Programming Linux Games

by Loki Software and John R. Hall

Programming Linux Games discusses important multimedia toolkits (including a very thorough discussion of the Simple DirectMedia Layer) and teaches the basics of Linux game programming. Readers learn... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1886411492
• ISBN13: 9781886411494
• Release Date: August 2001
• Publisher: No Starch Press
• Length: 350 Pages
• Weight: 1.68 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 7.4" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Great Book

I got exactly everything I wanted from the book, had very a simple easy to understand path towards making games for linux, started small and covered all the topics that I was interested in. This is more of a entry book, and a good reference but it doesnt go to deep into some topics 3d gfx, physics but a great book nonetheless.

Very Complete and Easy to Understand

This book is an execellent introduction to Linux game programming. This book decribes everything you need to know to make a high quality 2D game in Linux with easy to understand tutorials. You should be warned that the book does not discuss 3D game programming and you might say that is its only weakness. However, even if you are interested in 3D game programming the material in this book will help to provide a firm foundation in sound, event handling, networking, game scripting, and other things that are important in game programming whether 2D or 3D.

Great Book: jsut make sure it is the one you are after

First and foremost: make sure this is what you are looking for,even the best book will disappoint someone who is looking for something else! If, like myself, you have some knowledge in computer science without being an expert and particularly have no expertise in Game Developping nor in MultiMedia and are yet curious about the topics then definetly go for it. This book unveils pretty much all aspects game programming: graphics, audio, computer "AI", network gaming, etc.Unveils, not exhausts: be warned. But this is just great when all you are after is understanding what is this about and decide eventually to dig deeper.And everything is done with examples building up until you have developped with the author "your" first game : Penguin Warrior! What would be great is to have a sequel with more advanced topics (3D, Scheme scripting, etc.): be many to buy it and maybe we will someday see it!

A good overview of Linux game programming

If you would like to write games for Linux, but have no idea where to start, this is the book for you. This book is not going to teach you everything you need to know to work at Loki, but it will help you understand what the possibilities are.This is a good book and well worth the read.

For Linux and beyond!!!

I've been waiting for a book like this for a long time. I can't say that I'm into Linux games per say, but I am definitely into cross platform ones and SDL(Simple Direct Media Layer)which is covered in the book is the ticket to getting there. My only previous gripe with SDL was the documentation or lack thereof, which while the documentation is getting better this book does an excellent job of covering SDL from the ground up. If you want to write cross platform games then this book is for you!If you're new to game programming then get this book too!!! Even if you plan to start out making games on Windows, I suggest reading this book along with Lamothe's as it will help you understand game programming basics without the complexity of Windows' code. The author takes you all the way from initializing the display to a complete game by the end of the book, and even though the game was meant to be for Linux it will compile without too many modifications. Although the game in this book may be rather simple one in today's standards, it does cover all the bases including networking and game scripting, the latter of which I found very helpful. ...