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Holistic Guidance - Beginner's Guide to DarkBASIC Game Programming (Game Development)
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List Price: $59.99
Our Price: $146.24
Availability: N/A
Manufacturer: Course Technology PTR
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 006
EAN: 9781592000098
ISBN: 1592000096
Label: Course Technology PTR
Manufacturer: Course Technology PTR
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 752
Publication Date: 2003-01-22
Publisher: Course Technology PTR
Studio: Course Technology PTR
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Editorial Reviews:
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You?re interested in programming games, but you don?t know where to begin. Beginner?s Guide to DarkBASIC Game Programming is here to help. You?ll be programming games in no time? and with DarkBASIC, you?ll be amazed at how little code you have to write! DarkBASIC features more than a thousand commands geared toward game development, giving you a powerful tool as you put your newfound skills into practice. You?ll get coverage of both DarkBASIC and DarkBASIC Professional, as well as the complete DarkBASIC Language Reference on CD. This completely self- contained book is designed to give you all of the skills you need to begin an amazing journey into the world of game development.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Not for beginner's
Comment: For all those folks out there that don't know how to program and plan on using this book to learn programming - specifically game programming, my advice - DON'T. Programming concepts are not explained in enough depth to be useful. There is a process that takes place in a programmer's mind as one develops a feel for converting ideas into programs...and the book in no way helps to pave the neurons along that much needed path.
The author uses commands in examples before explaining their use and purpose. There are too many "huh?" moments. The long and interesting programs are presented with no discussion in the text about how it works! (Bigger "HUH!") If the book was actually intended for a more advanced programmer, then many pages were wasted in a half-hearted attempt to teach someone how to program. The book feels more like an annotation of the user's manual rather than concepts about building games using the DarkBASIC scripting language. I can't recommend this version of the book, especially since the cost of a used copy seems rather high for what you `ain't' gonna get.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great for the beginning programmer.
Comment: I was excited to get this book, and, after reading it, I am happy to say it was worth every penny!
I especially liked the way the early chapters catered to the beginning programmer. I would recommend this book to anyone who has never programmed before, but, wants to learn. The authors never talk down to you or go over your head with the specific topics.
Even though I have programmed before, I was new to DarkBASIC, and, even though I still don't know everything there is to know about DB, at least I have a solid foundation to build on.
Regarding others criticisms of this book, sure there were some source code inconsistencies, but, if you followed the book you could have easily corrected them yourself, think of it as a bonus test of your new skills. If you thought the book was too simplistic, then, it wasn't for you anyway, so why did you buy it?
You won't be an expert after you finish this book, but, you will know enough to write some pretty decent games. The next logical step after reading this book is to logon to the DarkBASIC website, and, start reading some of the advanced 3D tutorials there. Also please make sure you read the forums, there are a lot of helpful programmers there always willing to lend a hand.
I hope the authors will follow up this book with the "Advanced Guide to DarkBASIC Game Programming".
Customer Rating:
Summary: Well written, but source code in book is wrong.
Comment: I love this book, and I feel it is very well written. The author gives pretty good examples and explains the code that he writes line by line. Perfect for the beginner.
However, nothing frustrates me more than a programming book with source code that does not work. It is very discouraging! What is the use of writing a book with bad source code? Programmers, especially beginners, look forward to the end of every chapter so they can try out their newly learned skills, and work with the end of chapter project. Now I know typos happen from time to time. Usually the correct code will either be on the CD or a support webpage with the company that published. Nope, the source code on the CD was also incorrect. Premiere Books doesn't offer a support website with up to date source code. Sad. I guess there is no QA process with writing tech manuals, eh?
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great book!
Comment: Even tho this book got some negative reviews, I just knew that a 700+ page book would have to teach something. I will admit that the beginning of the book does make you wonder how so many words can say so little, but after you get past that part, the book is great. I've programmed in Basic on my Commodore computer and used QBasic and Blitz Basic on my PC, and just discovered and purchased DarkBasic and it looks like it's going to be awesome! But the book that comes with the DarkBasic program really only describes the commands. You'd have to download the examples and print them out to learn how to program. Even it you do that, I'd still recomment getting this book, because I like to learn from more than one source.
