Game Engine Architecture 1st Edition, Kindle Edition

As the other reviewer said, this is a very solid, good book. Dare I say refreshingly good. I also echo the previous reviewer's sentiment about the tone that the author takes when speaking to the reader. Some people enjoy comical books but I am not one of them. I read books for information, if I want to laugh I'll open xkcd.Where this book really fills a void is that it assumes you have some experience and maturity under your belt as a programmer / engineer. This is good because it allows us to get down to the meat without hesitation and begin discussing more serious things. What this book is NOT is a book on how to implement a game engine. What it IS is a book on what's in a game engine and common problems and pattern that occur in game engine development. A toolbox of game engine development, if you will. For each chapter / topic, the author devotes some time to explaining the role of this aspect of a game engine and then quickly proceeds to breaking the component down into smaller pieces, discussing common issues, algorithms, and patterns that arise for said system. For example, when discussing memory usage there is a great discussion of a variety of different memory allocators that can be useful in various situations. Almost always the author supplements these discussions with real-world examples of where such a data structure, algorithm, or method was used in an actual game and why.Another aspect of this book that I really really appreciated was the inclusion of references directly in the text. Since, after all, the book is light on implementation details often the author would conclude a section by saying "So and so has an excellent paper discussing this topic in more detail at ." This is great because it allows the book to still provide access to all the implementation details without actually putting them in the book. So it's not like you're actually missing out on anything, you just have to go to the link.The book is thick, and has a strong and serious hardback binding. It feels like it will last a long time. I don't think it's necessarily the type of book that you will refer to over and over throughout your game development career, but it offers a great bird's eye view of the entire process, while still allowing you to zoom in on specific areas and get a little bit more detail (or a lot more detail if you follow the links to the external references).There are a couple minor errors in the book, but they are not that serious and I assume they will be corrected in the first errata and/or second edition of the book. They do not significantly detract from the overall quality of the book however, so I give it 5 stars anyway.This book was definitely a pleasant surprise, and I only wish more authors would stop filling their books with fluff to hide the fact that they don't have enough information to fill the book. This book is packed with information, with zero fluff, and I definitely recommend it.

I recently finished a degree in computer science specialising in computer games. One of the things that was missing from the course was a good overview of game engines. We studied graphics, physics, maths etc... but we never went looked at the game engine as a whole. This book was a great high level exploration of game engines. I should stress high level, because it does not go into great depth on any one topic instead it motivates a particular topic, gives an overview of the theory then explains how that theory is adapted to games. It should be titled "Selected Topics Relating to Game Engines." It was very easy to read whilst still being professional.The one thing that, to me, really gave the book validity is the constant references the author makes to commercial games he has been involved with. "In game X we did Y for reason Z." Something which you don't always get, but really should, when reading technical game books.One of the great things about the book is the coverage - you will be bound to come across something you haven't heard of. For instance the chapter on c/c++ had a couple interesting tid-bits explaining the stack/heap, compilation process etc... The memory management section was very useful - often at uni when you develop small-ish assignments on PCs you don't get a chance to appreciate how important memory management really is in the real world. The only complaint I have is that the chapter I was most looking forward to which discussed the different types of game object models in the end felt underdone and under referenced for such a key part of game development. Although the book is very long it does miss out on a couple topics (AI, sound, game play systems ) which the author points out - not so much an issue because the book does not feel incomplete.All and all an excellent read and one of the best game engine resources I have come across. I wish this had been written while I was still at uni - it would have been a big help!

