The Best Books For Learning Game Development
This list is currently under construction
In this article we will be looking at some of the best and most popular books you can buy should you wish to learn more about the art of game development.
Game development as a whole is quite a fragmented field, there are a wide number of game engines such as Unity and Unreal which abstract away the complexities of things like graphics rendering and physics engines and allow game developers to focus purely on game-play mechanics. In this guide however we shall be looking at the more low-level books which don’t rely on one of these game engines.
Game Development Essentials: An Introduction
Game Development Essentials has to be one of the best books around for getting into the art of Game development. The author Jeannie Novak has an impressive array of game development titles to her name and this book presents an authoritative introduction to what it takes to become a successful game developer.
The book starts of by covering the history of game development and guiding the reader through the story of how modern game development came to be. Before then diving into the more technical side of things, it covers aspects such as character design, the different genres, the different elements of storytelling and a hell of a lot more.
Overall this book is fundamental knowledge for those looking to become successful in the field and whilst it doesn’t cover the programming side of things, it definitely ranks up as one of the most important books you should buy if you are looking to start making games.
Game Programming Patterns
As with any piece of system, the amount of time and effort you spend effectively designing these software systems can make or break said systems. Ineffective or no design at all can lead to code bases that are horrific to navigate and modify and this ultimately leads to a lot of pain when trying to debug or refactor certain aspects of your code.
Game Programming Patterns by Robert Nystrom looks to teach you the fundamental programming patterns that appear time and time again in a huge number of different games. Learning and understanding these patterns can help you craft beautiful code that is both easy to navigate and easy to debug, these factors lend themselves incredibly well to indie developers who need to maximize their output in order to sustain themselves in a highly competitive market.
This book is truly exceptional and I would highly recommend picking up a copy and devouring its contents. It has so far received rave reviews from hundreds of other developers and overall it is simply a necessity for any game developer.
Foundations of Game Engine Development, Volume 1: Mathematics
Like it or not mathematics plays a huge part in the life of any game developer. Whether it be in physics engines, graphics programming or artificial intelligence systems, having a solid foundation of mathematics knowledge is crucial for all game developers. Foundations of Game Engine Development Volume 1: Mathematics teaches you just about everything you need in order to get up and running.
The book starts of by covering topics such as Vectors and Matrices, then starts to look at transformations, geometry and finally advanced algebra. You won’t be winning a fields medal by the end of it but within it’s covers there is an incredible wealth of mathematics information and how it pertains to game development.
Game Development Essentials: Game Level Design
Game Engine Architecture, Second Edition
