(Part 3) Best other art media books according to redditors
We found 1,515 Reddit comments discussing the best other art media books. We ranked the 406 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the products ranked 41-60. You can also go back to the previous section.
Cover Art and confirmation from a Lead Character Artist at Blizzard.
Hardcover Version on Amazon
Limited Edition on Amazon
If you like this, check out Stålenhag's books: Tales from the Loop, Things from the Flood, and The Electric State
You may want to narrow that down a bit, but okay, here are some highlights, with amazon links to help disambiguate.
http://www.amazon.com/Game-Programming-Gems-Adam-Lake/dp/1584507020/
www.amazon.com/Game-Engine-Architecture-Jason-Gregory/dp/1568814135/
http://www.amazon.com/Game-Engine-Design-Second-Edition/dp/0122290631/
http://www.amazon.com/Game-Engine-Architecture-Engineering-Applications/dp/012229064X/
http://www.amazon.com/Artificial-Intelligence-Games-Second-Edition/dp/0123747317/
http://www.amazon.com/AI-Game-Programming-Wisdom-CD-ROM/dp/1584500778/
http://www.amazon.com/Real-Time-Rendering-Third-Edition-Akenine-Moller/
http://www.amazon.com/Real-Time-Cameras-Mark-Haigh-Hutchinson/dp/0123116341/
http://www.amazon.com/Code-Complete-Practical-Handbook-Construction/dp/0735619670/
There are many others, but looking at my shelf these are the big ones that stick out for recommendations.
On German Amazon you can now find some pages from the book „the Art of Sea of Thieves“
Your Pic Is from the other Book?
Amazon.de (germany)
The wiki would be the best place to start. It's constantly updated whenever new material is released, so it's often up to date even on things like the novels or comics.
If you don't mind spending some money, I would suggest World of Thedas as being an excellent compendium and overview on the world of Dragon Age. It covers the lore up to Asunder. I do want to stress that it is just an overview; the wiki is a lot more in-depth but WoT is useful if you're particularly new on the lore side of things.
But if you've played DA2 and its DLCs, you're pretty much up to date on the known lore. The novels Asunder and The Masked Empire would be the only things I would suggest you look into, as both novels serve to set up several different potential plots in DA:I. But you can read the basics on both of those novels on the wiki lol.
Those are really cool. Hadn't heard of any of them, but looked them up. From left to right it looks like they're:
Unfortunately I can't tell what this artwork is from and there's no title to look up for it. Maybe OP can chime in with the title of that one?Edit: Took me a bit to recognize it but it's Bioshock Infinite. So I bet the the hardcover of this book has the colored sleeve with the embossed version we see in the pic on the book cover itself: The Art of Bioshock Infinite
They are finally having a reprint
https://www.amazon.com/Mega-Man-Battle-Network-Hardcover/dp/1772941123/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=battle+network+complete+works+book&qid=1558899569&s=gateway&sr=8-2
The complete works books are cool because they talk about little known facts about character design, and even story. I especially like the Zero one because it mentions how the series was working to reach Legends, and what parts of the story they considered when going forward. For example they officially recognize the tower at the end of Zero 1 as the Orbital Elevator from X8.
This is one of my favorites https://natureofcode.com/
This is also well regarded https://www.amazon.com/Generative-Art-Practical-Guide-Processing/dp/1935182625
They're also a ton of processing specific articles and many people here will describe their algorithms and share their code if you ask (and often even if you don't)
I now have a copy of "The World of Thedas." It contains a very interesting chapter about magic, including blood magic. Here are several excerpts about blood magic from the book. The last example in particular gives a chilling perspective to (Redcliffe Spoilers)letting Isolde sacrifice herself to save Connor.
The Cost of Blood Magic
"The more violent the pain or death used in blood magic, the more powerful a spell becomes."
"Mages who experiment with blood magic are more susceptible to demonic spirits, such as pride demons, and risk becoming abominations by way of possession."
The Chantry's Stance
"Using pain or death to cast or strengthen spells is forbidden throughout Thedas."
"Chantry faithful believe those who practice blood magic are criminals, as common wisdom holds there is no way to use blood magic with good intentions.
They say all blood mages who use their own blood will eventually find themselves tempted by the additional power to be gained from spilling the blood of others."
Blood Magic in the Imperium
"While blood magic is discouraged even in the pro-mage Imperium, it is still widely, if quietly practiced there...even the most devout mage in the Imperial Chantry knows at least a little blood magic."
"The Ancient Tevinter magisters were the first to experiment with blood magic. They saw it as a means to achieve greater power in all schools. Over time, they discovered spells that could only be worked by spilling blood. Rituals involving violence became a significant part of the Old God worship, and blood mages rose to incredible heights of power and influence."
(Excerpts from) Letter from Magister Easthia to her apprentice, 7:71 Storm
"While it is true that blood magic is woven through the history of Tevinter, there are good reasons, quite aside from the Chantry's sermons, that such arts are now frowned upon...
When their spells exhausted their lyrium supply, the magisters spilled the blood of countless slaves. To what end? The shifting nature of the Fade made the effort futiele, and so much death left the magisters open to posession by demons. Wasteful!...