The CD that comes with the book is also terrific. It's jammed packed with all the source code from the book, and has many completed games and demos of programs. I can't imagine learning DarkBasic without this book!
Customer Rating:
Summary: A note from the author
Comment: "Congratulations, you have just found the one and only book you will need to learn the basics of game programming!"
I decided to comment on this book (now 2 years after release) in order to clear up some misconceptions about it. We had to choose between two approaches for this book, to either follow the goal we set out to meet with this book, or to truly delve into the capabilities of DarkBasic. The publisher wanted an entry-level book for their game development series, so this book filled that role. As the title suggests, this is a "Beginner's Guide" to game programming. The title is somewhat confusing because DarkBasic is the tool we used, not the focus of the book. DarkBasic was just the means for teaching this course in game programming--for an audience with absolutely no experience. This book is being used as a first-semester textbook in some middle and high schools.
The unfortunate result of this decision is that DarkBasic fans wanted more of a comprehensive manual for DarkBasic, something to show them how to take advantage of the advanced features of DarkBasic. But what you must understand is that DarkBasic Pro was not even released yet when we completed this book. We had to struggle to queeze in DBPro support at the last minute before the book was printed. Most of the projects in the book are available on the CD-ROM for DBPro as well, with code changes made to suit those programs for DBPro. Most of the code from DarkBasic does run fine in DBPro without modification.
To address some of the harshest reviewers, I will say this: Look at the title; what did you expect, to learn how to write Quake III by reading this book? The title is not "Quake III Programming with DarkBasic" is it? It says "Beginner's Guide". Look at the title again--if it doesn't meet your needs, then the fault is your own for making a poor decision. I find that the same sort of people who complain about this book are the same people who will tell a beginner to "RTFM" instead of trying to be helpful--and I disagree with that attitude. To be honest, if you have enough experience to complain about the content of this book, then it was clearly not written for you, and the fault is your own. I would not buy a C primer if I already know C--and then complain about it! This book's title is all you need to judge whether you will benefit from reading it.
That explanation aside, I hope you will see this book for what it is, not what you want it to be. This book succeeds as a "Beginner's Guide" to game programming first and foremost, and secondly, as a DarkBasic reference (note that a language reference is available on the CD-ROM). The last chapter teaches you how to write your own 3D multiplayer car combat game called Crazy Carnage, which you can play against a friend over the Internet.
If you are a complete beginner, I think you will enjoy this book, because it is very patient, moves along at a slow pace, and describes the basic concepts of computer science like a mentor tutoring an apprentice. I think you will enjoy the nature of this book if you are in need of a no-pressure introduction to programming--because the CD-ROM includes a trial version of DarkBasic.
The Foreword by Lee Bamber--the creator of DarkBASIC--describes the goal of this book succinctly well: "Let's suppose a few years from now a programmer working for a game company...will mention the early days, and how a little-known language called DarkBASIC inspired him to great things. Might that programmer be you?"
"Will YOU write the next blockbuster game with DarkBASIC?" Take a look at the table of contents below to see the subjects that you will learn about in this book.
Part I: The Basics of Computer Programming
1: Welcome to DarkBASIC
2: Introduction to Computer Programming
3: Basic Commands, Variables, and Data Types
4: Characters, Strings, and Text Output
5: Looping Commands
6: Making Programs Think: Branching Statements and Subroutines
7: More Power To The Numbers: Data Sequences and Arrays
8: Number Crunching: Mathematical and Relational Operators and Commands
Part II: Game Fundamentals: Graphics, Sound, Input Devices, and File Access
9: Basic Graphics Commands
10: Game Graphics: Learning To Use Bitmaps
11: The Art of Using Animated Sprites for 2D Games
12: Programming the Keyboard, Mouse, and Joystick
13: Adding Sound Effects To Your Game
14: Playing Some Tunes: CD Audio, MIDI, and MP3 Music
15: Loading and Saving Information Using Files
16: Playing Intro Movies and Cut-Scenes
Part III: Advanced Topics: 3D Graphics and Multiplayer Programming
17: Fundamentals of 3D Graphics Programming
18: Multiplayer Programming: The Crazy CARnage Game
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