Synopses & Reviews
The casual game market continues to expand, and with the use of Flash growing and the increased popularity of the iPhone and other mobile gaming devices, developers have an exciting new route to market. But many of these budding game programmers find that they're missing the core math and physics skills they need to develop even simple games. MATHEMATICS AND PHYSICS FOR PROGRAMMERS, SECOND EDITION teaches beginning game programmers they skills they need to develop causal games. Beginning with the basic aspects of mathematics and physics that are relevant to games, and moving on to more complex topics, the book combines theory and practice and the reader develops a number of games throughout the course of the book. With the concepts and techniques presented in the book, readers should be able to program a number of standard casual game types, including Mario-style platformers, driving simulations, puzzle games, and a simple first-person shooter. They will also gain a basic understanding of 2D and 3D geometry.
Synopsis
Many programmers frequently have limited backgrounds in the mathematics and physics needed for game development or other complex applications. Sooner or later, all programmers run into coding issues that will require an understanding of mathematics or physics concepts like collision detection, 3D vectors, transformations, game theory, or basic calculus. This book provides a simple but thorough grounding in the mathematics and physics topics that programmers need to write these algorithms and programs, using a non-language-specific approach. Applications and examples from game programming are included throughout, and exercise sets follow each chapter for additional practice of the techniques. The CD-ROM provides simulations of the mathematical and physical principles discussed in the book along with the source code.
About the Author
Danny Kodicek is a graduate of Cambridge University, now working as a freelance programmer and multimedia developer specializing in Web sites and games. He currently resides in the United Kingdom, where his previous clients include the BBC and the Royal Air Force. He is also a director of Wellspring Interactive Ltd, and co-creator of the award-winning, TimeHunt, Web site.
Table of Contents
Part 1. General Techniques. 1. Numbers. 2.Arithmetic. 3.Algebra. 4.Trigonometry and Pythagoras. 5.Vectors. 6.Calculus. Part 2. Ballistics and Collisions. 7.Acceleration, Mass, and Energy. 8.Detecting Collisions Between Simple Shapes. 9.Resolving Collisions. 10. Detecting Collisions Between Complex Shapes. 11. A Simple Pool Game. Part 3. More Complex Motion. 12. Force and Newton's Laws. 13. Angular Motion. 14. Friction. 15. Strings Pulleys, and Conveyor Belts. 16. Oscillations. Part 4. 3D Mathematics. 17. 3D Geometry. 18. Transforms. 19. Collision Detection in Three Dimensions. 20. Lighting and Textures. 21. Modeling Techniques. Part 5. Game Algorithms. 22. Speeding Things Up. 23. Tile-Based Games. 24. Mazes. 25. Game Theory and AI. 26. Search Techniques. Appendix A. Glossary of Mathematical Terms. Appendix B. Language References and Pseudocode. Appendix C. About the CD-ROM. Appendix D. Further Reading and Resources. Appendix E. Answers to Exercises. Index.