And what of Magister Calanthus, that fool who believed he could make himself the "Ascended Man" with blood magic? Thirty-three slaves died in that rite, and Calanthus became an abomination so horrific that his apprentices tore out their eyes at the sight of him.
You quote the examples of of the lovers Crescens and Seraphinian. yes, Seraphinian offered his own blood to cure Crescens of her wasting disease, and Crescens lived a long life. But if the noblest of blood magic still calls for the death of a good man, is that not enough reason to reconsider?
I highly recommend Real-Time Collision Detection.
This next book might not apply to your field directly, but I believe it is a good idea to be at the very least aware of what it discusses, and it is a very excellent book on its subject: The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses
I recommend this book as more of a reference than a tutorial; it will allow you to quickly brush up on those areas of math and physics which you will need while writing (or perhaps working with) a physics engine. I don't recommend attempting to learn the subjects through this book alone though. Game Physics
Reading 3D Math primer for Graphics and Game Development is how I learned linear algebra, although I plan on studying the subject from a textbook when I get the opportunity. I keep the book close for easy reference of the math related to 3D rendering (such as the projection and view matrices), although if you get this book you will want to read the errata document on its website. There may be better books to teach this stuff now, so please don't jump on it too hastily.
A couple books I do not own, but plan to correct that as soon as I can:
Game Physics Pearls and Real-Time Shadows
If I think of any others, I will edit this comment.
Link.
Buy the book. It's a short sci-fi story in a universe that he both wrote and painted. One of the more engrossing sci-fi stories I've read.
If you want more information about the aircrafts check out "The art of Titanfall" and "The art of Titanfall 2". There are entire chapters about spaceships and more. I have them both and I really recommend them!
The art of Titanfall: https://www.amazon.com/Art-Titanfall-Andy-McVittie/dp/178329194X
The art of Titanfall 2: https://www.amazon.com/Art-Titanfall-2-Andy-McVittie/dp/1785653695
So what changed with Nintendo since then? I've been reading a coffee table book on the N64, and it makes the case that Nintendo put a lot of faith into the Western market and third parties in the fifth generation: Silicon Graphics and Rareware as particularly public examples. When their own apprehension of using CDs lost them their Japanese partners, they swung back the other direction. I'm not sure I fully agree with this narrative but it's an interesting theory, and with this video I can see some of the pieces clearer.
This one's by Simon Stålenhag, and it's from his collection called The Electric State - you can find all three of his books on Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1772941123/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Link for those who are interested.
CD/CR is:
Are you asking about World-Entity or Entity-Entity collisions?
CD/CR is usually done in UpdatePhysics() inside the Game-Loop
There is no "single" answer - you can do it either way:
You'll probably want to batch up processing entities, and split them into a before and after phase:
Other search terms are: Broad Phase vs Narrow Phase
There are a couple of books you'll want to look at
Edit: Added deltaTime to DoPhysics()
EvE Universe, got the special edition when it came out. Amazing artwork, even has the Sunesis in it, goes to show how long they've had the models. Wonder how many more models that are concept art will make it to EvE.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/cka/EVE-Universe-Art-New-Eden-CCP-Games/161655701X
I have a lot to say on this, as i've been contemplating it for a while, so please bare with me. TL;DR at the bottom.
Personally, i'm relieved but only because I get to save money by choosing not to get it. Gamestop was going to charge me $180 after shipping to get it day 1, and even then I cringed at that amount considering what i'm getting.
TL;DR: The statue is a let down and not that high quality, Anything collectable or special will be snatched up due to it's perceived "limited" nature, either by fans or scalpers, Steelbook is okay, but nothing special, You can get the actual full art book, and Season passes are iffy for me.
All in all not worth $180 (or the price of the game 3 times) to me. For the price of the CE I can buy the game, art book, and still have money left over to pre order Red Dead Redemption 2.
There are the novels
Then the limited editions of:
And
LIST INCOMING:
I'm so in love with this range of books: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Botanicum-Welcome-Museum-Kathy-Willis/dp/1783703946
I guess they're kids books but the illustrations are just beautiful and I actually got the postcard set for the botanical illustrations, and I'm going to have them framed for my house. I adore plant illustrations in this style.
Another one I love is: https://www.amazon.com/Resurrectionist-Lost-Work-Spencer-Black/dp/1594746168
The story is a bit average but the illustrations are so cool, I love anatomical illustrations and mythical beasts.
These two are also amazing: https://www.amazon.com/Where-Why-How-Illustrate-Mysteries/dp/1452108226 and https://www.amazon.com/Who-What-When-Illustrate-Sidekicks/dp/1452128278/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1452128278&pd_rd_r=RRYE5GWH9BWS2TPVV31X&pd_rd_w=K7qR6&pd_rd_wg=Mxunj&psc=1&refRID=RRYE5GWH9BWS2TPVV31X
I totally cried my eyes out over this one: https://www.amazon.com/Radioactive-Marie-Pierre-Curie-Fallout/dp/0061351326
And the illustrations are just so beautiful. Her story is just tragic and she was so brilliant.
