Reader reviews

Good value. Not perfect, but I would buy another book from this author.

I bought this on a whim after seeing it mentioned in a forum thread, and I am glad I did. The writing is direct and does not waste space on filler, which I value in a technical book. I particularly liked the way the author builds up from simple cases before introducing the harder material. It is denser than the page count suggests, and I found myself slowing down around the middle. Recommended, with the caveat that it is not a gentle introduction.

Better than I expected. Rare to find a technical book this well judged.

I was looking for something that would bridge the gap between tutorials and proper reference material, and this does that well. The examples are small enough to type out and experiment with, which is exactly what I want from a book like this. Some terminology is introduced without much ceremony; I had to look a few things up along the way. I have already recommended it to two colleagues and will recommend it to more.

The clearest explanation of game programming I have come across.

I picked this up after getting stuck on a project and it turned out to be exactly the right book at the right time. It is denser than the page count suggests, and I found myself slowing down around the middle. The exercises at the end of each chapter are worth doing — they caught a few misconceptions I did not know I had. Worth the money and the reading time, without hesitation.

Strong content, uneven pacing. I would still recommend it.

I was looking for something that would bridge the gap between tutorials and proper reference material, and this does that well. There is a section near the end that ties several earlier ideas together in a way I had not seen before. The code samples assume a particular environment, which took a bit of fiddling to get running properly. Some terminology is introduced without much ceremony; I had to look a few things up along the way. Four stars, and I suspect a second edition could easily push it to five.

Not for me. The pacing did not work and I struggled to finish it.

I picked this up after getting stuck on a project and it turned out to be exactly the right book at the right time. The early chapters move quickly through material I already knew, but the later sections were genuinely new to me. The book rewards careful reading. Skimming it would be a mistake. I would look elsewhere unless you have a specific reason to need this particular title.

Strong content, uneven pacing. I would still recommend it.

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 avoids over-explaining, which keeps the pace up but means you need to pay attention. Worth picking up if you already have the basics. Set realistic expectations and you will get a lot out of it.