11/2/2007 6:51:47 PM

Hi Jon,

I was thinking about purchasing "Beginning Math Concepts for Game Developers" and an XNA related book. My math knowledge is pretty shallow. What did you think of the books you ordered? Which of the two XNA books would you recommend? I have "Physics for Game Programmers" (Palmer) on my wish list as well.

For background: I have been programming for 9 years. I am primarily a C# developer. I became interested in programming via my love of games and I see the XNA framework and silverlight as possible ways of making that reality. However, I have no experience with creating games.

Thanks for your time.

Tod Birdsall

11/5/2007 12:44:05 AM

Sorry, am in the same boat as you -- I've been programming for a decade, started programming because I love games but never did get into game programming, saw XNA, became very curious, bought a bunch of books and ... and, .. well, actually from there I got focused on my day job again. I haven't done much game programming except what's posted on my blog. I cracked open these books but didn't peruse them enough to be able to suggest which one to get. I do feel, though, that between all the game math and API books I bought, I have everything I need to get started if I wanted to.

Unfortunately, I've made the conclusion that despite the fun that games are, the people who make them and who judge them are not always so fun. Sometimes they are the most pessimistic or rudest people on the planet. Take for example XNA. XNA is the best thing to happen to our crowd since Pac-Man. But the skeptics have to pooh-pooh it.

"It's crap. You can't sell with the current version. [I don't care if v2 is coming out next month, I'm looking at it for what it is now.]"

"It's crap. It won't support extreme graphics like those of Unreal Tournament 2007 or Oblivion. [Pay no attention to arcade games or lightweight 3D games.]"

"It's crap. It comes from Microsoft. OpenGL and SDL rule. [Forget about the fact that most commercial games are built on DirectX, which Microsoft pioneered.]"

"It's crap. It's C#. Real programmers use C++. [Dunno about the painful and controversial migration from Assembly to C/C++, I wasn't there.]"

The thought of making games and playing with XNA thrilled me. I just can't stand the people I'd inevitably have to get involved with.

Hey if you want to partner up and make an XNA game, let me know.

Jon Davis

11/5/2007 12:51:32 AM

For what it's worth, lately I've been impressed by SAMS' Unleashed series (the recent red ones). SAMS has always been awful but it seems they did a renovation and this series is awesome--down-to-earth writing and often full-color print lots of pages. The XNA Unleashed book is the one I started reading and what I did read I enjoyed.

Jon Davis

11/5/2007 1:31:15 AM

.. um just noticed that the XNA Unleased one isn't in full color. Still good.

Jon Davis

11/5/2007 1:51:05 AM

.. and the Morgan Kaufman Publishing game math books are a joy to have on my bookshelf. Essential Mathematics has been on my coffee table for some time, waiting for me to actually do more than crack it open and go "ooohh".

Jon Davis