If you wanna cry for a couple of years, this one: https://www.amazon.com/Laika-Nick-Abadzis/dp/1596431016
I guess not strictly about the science but there's a good amount of space related information and science tangential stuff, and its just such a beautiful book that I couldn't not recommend it. The final page is basically seared onto my memory forever :c
I'm utterly obsessed with this book: https://www.amazon.com/Sick-Rose-Disease-Medical-Illustration/dp/1938922409
ITS SO INTERESTING, its mostly medical diagrams and descriptions (I obviously have an aesthetic).
Use the link below to donate .5% of your purchase to charity.
Amazon Smile URL: https://smile.amazon.com/Fate-Complete-Material-Character/dp/1772940135
This bot is still in test phase. Please PM me for suggestions, complaints or questions.
There's an artbook, yeah
This isn't in that, it's from a booklet that was bundled with some of the pre-orders, but there's an artbook.
As far as I know, there were two versions. One was the super limited edition, and the other was the standard edition that anybody could get. I got the latter on Amazon.
EDIT: Amazon link
The Art of Sea of Thieves
You should consider picking up a copy of The Art of New Eden. This is just a sample of the beautiful art inside.
I bought this book a few months back and It has a lot of inspiration in it.
Thanks for sharing this! I just got the limited edition for $54 down from $100
Ok, it's a bunch of ebooks, usually in these bundles you get about 15 of them and the bundles cost $15 so $1 each.
If it's stuff like comic books it's usually around 40 items for a normal price for those are like $4-8 each, in the case of books for the more fiction style of books maybe the normal price is usually like $10-20 each, in this case it was 20-25 books so I guess the normal price is $15-20 each and in the case of stuff like the OReilly books the normal price per book is more like $30 and such, in like the Unity asset packs some of those things have a normal price of $50 and so on.
So like for $1:
https://www.amazon.com/Greek-Mythology-Explained-Legends-Goddesses/dp/1633538966 Kindle $12.49
https://www.amazon.com/How-Art-Can-Make-Happy/dp/1452153221 Kindle $9.99
https://www.amazon.com/Where-Why-How-Illustrate-Mysteries/dp/1452108226 Kindle $12.09
https://www.amazon.com/Underachievers-Manifesto-Accomplishing-Little-Feeling/dp/0811853683 Kindle $6.24
https://www.amazon.com/Crap-Dates-Disastrous-Encounters-Single/dp/1452114587 Kindle $4.99
https://www.amazon.com/K-Knifeball-Alphabet-Terrible-Advice/dp/1452103313 Kindle $6.00
I totally don't think ebooks are worth as much as physical books. A physical book takes much more distribution and work to generate and have a much nicer quality and accessibility though it do take up space. So in general I wouldn't buy ebooks at those prices but that's about $61.50 on Amazon to get those ebooks which Humble Bundle charged $1 for.
Here in Sweden were I live education is gratis and you even get a small amount of money to help get by for up to six years of university studies. Then again our taxes are very close to half of GDP and on work income the total taxation is about 3/4 of the income when you've paid all taxes including stuff like VAT and energy and so on. Our system allow people to get pretty useless degrees and our flat salaries and the political ideology make people demand a higher salary just because they have spent equal number of years at university or equal hours at the job not because what they produce was in demand and deserved that payment. So that's a bad system in that it doesn't produce what the market value and lower the production of usable goods and services and waste resources vs something more efficient but it could be solved by offering poor people a loan which they pay back once they have gotten a better job or whatever instead of just not educating them at all.
As an Indian or American citizen rather than a Swedish one a university degree would had cost money here too though. And the school you went to would unlikely had the same reputation as the finest American ones and not necessarily held the same quality. But for those living here their education is paid for by others taxes (which is about twice as large share of the GDP as in America.)
Definitely The World of Thedas Volume 1
There's also a volume 2 due out next May.
This is from the upcoming art book- The Art of Sea of Thieves - set to be released next month. You can find it on Amazon here: Link to Book
Here it is on Amazon. It is probably available on the Bungie store, too, though I haven’t checked.
Get a few books on the subject, they are a great resource to get you familiar with the parts that go into making a full engine.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Game-Coding-Complete-Mike-McShaffry/dp/1133776574/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1370533326&sr=8-1&keywords=game+coding+complete
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Game-Engine-Architecture-Jeff-Lander/dp/1568814135/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1370533364&sr=1-1&keywords=game+engine+architecture
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Game-Engine-Architecture-Engineering-Applications/dp/012229064X/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_S_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=3D6S8DHCZFLJF&coliid=I301TVJ1BKHNZ8
I got the symbol of the 'strike and dip' on my foot and if you are looking for inspiration there is a book called 'science ink'. That can be a quick read or just flip through at photos.
https://www.amazon.com/Science-Ink-Tattoos-Obsessed/dp/1454912405
I read Realtime Rendering a lot when I started programming 3D. It's good book , and the site links to a lot of other good books and sites.
I wouldn't recommend 3D Engine Architecture or 3D Game Engine Design though, since they give a very bloated approach and are quite C++ specific.