I have a fairly vast collection of Programming (and Computer Science) related books in my book case. Many of these I have used as a reference, as I just don't have the mental strength and persistence to read through in great detail. Game Engine architecture however, is written in a friendly conversational style, which is so very easy to follow and I have found myself on multiple occasions saying to myself "Just one more section". The authors descriptions are excellent, and he has managed to explain things that I have heard multiple times, and only finally truly understood now.This book doesn't really seem to fit the bill of "Game Engine Architecture", and should probably be called something like "Foundations of Game Engines". The book gives only an introductory chapter on the actual architectural (from a CS point of view) side of the engine. Instead it focuses on all the issues that are necessary knowledge for creating a game (and in many cases any performance restricted software), from the very bottom up.The author covers a great many topics, which leaves some short of details, but in these cases the author always provides great references to both books and online material for more in depth discussion. The online sources are a bit of an issue, as they may not be available. I found one instance where the source provided no longer existed.Warning:This book is VERY C++ centric. I would definitely suggest (as does the author) that you learn C++ before tackling this book (I suggest Accelerated C++ or C++ Primer Plus). It'd still be a good resource for someone interested in Game programming, but you will get 5 times as much out of the book with a solid C++ grounding underneath your belt.Despite the few issues with the book, I cannot give it any less than 5 stars, it was just that good of a read for me.

This is the book every game programmer should read. It starts small with a look at all the layers that go into a game engine, then with great care it outlines each one until you walk away with an understanding of almost every element that composes a game's core systems. As a programmer or architect, it's all too easy to get lost in the impossibly huge scale of game development - the immense scope of it all is daunting and sometimes you can feel completely lost. Jason walks you through each step with care, and even gives a couple examples from enormous works like Uncharted. Occasionally it can get a bit complicated, but he doesn't misstep and throw you into the deep end unassisted. Each section is carefully written to speak to you with english and comes with many illustrations.While each section doesn't go into enormous detail, it's enough to springboard from. In some cases you'll have enough to just go off and do it yourself. In others, you will feel inspired to research further. In these cases, references to other books and web resources are provided. Excellent!Having worked on some commercial projects before, I can say with confidence that this book helped me get up to speed with understanding the overall architecture of what needed to be built even in a large system. So it wasn't surprising when I found the book popping up on co-workers' desks. Definitely required reading for any developer. Can't recommend enough.

There are many 3d engine(normally graphic engine), physics and other books but that's not enough for real world game engine.To develop real world game, needs lots of things such as memory management, resource packing, data structure library (like custom STL), profiler and so on.Author described all things for game engine and I believe there is no other books about these topics because it is very hard(really^53 hard) and only few people know everything.The only thing I really want is.Need more practical resources. This book has lot of text but just not enough. Author touched too many issues but some chapter just not enough. If author described all things and more detail(including more practical resources, executable program or sources), this book will be over the 1500 pages or more.I hope some other people help him or author do this for us, it will be amazing.Oh, I need to talk about this book. Simple, there is only one book and you have no choice!!If you wanna know how real world game engine works and constructed, this book is the best for you. But I don't recommend this book if you are looking for working projects(or examples)(This is the only reason that I gave 4 stars)

thanks for getting it to me that fast a good read so far. just started the programing fun stuff !!!

I'm mainly writing this to address a complaint about this book that I've seen elsewhere: that this book is too high level and doesn't go into enough detail with specifics.I'd say that is the beauty of this book, and why it stands out. There is already no end of books about low level maths and algorithms, but very few on the overall structure of an engine. For once, here we have a technical book with information you can't find on the internet!This book is a great overview of all components of a game engine - not just the commonly over analysed rendering aspect - and how they all fit together. As an wannabe indie developer, who hasn't had the experience of a professional game company, it's great to read insights into the naughty dog internal engine and other professional engines. I'm reading through this book and constantly having "aha!" moments with respect to my own game engine.My only minor complaint would be that there are some very basic bits near the start of the book, however I can easily overlook that considering the value of the rest of the book, and I am sure an absolute beginner would find those initial bits very useful too. And having these basics does make the book a complete overview, and remind an experienced developer of things he may have forgotten.

This is an excellent example of a text book which transcends academia and makes for an read perfect for anyone interested in the technology of game engines, game programming or just effective team and resource control in a creative software environment.The book is very well presented, the hard back being an instant hit on any technophiles shelf. The content is clearly presented and easy to get to grips with.The book is clearly a textbook for a college/university course, with large spaces in the margin for notes, however, I can easily forgive this.The contents of this text however will age as we move on with other technologies, and it is (I would consider) and expensive tome. This might mean you need to expect updated editions being published over time, and to splash out on updating to that latest edition. However, this is a small thing to keep in mind for such a well rounded, informative and interesting read on the subject matter at hand.