Written by a master programmer, this book explains in detail what's behind the programming of those complex, mesmerizing video games. LaMothe makes clarity a priority, discussing math, projections, hidden surface removal, lighting, and transformation in an easy-to-understand language, and concludes by showing how to assemble all the pieces of a game into a complete product. 30 screen dumps.

Written by Computer Scientist Andre' LaMothe, the world's best selling game programming author, The Black Art of Video Game Console Design breaks new ground in game development by bridging the alien worlds of hardware and software together for the first time! The Black Art of Video Game Console Design is written for the programmer and/or hobbyist interested in software game development, but also wants to understand the hardware games are implemented on. This book assumes no prior knowledge of Electrical Engineering or Computer Architecture, but takes you on a breathtaking journey from atomic semiconductor theory to the design and construction of basic video game consoles that you can build and write your own games for! Included in the book is the entire design of numerous embedded game systems including the XGameStation systems and much more. The Black Art of Video Game Console Design with 800+ pages covers everything you need to know to design your own game console including: * Basic atomic physics and semiconductor theory primer. * Introduction to circuit analysis; current, voltage, and resistance. * Analog design using discrete components. * Digital electronics and Boolean algebra. * Physical hardware construction and prototyping techniques. * Combinational logic and advanced integrated circuit building blocks. * Finite state machine design. * Computer architecture and design. * Understanding and using microprocessors and microcontrollers. * Developing software for embedded systems. * Designing video (NTSC/VGA), audio, and input device systems. * Interfacing and communications. * The complete design and discussion of numerous game systems including the XGameStations! CD-ROM Contains * PCB and circuit simulation tools. * All necessary data sheets. * Demos and source code. * Complete designs to numerous embedded systems including the XGameStations.

This book/CD-ROM package will explain the basic and advanced ideas and topics behind the development of a flight simulator, a 3D walk-through game, and many utilities used to manipulate video, audio, and input devices. The CD-ROM includes all the source code from the book, shareware games, commercial software demos, and utilities for game design and image manipulation.

THE BLACK ART OF MULTIPLATFORM GAME PROGRAMMING covers all the skills necessary to create amazing games. It will take you all the way from pixel plotting to full-blown game development. Written with beginners in mind, this book assumes no prior knowledge of game programming--anyone can learn how to program exciting video games using this book. Inside you'll find an introduction to game development on multiple platforms using SDL, extensive coverage of coding techniques used by programming gurus, a complete guide to game engine design and implementation, a modern approach to software architecture, and advanced programming procedures and optimizations. Downloadable files include all the source code used in this book, video tutorials for each chapter, standard tools used for game development, and the SDL standard development library.

It was early 1993 and id Software was at the top of the PC gaming industry. Wolfenstein 3D had established the First Person Shooter genre and sales of its sequel Spear of Destiny were skyrocketing. The technology and tools id had taken years to develop were no match for their many competitors. It would have been easy for id to coast on their success, but instead they made the audacious decision to throw away everything they had built and start from scratch. Game Engine Black Book: Doom is the story of how they did it. This is a book about history and engineering. Don’t expect much prose (the author’s English has improved since the first book but is still broken). Instead you will find inside extensive descriptions and drawings to better understand all the challenges id Software had to overcome. From the hardware -- the Intel 486 CPU, the Motorola 68040 CPU, and the NeXT workstations -- to the game engine’s revolutionary design, open up to learn how DOOM changed the gaming industry and became a legend among video games.