Remember to Keep It Simple. =)
It was an early sketch for the wards on the Citadel, just got the art book its great.
http://www.amazon.com/Art-Mass-Effect-Universe-Various/dp/1595827684/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1331944657&sr=8-1
Nice ink! :) I guess I feel famous?
If you'd like a IRL copy, the tattoo photo also got published in Carl Zimmer's Science Ink
Nintendo 64 Anthology has an excellent section on the history of the N64.
I bought some lore books on amazon a while back, I forget the names off the top of my head.
But they talked about the three main fractions.
book 1
book 2
art book ‘soft/ implied lore but nothing fancy’
I don’t own this, looks like a comic
What you are looking for is DEFINITELY the Fate/Complete Material Volume 2, which has been released in English. You can find on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Fate-Complete-Material-Character/dp/1772940135
Here german Amazon link for germans! Pretty cheap imo.
The Art of Overwatch Limited Edition https://www.amazon.de/dp/1506705537/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_0Dugzb57P2FTC
The Art of Overwatch https://www.amazon.de/dp/1506703674/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_UJugzbQN5BDWR
Here are links to Amazon for the NORMAL and LIMITED EDITION versions. Also, if you like the comics, here's a link to the Anthology Volume 1.
I figured I'd provide the links after I saw searching that for "Art of Overwatch" turned up some slightly risque images of Overwatch's female heroes. =P
Fate/Complete Material Volume 2: Character Material https://www.amazon.com/dp/1772940135/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_1fuBzbGHSAB3G
Art book? I think this is it. If it is, you might be able to buy it separately.
https://www.amazon.com/Art-Destiny-2-Bungie/dp/168383111X/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1493662752&sr=8-3&keywords=the+art+of+destiny
Oh I know mine isn't original either, but I am hipsterly proud that mine was done before the first famous one was printed in Science Ink.
It's nuts yeah. We can see reused assets, especially early on, but by the end that's all a bunch of new stuff, and on top of that the level design and story hooks had to all be made, and that's some effort.
The closest we have to a documentary on the development processes are actually the Design Works books. Two exist, one for Dark Souls, one for Dark Souls 2, and they are full of interviews about the development of those games. The DkS1 book is awesome, full of a bunch of information which is fantastic as well as some really insightful concept art. I look over my copy every couple weeks it seems, just because it's really cool and I always learn something new while poking at it. Covers a lot, including Izalith's development problems, the swap of the tutorial boss, etc. The book for DkS2 comes out Feb 9 in English, and I'll be picking it up day one. Through translations and stuff it's already known that had gigantic development problems (swapping directors like, halfway through), so it should be a really interesting read. I don't know of one for Bloodborne, though I know the FuturePress guides should have had interviews and the like in them (The Old Hunters one also has a 'lore bible' of sorts, a primer basically for the fundamentals which should be pretty cool), so that may be the closest we get. I intend to pick those up at the same time I pick up the DkS2 Design Works, and do some binge reading afterward.
The English version is also available for hardcover preorder on amazon Rn
https://www.amazon.com/Mega-Man-Battle-Network-Hardcover/dp/1772941123/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&th=1&linkCode=sl1&tag=nintcafe-20&linkId=ee1b84bedb198f066a7a703d0d6fb87a&language=en_US
There is; I got it from amazon.co.uk where it's 50% off right now, at about 15 GBP.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1595827684/ref=oh_o00_s00_i00_details
It's pretty thorough, covers concept art for all three games, some 180 pages altogether.
Be open about your relationship with EVE with girlfriend 3.0. If she's the right one, she will accept it and might even gift you some dank loot like this.
Less expensive at Amazon, even after the crimsondays discount. Even better with Amazon's free shipping compared to Bungie's absolutely terrible rates.
https://www.amazon.com/Art-Destiny-2-Bungie/dp/168383111X
If "Generative Design" is a bit too pricey, you'd might want to consider
"Generative Art" by Matt Pearson.
Lots of fun generative projects to fool around with!
This is where refining google searches and just finding information would shine, and this is a necessary skill when entering game engine development because trust me, some information is near impossible to find, especially with OpenGL.
There is a book everyone recommends reading, personally I haven't but it's called "3D Game Engine Design" and "3D Game Engine Architecture". I can't vouch for these though, but i've made it without them, it's your choice.
There's also tons of information online that you can use to build a engine (specific parts like timing) but not necessarily a monolithic tutorial. For example, there is a book online called "Game Programming Patterns" that I found useful for someone else's insight on how things like input is handled. Again, i'm not going to post all the resources you want here because this same question has been answered before.
If you don't find that the tutorials or resources linked here or found yourself enough, there are hundreds of game engines, or games that are open source (or at least have source available) that is a treasure trove of design patterns, bad or not. An example would be id Software's Doom 3.
I know you're looking for something specifically OpenGL, but really despite how old OpenGL's design is at the end of the day it's just a graphics API. You take data, and you process it and display it at the window, every graphics API does this. I'm guessing you are searching for things like "OpenGL game engine design" but it's not necessary and may help your search effort a bit.
At the end of the day, and at least try. If I don't know how to tackle a problem, I attempt to solve the problem with usually the worst way possible then improve and improve until it's at least presentable. No one thought of a perfect engine design, and ideas are constantly improved.
