Review of Isometric Game Programming with DirectX 7.0 w/CD (Premier Press Game Development (Software)) (Paperback)

What a incredibly well done book! I have followed Ernest Pazera's articles and work for a very long time in the Gamedev.Net community and I will say that this book is Ernest at his finest! And with the added touch of Andre' LaMothe, it makes this book a programmer's gem. I know that there are a great many aspiring game programmers who will find this book to be the book they have been waiting for. I'll explain what amazed me about this book:

It starts out giving a short review on Windows programming, and GDC (which is good, since sometimes it's easy to forget some of the basics). It's followed with a course in DirectX, and DirectSound, which are given in a way tailored toward our goal of making an isometric or tile-based game. Then the book just takes off. You'll find wonderful chapters on isometric game design, and the overview on how to create your game engine. The chapters that follow cover tile-based programming and tile-based AI and (my personal favorites of the book) chapters on how to handle objects and characters in your game. And it's all done in a very easy to understand and straight-forward manor. He completes the book with chapters on how to make your game's transition into the world of Direct3D.I've been doing tile-based games for years, and yet I found TONS of things in this book that I didn't know. And I think that's one of the main reasons this book is so well done: it's done by a man who loves iso-game programming with an incredible passion, and HE KNOWS HIS STUFF.

I do agree with Dino, though, that one would want to have at least a bit of understanding on game programming before delving in, as opposed to hitting it right at the start. And like Dino said, it makes a GREAT reference for all of those who may have been in the business for a while.

Ernest, you've done a wonderful job on this book. Doing a good book on iso-game programming is no easy task, but you have pulled it off perfectly.

Bottom line: THIS IS A DEFINATE MUST-BUY.

Product Description
Isometric game programming is an alternative to 3D programming, which is much more math intensive.However, isometric games often can achieve the same level of graphical aesthetics as 3D games.Isometric game development is great for real-time strategy games similar to Sim City 3000, Caesars III, and Age of Empires.Isometric Game Programming with DirectX 7.0 is a comprehensive book that is ideal for any serious game developer as well as any of the 250,000 game hobbyists worldwide.Readers will find valuable information on how to create and develop games using hexagonal images.This book will be most useful to game developers who are not new to programming, but are possibly new to DirectX. Series editor André LaMothe has published numerous magazine articles and is an international best-selling author with over six game programming and 3D graphics titles to his credit.He has been active in the computing industry for more than twenty years, during which he created one of the world's first commercially available virtual reality games, CyberGate.André is also the founder and CEO of Xtreme Games LLC.

About the Author
Ernest Pazera is a self-taught programmer, starting at age 13 with a TRS-80.He is a moderator of an isometric/hexagonal forum on the site and has extensive experience with game development. Ernest is the author of Isometric Game Programming with DirectX 7.0 from Premier Press.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Isometric Game Programming with DirectX 7.0 w/CD (Premier Press Game Development (Software)) (Paperback)