Retro Game Programming: Unleashed for the Masses (Premier Press Game Development)

✍ Scribed by Earl John Carey

• Publisher: Course Technology PTR
• Year: 2005
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 340
• Series: Premier Press Game Development
• Edition: 1
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

I have been so disapointed reading this book.
Just avoid it. the book is totally unballanced in his construction. Some important information are totally overflew where so very unimporting things are treated in details. There is a big chapter on "how to plug a cable in a plug" very detailed with lot of schematics ... also a big part on Video game history (it is not what i expect from a programming book) ... there is some light information about programming in assembleur and computer memory , that is a good introduction. Then you have a big part on hacking the video buffer and set video mode... dozen of page on the Atari 400/800 extremely detailed , one little paragraph on the commodore 64 with nothing really usable. Some thing for the sound aspect. More or less concrete exemple for the Atari and something ridicoulous for the C64 (i don't even speak about the other machine TRS 80 or Apple 2 mentionned in the book).
To resume the book , to program a retro game you have :
1) to plug your computer
2) to find a way to put graphic on your screen
3) to find a way to aquire input from controller
4) to find a way to produce sound
5) create a game loop to manage all these things together.

You don't need to read that book , reading the 5 point i wrote you will have almost learn the same thing that you could learn with that book.

I really wonder if the author already wrote a real game. For me he is an amator that have written few basic codes and assembler code on a Atari 400/800 when he was young.

Sorry for this hard review , but please Authors be serious and stop write book just to get money from retro fan....