When we got our first nintendo (an N64), I was 12 or 13, and the first game we played was MarioKart. There were 4 controllers, one for each of us kids, while my parents watched. We played for hours, my older brother always winning and laughing at us. Finally, sick of her oldest son's gloating, my mom took my younger brother's controller and played. She wiped the floor with all of us, looked straight at my older brother and said "HA HA", then walked away. My little siblings were shocked, they had never seen Mom play a game. Little did they know, she was the Queen of Out Run on the Sega Master System.
I don't know why it was so funny, but it's something I always think about when I play that game. :) Probably because I'm still a kid at heart! :D this video game related book is not $31, but shipping costs a bit more up here :)
Game Physics is a classic reference on physics engines. Be warned however, 'physics' used in games encompasses a lot more than just basic newtonian mechanics.
I was thinking of getting a half sleeve space piece done, but I am indecisive and might do a geology piece...
I highly recommend though at least looking through this book- there are a lot of really cool ones.
Note that Game Engine Architecture != 3D Game Engine Architecture. They are different books with similar names. While both are worth looking at, the former is my favorite (and the one OP mentioned).
I tweeted at them a few weeks ago but they didn't respond. Glad they're localizing another one. Also here's a link for Canadian Amazon
Game Engine:
Game Engine Architecture by Jason Gregory, best you can get.
Game Coding Complete by Mike McShaffry. The book goes over the whole of making a game from start to finish, so it's a great way to learn the interaction the engine has with the gameplay code. Though, I admit I also am not a particular fan of his coding style, but have found ways around it. The boost library adds some complexity that makes the code more terse. The 4th edition made a point of not using it after many met with some difficulty with it in the 3rd edition. The book also uses DXUT to abstract the DirectX functionality necessary to render things on screen. Although that is one approach, I found that getting DXUT set up properly can be somewhat of a pain, and the abstraction hides really interesting details about the whole task of 3D rendering. You have a strong background in graphics, so you will probably be better served by more direct access to the DirectX API calls. This leads into my suggestion for Introduction to 3D Game Programming with DirectX10 (or DirectX11).
C++:
C++ Pocket Reference by Kyle Loudon
I remember reading that it takes years if not decades to become a master at C++. You have a lot of C++ experience, so you might be better served by a small reference book than a large textbook. I like having this around to reference the features that I use less often. Example:
namespace
{
//code here
}
is an unnamed namespace, which is a preferred method for declaring functions or variables with file scope. You don't see this too often in sample textbook code, but it will crop up from time to time in samples from other programmers on the web. It's $10 or so, and I find it faster and handier than standard online documentation.
Math:
You have a solid graphics background, but just in case you need good references for math:
3D Math Primer
Mathematics for 3D Game Programming
Also, really advanced lighting techniques stretch into the field of Multivariate Calculus. Calculus: Early Transcendentals Chapters >= 11 fall in that field.
Rendering:
Introduction to 3D Game Programming with DirectX10 by Frank. D. Luna.
You should probably get the DirectX11 version when it is available, not because it's newer, not because DirectX10 is obsolete (it's not yet), but because the new DirectX11 book has a chapter on animation. The directX 10 book sorely lacks it. But your solid graphics background may make this obsolete for you.
3D Game Engine Architecture (with Wild Magic) by David H. Eberly is a good book with a lot of parallels to Game Engine Architecture, but focuses much more on the 3D rendering portion of the engine, so you get a better depth of knowledge for rendering in the context of a game engine. I haven't had a chance to read much of this one, so I can't be sure of how useful it is just yet. I also haven't had the pleasure of obtaining its sister book 3D Game Engine Design.
Given your strong graphics background, you will probably want to go past the basics and get to the really nifty stuff. Real-Time Rendering, Third Edition by Tomas Akenine-Moller, Eric Haines, Naty Hoffman is a good book of the more advanced techniques, so you might look there for material to push your graphics knowledge boundaries.
Software Engineering:
I don't have a good book to suggest for this topic, so hopefully another redditor will follow up on this.
If you haven't already, be sure to read about software engineering. It teaches you how to design a process for development, the stages involved, effective methodologies for making and tracking progress, and all sorts of information on things that make programming and software development easier. Not all of it will be useful if you are a one man team, because software engineering is a discipline created around teams, but much of it still applies and will help you stay on track, know when you've been derailed, and help you make decisions that get you back on. Also, patterns. Patterns are great.
Note: I would not suggest Software Engineering for Game Developers. It's an ok book, but I've seen better, the structure doesn't seem to flow well (for me at least), and it seems to be missing some important topics, like user stories, Rational Unified Process, or Feature-Driven Development (I think Mojang does this, but I don't know for sure). Maybe those topics aren't very important for game development directly, but I've always found user stories to be useful.
Software Engineering in general will prove to be a useful field when you are developing your engine, and even more so if you have a team. Take a look at This article to get small taste of what Software Engineering is about.
Why so many books?
