Reader reviews

Useful in parts. Fine as a reference, less so as a cover-to-cover read.

I read this over a couple of weekends alongside a small side project, which turned out to be the ideal way to approach it. Some of the material is available elsewhere, but rarely presented this clearly. The author is unusually honest about where the simplifications break down, which I appreciated. Borrow it first if you can, or at least check the table of contents carefully before buying.

A superb guide. The examples are small but complete.

I read this over a couple of weekends alongside a small side project, which turned out to be the ideal way to approach it. I appreciated the honesty about what the book does not cover — it saved me from expecting things that were not there. Some of the diagrams are dense and I had to reread a few sections, though that may just be me. One of those books that pays for itself within the first few chapters. Highly recommended.

Solid and well-organised. A couple of chapters dragged a little.

I have been working with game design for a few years now and I still found plenty here that was new to me. The book rewards careful reading. Skimming it would be a mistake. There is a section near the end that ties several earlier ideas together in a way I had not seen before. Recommended, with the caveat that it is not a gentle introduction.

Finally, a book that treats game development with the care it deserves.

This is the third book I have read on game development this year, and it is comfortably the best of them. The early chapters move quickly through material I already knew, but the later sections were genuinely new to me. I particularly liked the way the author builds up from simple cases before introducing the harder material. Some terminology is introduced without much ceremony; I had to look a few things up along the way. An easy five stars from me. I look forward to whatever the author writes next.

A superb guide. The examples are small but complete.

There is a particular kind of technical book that is dense without being difficult, and this is one of them. The writing is direct and does not waste space on filler, which I value in a technical book. Some of the material is available elsewhere, but rarely presented this clearly. The chapters on javascript are the strongest — the examples are stripped down but complete, and I could follow along without constant guessing. If you have the prerequisites, this is an easy recommendation. I will be keeping it on my desk rather than the shelf.

Good in places. I would borrow it before buying if you can.

I had been on the fence about this one for a while, and I should have bought it sooner. The explanations are careful without being condescending, which is a difficult balance to strike. The exercises at the end of each chapter are worth doing — they caught a few misconceptions I did not know I had. Useful as a reference, less so as a straight read from cover to cover.