Microsoft Visual Basic game programming for teens

✍ Scribed by Jonathan S. Harbour

• Publisher: Thomson Course Technology PTR
• Year: 2005
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 393
• Edition: 1
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

I have tried to wade through this book twice and haven't been able to get far. The explanations are either missing or opaque. The author has you typing commands that you don't understand, then he tells you not to worry if you don't understand what you are doing. Not very helpful! There really is no reason he can't explain what some of the commands mean. In short, this book is a frustrating waste of time and one learns little about game programming. I am now looking for a replacement.

✦ Table of Contents

Cover......Page 1
Contents at a Glance......Page 7
Contents......Page 10
Introduction......Page 18
Introduction......Page 22
Game Programming......Page 24
Getting Started with DirectX......Page 29
Overview of the Game Project......Page 35
Summary......Page 42
Initializing DirectX......Page 44
Loading and Displaying a Bitmap File......Page 51
Level Up......Page 59
Designing the Game......Page 60
Designing the RPG World......Page 61
The Player’s Character (PC)......Page 70
Weapons and Armor......Page 80
Magic......Page 81
Level Up......Page 82
Creating an Interactive Game World......Page 84
Understanding Bitmaps and Tiles......Page 86
Drawing a Portion of a Source Bitmap......Page 89
Level Up......Page 99
Level Editing with Mappy......Page 100
Advanced Map Editing Techniques......Page 114
Level Up......Page 119
Introduction to Scrolling......Page 120
A Limited View of the World......Page 122
Level Up......Page 132
Scrolling the Game World......Page 134
Converting the Map Data to an Array......Page 140
Drawing Tiles Onto the Game World......Page 141
Writing the TileScroll Program......Page 144
Level Up......Page 152
Advanced Scrolling Techniques......Page 154
Loading an Exported Mappy File......Page 164
The ScrollWorld Program......Page 166
Level Up......Page 176
The Player’s Character (PC)......Page 178
Core Technique: Drawing Sprites......Page 180
Introduction to Sprites......Page 181
Creating Direct3D Sprites......Page 184
Drawing Direct3D Sprites......Page 190
The SpriteTest Program......Page 193
Having Some Fun with Sprites......Page 200
Level Up......Page 202
Core Technique: Animating Sprites......Page 204
Moving Sprites......Page 205
Animating Sprites......Page 207
The AnimateSprite Program......Page 213
Level Up......Page 220
Core Technique: User Input......Page 222
Programming the Keyboard......Page 225
Programming the Mouse......Page 233
Programming the Joystick......Page 240
Level Up......Page 250
Walking Around in the Game World......Page 252
Loading a Binary Mappy File......Page 258
The Animated Character Artwork......Page 262
The WalkAbout Program......Page 263
Level Up......Page 274
Core Technique: Drawing Text......Page 276
Printing the Bitmapped Font......Page 277
Level Up......Page 281
Core Technique: Collision Detection......Page 282
Level Up......Page 288
Non-Player Characters (NPCs)......Page 290
Creating the Character Classes......Page 292
Using Character Classes in the Game......Page 296
Level Up......Page 299
Adding NPCs to the Game World......Page 300
Introduction to NPCs......Page 301
Creating Reusable NPCs......Page 303
Level Up......Page 311
Talking with NPCs......Page 314
Modifying the Celtic Crusader Project......Page 318
Level Up......Page 322
Engaging in Combat with NPCs......Page 324
Implementing the Combat System......Page 328
Level Up......Page 346
Finishing Touches......Page 348
Adding Scenery to the Game World......Page 350
Inserting Random Scenery......Page 351
New Character Animations......Page 357
Level Up......Page 359
Core Technique: Sound Effects......Page 362
Programming DirectSound......Page 364
Level Up......Page 368
Core Technique: Background Music......Page 370
Level Up......Page 376
Using the CD-ROM......Page 378
Index......Page 380