Game Engines are a collection of different systems and subsystems used in making games. Each system has its own background, perspective, concepts, and can be referred to from multiple angles. I like Game Engine Architecture's structure for showing an engine as a whole. Luna's DirectX10 book has a better Timer class. The DirectX book also has better explanations of the low-level rendering processes than Coding Complete or Engine Architecture. Engine Architecture and Game Coding Complete touch on Software Engineering, but not in great depth, which is important for team development. So I find that Game Coding Complete and Game Engine Architecture are your go to books, but in some cases only provide a surface layer understanding of some system, which isn't enough to implement your own engine on. The other books are listed here because I feel they provide a valuable supplement and more in depth explanations that will be useful when developing your engine.
tldr: What Valken and SpooderW said.
On the topic of XNA, anyone know a good XNA book? I have XNA Unleashed 3.0, but it's somewhat out of date to the new XNA 4.0. The best looking up-to-date one seems to be Learning XNA 4.0: Game Development for the PC, Xbox 360, and Windows Phone 7 . I have the 3.0 version of this book, and it's well done.
*****
Source: Doing an Independent Study in Game Engine Development. I asked this same question months ago, did my research, got most of the books listed here, and omitted ones that didn't have much usefulness. Thought I would share my research, hope you find it useful.
Just a heads up, it is currently stocked again. Expensive, but not crazy expensive.
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/1927925568/
I'm the same, haven't played the game but am fascinated by video-game world-building. Looks like there are some great secondary Bioware sources, here are some interesting looking google results:
http://io9.com/5890421/10-things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-mass-effect
http://mattrhodesart.blogspot.ca/
http://dgaider.tumblr.com/
http://www.amazon.com/Art-Mass-Effect-Universe/dp/1595827684/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1421780997&sr=1-3&keywords=mass+effect
As a birthday gift I would go with AUR as it can be used for mementos (stuff that doesn't help you, but you can have and remember it was a gift from someone).
Though if you want to give something more useful, then you can buy game time or PLEX (it's mostly sold for in game money, but can be used as game time as your self too).
Or you can look here for real live items: http://store.eve.com (also there are few EVE books in Amazon this for example).
I'm really hoping for a Art of Destiny 2 HC. I try to always pick these up when published by Bungie.
Edit: Shit, never mind. There is one already
Theres Art of Eorzea, as well as the Heavensward Artbook.
There's The Dawn, and the Art of Final Fantasy XV will be released around December 2017.
I really enjoy the Art of Eorzea since the artstyle is right up my alley and just love Akihiko Yoshida, Masao, and Namae's artstyles
too bad they left the team :(.If you dont mind, there's also The Tactics Ogre Artbook that's primarily by Tsubasa Masao, under the tutelage of Akihiko Yoshida, who both worked on Final Fantasy Tactics, Final Fantasy XII (iirc), and Final Fantasy XIV.
I'm a big fan of http://www.amazon.com/Game-Physics-David-H-Eberly/dp/0123749034/ref=pd_sim_b_3
I also have physics for game developers but the Eberly book is superior. How's your physics knowledge already? Do you already have a base of knowledge that you're looking to apply to games or are you pretty much starting from scratch?
Should be from Fate/Complete Vol 2. You can find the English version of it (and Vol 1) on Amazon.
Edit: https://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/1772940135/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1500219132&sr=8-1&pi=SL75_QL70&keywords=fate+complete+material
the art book is only 30. game is 60 + 10 for the poster = 150+ $ model. yeah, i think i'll just buy the game and art book separate. Then pic up the OSt later on and i got the Collectors edition i wanted, now i dont have to waste 150$.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/178329194X/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=1535523702&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B00DTWEOZ8&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=00CPCKA4SQPYNYEAHF9C
Update: It's currently going for $36.62 (-$8.37 / 19% off).
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1772941123
Ordered the art book and novel on amazon UK.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/1785659758/
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/1785657968/
If you want to read up on lore, consider checking out The World of Thedas.
Nintendo 64 Anthology Classic Edition https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1605849405/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_xhHHAbM1CXCGE
The Amazon page for the hardcover book has it listed as September 4, 2018.
As an alternative, I own this book. While it's a bit heavy on the math at times, and the concepts are pretty advanced, it's a solid book. if you have a basic understanding of physics and a good background in math, it's a fantastic reference.
As for writing a physics engine from it, I haven't tried, but it covers the bases pretty well. I used it to write a very simple 2d platformer with any-angle collisions with arbitrary polygons and circles. Nothing fancy like fluid dynamics or variable density and elasticity, but it was a boon getting the rigid body mechanics set up, and I only touched probably the first couple chapters.
I've read all the books but if your interested in learning more about the lore and the setting I would recommend The World of Thedas book.
Do you have enough swords?
This artbook has this image (I don't remember if it's full page, sorry). Maaaaybe you could buy it and frame the page, or scan/edit/print it, or even take a photo in film in order to have a bigger print in hands...
If you like this sort of thing, you may enjoy Science Ink:
https://www.amazon.com/Science-Ink-Tattoos-Obsessed/dp/1402783604/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1510764551&sr=8-1&keywords=science+ink
Can confirm. I just bought this item last week for $31 plus shipping. Just did a chat with an Amazon rep and was refunded $18 as well. Thanks for the heads up!
