terms) how to use Small Basic to build programs. A complete review of the Small Basic language is provided. You learn about each Small Basic object. You learn about button and text box controls, using the mouse, graphics, shapes, images, timers, sounds and sequential file access. Both text and graphics window applications are discussed. Over 100 programming examples are included. We discuss working with data files, input validation, date arithmetic, integer shuffling, simple animation, line, bar and pie charts, programming check box and radio button controls, turtle graphics, and ways to share your programs. THE DEVELOPER'S REFERENCE GUIDE TO MICROSOFT SMALL BASIC is presented using over 500 pages of notes and includes the Small Basic source code for all examples. THE DEVELOPER'S REFERENCE GUIDE TO MICROSOFT SMALL BASIC requires Windows 7, XP or Vista, ability to view and print documents saved in Microsoft Word format, and Microsoft Small Basic (Version 0.9 or higher).

Gain a thorough understanding of animation and character rigging using Autodesk 3ds Max to create realistic character animations. This book is split into three modules that are subsequently divided into chapters. The first module is the foundation module: in this module you'll cover, among other topics, the 12 cardinal principles of animation with reference to classic real-world examples and famous movies/animation shots. Using these, the further chapters explore using key frames and graph editors to obtain fluid motion in your animations. Practical examples are used to better explain which feature suits a particular scenario. The second module, called the backbone module, introduces you to deformation tools and their use for character animation. Further chapters cover driven animations, constraints posed by bones, bipeds, and the CAT tools available in 3ds Max 2019. The final module, the lifeline module, encourages you to bring your character to life by applying principles learnt in the previous modules. Here you will be guided on how to retarget animations from one character to other characters or rigs. On completing Character Rigging and Advance Animation, you will be able to create character rigs for bipeds and quadrupeds with ease, animating them with life-like motion. What You Will Learn Understand the 12 principles of animation Set up an animation-ready character rig from scratch Master the deformation tools available for animation Who This Book Is For Readers who are familiar with 3ds Max at a basic level and are looking at getting into character rigging and animation.

Stuck? Can't find what you need? Looking for a few good tips? Don't get mad, get some guidance

Professional XNA(R) Programming

Building Games for Xbox 360(R) and Windows(R)with XNA Game Studio 2.0, 2nd Edition

This improved and updated edition of the bestseller will get you up and running quickly with building games for Xbox 360 and the Windows platform. Professional game developer and Microsoft MVP Benjamin Nitschke begins by explaining how to install the free XNA Game Studio 2.0 and then goes on to share essential advice for using it in a productive way.

Before you know it, each successive chapter will have you developing small games that increase in difficulty. By using the chapters as building blocks, you'll evolve from 2D programming to 3D, and you'll ultimately create a full-blown graphics engine that can be used for more advanced game projects. Plus, you'll get an inside look at six fully functional games, including the popular Racing Game and the new Dungeon Quest.

What you will learn from this book

Tips for adding music and sound with XACT

Techniques for creating unique visual effects through Shaders

Ways to access keyboard, mouse, and Xbox controllers with XInput

How to write your own XNA graphics engine and create a game engine

How to manage content in XNA

Myriad ways of fine-tuning, debugging, and troubleshooting

How to make sure games run on the Xbox 360

Ways to generate landscapes and tracks

How to take advantage of XNA's new networking APIs

Who this book is for

This book is for anyone who wants to create games on the Xbox 360 and Windows platforms. Experience with C# or a similar .NET language is necessary, but previous game programming is not required.

Wrox Professional guides are planned and written by workingprogrammers to meet the real-world needs of programmers, developers, and IT professionals. Focused and relevant, they address the issues technology professionals face every day. They provide examples, practical solutions, and expert education in new technologies, all designed to help programmers do a better job.

Death is not the end! In a world filled with undead, resurrection, and beings from beyond the mortal plane, long-dead mistakes can still cause problems for the living-or provide opportunity. Pathfinder Player Companion: Haunted Heroes Handbook takes aim at possessing forces of all sorts, from worldly magic to spirits of the dead, and provides you with options to rid yourself of that influence, take back control, or profit by cunning bargains with forces in need of a mortal vessel. This handbook also provides valuable information on the places, organizations, and faiths especially concerned with spirits, hauntings, and possession, and how any of these can affect your outlook and abilities. Each monthly 32-page Pathfinder Player Companion contains several player-focused articles exploring the volume's theme as well as short articles with innovative new rules for all types of characters, as well as traits to better anchor the player to the campaign.