Beginning C++ Game Programming - book review

Beginning C++ Game Programming was my first game development-related book purchase, after seeing it recommended on GameDev.net. What initial sold me on this book was the description of some of the code samples that it contained. I had worked on a basic Tic Tac Toe game a while back to get started understanding basic game development but had trouble with the AI part. So I thought this book might get into some detail about it. Unfortunately, it did not. This example, I should have known since the book is for "Beginners", did not cover AI at all. It had a set of winning moves hardcoded. I was hoping for a more elaborate solution. But, oh well, let's get on with the review. I won't let that little misconception on my part affect my feelings on the book. I felt that the author did a good job of introducing the reader to programming and C++ slowly with basic and always game related samples. This is what I liked about the book. I hate the traditional "Hello World" type beginner programs.

Some of you, if you've read my blog before, might ask why I'm reading a beginning programming book. I have been a professional software engineer/programmer for well over 10 years now, but I have yet to work with C++ or anything even remotely game-related. So I thought this book would be a good start. This book definitely gave me a good beginning understanding of C++ and, having been working with Java for the past 6 years, I could readily understand all the concepts discussed in this book. I would absolutely recommend the book for someone who has done little programming, but the book is definitely not worth it for those who are already well versed reading and writing code. While I did learn a good amount about the syntax of C++, I'd have been better served by reading a book such as C++ Primer Plus (Fifth Edition) which I just received yesterday. For those of you who'd like to get started programming, definitely check out the book Beginning C++ Game Programming as it will be a great resource for getting started, with a good beginner game development slant.

I give this book a 3.5 out of 5 star rating for it's good use of simple game code samples and frequent references to game concepts when explaining things such as arrays and operator overloading. I'd have given it a higher rating had it been a longer more in-depth book for those looking to learn more.

Check back soon for a review of C++ Primer Plus (Fifth Edition).