To add to this, it is an AWESOME collection and I thought it was a steal for $31, even better at this price.
Does anyone own: http://www.amazon.com/Dawn-Worlds-Fantasy-Yoshitaka-Amano/dp/1593078684/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1396380677&sr=1-1&keywords=dawn+the+worlds+of+final+fantasy
I read that it contains a lot of the same artwork and not worth getting if you purchased "The Sky". Was curious how accurate that was.
Thanks again!
Carl recently published a book based off of this blog. It's kind of cool to be able to open an officially published book and see a picture of yourself.
Thanks a lot! I actually have that first book bookmarked but I forgot to put it on the list.
I'm leaning closer and closer to purchasing a copy of The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses and it's one I'm actually really curious about.
On Game Physics Pearls - I peeked into the first few pages and it looks like something that I will pick up once I have a bit of experience in that area...does that sound about right or would you say it could cater to beginners fairly well?
Game Physics seems like it may be a bit more beginner-friendly but you are right about it not being a tutorial, which is kind of important for me at this step. I'm definitely bookmarking this until I know a bit more on the subject, though. I'll be taking a Physics course next September so it may be a good time to look at it after that!
Real-Time Shadows looks very interesting but I'm unsure to the difficulty level of it to a beginner. It sounds like I need to brush up on my math after three years of not using it very often at all.
Thanks a lot for the suggestions!
*I'll be taking a course on Linear Algebra here in the coming semesters, but that book does sound like a good introduction along with how it works within 3D programming. I'll keep a look-out on that for a while; do you think it would be very worthwhile to read that before something like Real-Time Rendering?
If you like books, you could check out this: https://www.amazon.de/Generative-Art-Practical-Guide-Processing/dp/1935182625
I'm just going to leave this here. Sea of Thieves Art Book
Thanks! I think the best way to start is this book: https://www.amazon.com/Generative-Art-Matt-Pearson/dp/1935182625
Afterwards, less of an introduction and more a collection of generative art recipes, this book is worth every cent: https://www.amazon.com/Generative-Design-Visualize-Program-Processing/dp/1616890770
A great, free and often mentioned introduction to Processing and a lot of interesting concepts is http://natureofcode.com/book, but there is less of a focus on interesting visuals.
Neat "coffeetable" books in a subject they're into-- examples from my wishlist are The Wonderful Life of the Elements, The Where, Why and How, and 100 Diagrams that Changed the World
Little useful items related to their hobby-- things like stitch markers, blocking mats/pins, a charm for a bracelet, a tool they need/want, cuticle oil, etc.
A used book they've been looking for or one in a genre they're into
Stuff that involves their favorite animal(s)
I was listening to Science Friday, and heard about a book called Science Ink. If I were to get a tattoo, I'd be something awesomely nerdy like that.
Amazon got ya covered bro
https://www.amazon.com/Nintendo-Anthology-Classic-Math-Manent/dp/1605849405/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1487419469&sr=8-1&keywords=nintendo+64+book
This beautiful book The Art of Titanfall
Check out Science Ink for inspiration.
https://www.amazon.com/Science-Ink-Tattoos-Obsessed/dp/1454912405
https://www.amazon.com/Marvels-Spider-Man-Game-Paul-Davies/dp/1785657968
Yep, from good ole [Amazon](The Electric State https://www.amazon.com/dp/1501181416/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_maVQBbK5G7M44)
I'm not completely sure; but something like this might have what you're looking for
I'm not sure how she feels about marine or science type stuff but I really love it. Anyway, here are my ideas.
If all else fails just make her a card instead of buying one from the shop.
I have to agree with Grooter48. I have the Nintendo 64 Anthology and it is an absolute delight to go through. I was one of the Kickstarter backers (my name's even in the book!) and can tell you that despite some typos and grammatical awkwardness (the author is French so you can't really blame the guy,) it is a must own for us N64 fans. The way it covers the history of the console, its successes and failures, accessories, a couple of developer interviews, and details the entire game library across all regions, makes it an incredibly worthwhile purchase. As for where to get it, I only know Amazon has it listed at around $40. It's currently out of stock but at least you can have a confirmed order waiting to be fulfilled. Here's the link
During the Titanfall 1 days, my sources were:
Though I never actually bought it until recently, "The Art of Titanfall" has a lot of great information, much of which you'll find on the wiki. Definitely worth the buy. "The Art of Titanfall 2" is also good but doesn't contain as much straightforward lore as its predecessor, despite having some beautiful concept art and tragically excluded models and environments.
DS2 in English comes out January 21 :D
http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Souls-II-Design-Works/dp/1927925568/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1450472153&sr=1-1&keywords=dark+souls+2+design+works
If you have a lot a lot of money, figure out a way to import the trilogy edition of the Dark Souls remaster from Japan. I think it may only be for PS4 but it comes with all the games and a lot of great goodies. Otherwise if money is tighter there are some amazing Art Books (design works) you can buy online. Dark Souls 1 to 3 (3 comes out in August) with some absolutely stunning artwork from the game.
