   There is *NOTHING* out there that teaches you to make games
  I'm a little frustrated with this whole thing.  Maybe it's just me... maybe someone can point me in the right direction.Why is it that every book is like this:Introduction -> Basic C++ Review (Hello world!... etc.) -> Intro to DirectX/Opengl -> (skip about 90% of the information it takes to write a game) -> Finishing touches I'm really only interested in that important 90%... why doesn't anyone write about THAT part.  It's ridiculous that some books, only after a few dozen pages, throw you from "Hello World" to a full-working 3D RPG with DirectX.Can someone tell me where I can find a REAL book with REAL information? Thanks   
  Start writing games. A simple text-based RPG should give you an idea of game loops, proper architecture, etc. From there, you should be able to figure out on your own where to go without a book's help.   ;  Pick up the game programming gems books, starting from the first one. There's a lot of great information in them.   ;  I recommenmd Programming Multi-player FPS in DirectX and Game Coding Complete, 2nd edition.If I had known beforehand, those would be the only two books I would have brought.   ;Quote:Original post by Dancin_FoolPick up the game programming gems books, starting from the first one. There's a lot of great information in them.The Game Programming Gems books are for the most part more advanced than what a game programming beginner needs.;  Don't forget that source code is one of your most valuable assets. Even moreso than a good book, if you're willing to put in the time to analyze and figure out what other peoples' code is doing. Books can be great, but nothing is a substitute for A) reading code, and B) writing code. There's plenty of good source code available.   ;  There are tons of tutorials on the web, so I don't see how you can say there is nothing out there that teaches you how to make games. There is a tutorial on basically every subject you could think of.;Quote:Original post by Anonymous PosterQuote:Original post by Dancin_FoolPick up the game programming gems books, starting from the first one. There's a lot of great information in them.The Game Programming Gems books are for the most part more advanced than what a game programming beginner needs.I somewhat beg to differ:The problem that I saw while reading all those game programming books (I'll list a few to you once I am done), is that they all share one major issue: they are subjective.  Nowhere does it state that the person should exercise a more-or-less best if not "correct" approach to creating an application, let alone a game.  Without this sort of thought, it gives a person a bad impression of how a game should actually be created when even "thinking" about it.  I've only read Game Programming Gems 1 and 2, however, I find what the book suggests to be rather rational if not best advice when going about creating a game.  A beginner should read it because it places the entire aspect of modular and justified game design into their head, rather than some bloated snippets.Anyway, here's a few that I've read and you can also find them on GameDev.- Game Programming All in One- Beginning OpenGL Game Programming (very nice)- Game Programming Gems (as i've stated, useful)- Strategy Game Programming with DirectX 9.0- Developing a 2D Game Engine Using DirectX 8-edit-Honestly nothing can teach you how to make games like starting to actually program one.  When I started coding my first game, I asked my friend what should I do.  He told me "get something to display on the screen".  From there, I built little by little until I had something worth of calling a "partial" game.   ;  In relation to the comment about writing and reading source code: there's a problem with this -- if the code you are reading is poorly designed/filled with bad habits, you may just pick them up without knowing it. That said, as long as you take examples with a grain of salt and remember they -are- examples and not real world stuff...they are great.~Shiny.   ;Quote:Original post by alphsterIntroduction -> Basic C++ Review (Hello world!... etc.) -> Intro to DirectX/Opengl -> (skip about 90% of the information it takes to write a game) -> Finishing touchesThat 90% you mention is the stuff that actually makes a game.  You could be shown how that part is done for any particular game and the information would be almost completely useless to you when you go to make your own game.You must learn your language of choice if you're going to program a game.  This is essential, and you won't get far without doing so. (There is an alternative, but since you're asking about programing I'm choosing not to mention it).If you're going to do graphics, you'll need an API such as DirectX or OGL, and perhaps some libraries for input/physics and whatnot.The rest is designing a game using the above knowledge, and there's just no single right way of doing it; any given method could be horrible for one particular game yet work brilliantly for another.I agree with Ravuya, the best way to learn that extra 90% seems to be through the trial and error (yes, you will almost certainly mess up) of actually trying to write your own games.  You can also try searching for online tutorials on any given area you're having trouble with, or possibly look at the source code for open-sourced games to see how they work.If you were looking for a good book on the subject though, I'd perhaps recommend Beginning C++ Game Programming, which covers the C++ game language fairly well with a focus on applying it to games.  It actually walks you through some very simple games, and can be a good starting point if you cant figure out how you'd go about actually designing a game yourself.  It doesn't cover graphics at all though, so if you were after that you'd have to look elsewhere.   