Some other neat ideas if he does not already have them would be the Dark Souls 2 & 3 Collectors Edition. Now these do break the bank at around $200-300 a piece (I think you can buy both for $400 USD combined) but the statues they come with are absolutely beautiful.
https://www.amazon.com/Nintendo-Anthology-Collectors-Math-Manent/dp/1605849405
https://www.amazon.com/Science-Ink-Tattoos-Obsessed/dp/1454912405
Take a look at Game Engine Architecture
Well if you want to be the next Carmack, get cracking! :) You have a lot of ground to cover, such as: mathematics (matrices, linear algebra, etc), physics, artificial intelligence, real-time processing, multithreading, architecture, networking and protocols, rendering, sound, and much more!
It is certainly possible with enough time and dedication to develop your own engine. It's just that there are so many excellent engines already out there, that you would be competing with projects that have already invested many thousands of hours and have loads of titles already developed for them. Why not get involved with an existing project to start?
BTW I really like your idea of creating a FPS with one room and focusing on making that environment the richest possible, exploiting a wide variety of techniques. Do it!!
Is your ultimate goal to create an engine? Or to create a game? Remember, the engine is in many ways a means to an end - it's not much use without a game that uses it!
Either way, I think you would be well advised to get involved with one of the open source game engine projects, and start contributing. Once you've learned how they work, you will be in a much better position to design your own. And realistically, you can't really just design an engine without a game - you need to know how games work in the first place, and what features and architectural decisions and designs make for a good engine.
Consider joining:
Here's a list of good books to get you started:
The Reddit /r/gamedev wiki has a great list of resources:
There are lots of great videos on YouTube featuring Carmack's gamedev talks, so I highly recommend watching those too.
I'd definitely recommend Learning Processing which is also by Dan Shiffman. It's probably more basic than Nature of Code but if you're only just starting Processing it's a better place to start, I think. I'm making my way through it at the moment and THEN i intend to go on to Nature of Code.
If you particularly want to create stuff like the sketches you linked, then this book seems like a good bet and is on my list to read after Nature of Code. I can't personally recommend it though as obviously I haven't got to it yet.
Unless you are well versed in other programming languages though, I think it is really important to get the basics down first so I'd suggest starting with Learning Processing.
Not on BungieStore.com, but it's listed for Preorder on Amazon for $27 instead of $45, listed for release on November 28: https://www.amazon.com/Art-Destiny-2-Bungie/dp/168383111X/
The Art of the Mass Effect Universe, on Amazon and most likely other places.
It's this one, but in Japanese (I think): http://www.amazon.com/books/dp/1593078684 It's mostly pictures, so the language does not matter. I don't even remember how I got it, all I know is that it was awesome. It's a Final Fantasy artbook.
[Spider-Man: Hostile Takeover prequel novel Amazon UK.](marvel's spider-man: Hostile Takeover https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1785659758/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_6PfeBb1SWM696)
[Spider-Man: The Art of the Game. Amazon UK.](marvel's spider-man: The Art of the Game https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1785657968/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_ERfeBbPBFW1HB)
https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1506705537/ref=nosim/cheapassgam08-20
How's about "The Where, the Why, and the How: 75 Artists Illustrate Wondrous Mysteries of Science".
I must have missed that. Then what about EVE source or the eve art book. Both should be available in Amazon. Also the popular eve history kickstarter.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1616552719?keywords=eve%20online%20book&qid=1449271884&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/161655701X?keywords=eve%20online%20book&qid=1449271884&ref_=sr_1_2&sr=8-2
http://evehistory.com/
If they draw stuff, try getting them an artbook? And knowing that they like Final Fantasy, maybe give something like this a shot:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1593078684/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0744000505&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1Q0S24RCWGA4RXHMQZYE
I got:
a working NES with Super Mario Bros 1, 2, & 3, Legend of Zelda (gold cartidge), The Adventures of Link (gold cartidge), Dr. Mario - with the original box!, Mega Man 2, and RC Pro-AM Racing
Posable Mass Effect 3 "Minimates" of ManShep, Ashley, Wrex, and Garrus
Figurines of Link from Phantom Hourglass and Zelda from Ocarina of Time
The Art of the Mass Effect Universe
Mass Effect Library Edition Volume 1
"POP!" figurines of Garrus and Grunt
Steam Gift Card (which has so far purchased Mount and Blade Warband and the Ghostbusters game)
Miniature Bat-signal (it works surprisingly well)
Venture Brothers Season 5 on Blu-ray
My birthday is the day after Christmas, does that also count? I got:
A sweet Hyrule map puzzle
Anamaniacs DVD (Season 1)
My friends sBruced up my batroom (or spruced up my bathroom for the pun intolerant) with a custom blue and white batman symbol bathroom sign affixed to my batroom door, a bat-shower curtain, a classic Detective Comics poster to go with my existing Dark Knight Returns (the comic) poster, a bat-toothbrush/utility holder, a bat-soap dispenser, a bat-rug, and a bat-towel (link also features my existing shower curtain holders).
Not sure if this counts, but I also got a kit to make a working ornithopter (I'm a giant nerd for robots and the like). I also bought The Last Unicorn for myself but I think that's probably cheating.
I am quite pleased...I may have yelled "I HAVE AN NES" five or six times...an hour...all day...