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Delphi Graphics and Game Programming Exposed! with DirectX
by John Ayres

Publisher: Wordware Publishing inc.  Buy it Now!
ISBN: 1556226373
Format: Paperback, 576pp.

Delphi Graphics and Game Programming Exposed! with DirectX is a comprehensive reference describing high-performance graphics and game programming techniques in the Delphi development environment that until now have been in the domain of C programmers.

Author John Ayres begins with a discussion of basic game programming and graphics concepts, and moves quickly into an introduction of DirectX, which gives Delphi developers a high-performance interface to system-level hardware while maintaining the benefits of the Windows operating system. This book takes readers from the most basic sprite movement through tile-based scrolling map engines, texture mapping, and 2-D first-person shooter engines assuming familiarity with the Delphi IDE and with Object Pascal programming in general, plus a working knowledge of Windows API programming. Palettes, sprite animation, collision detection, and sound and music are also discussed.

Chapters cover game architecture, how to draw graphics and animate them, palettes, sprites, input, force feedback, sound & music, basic artificial intelligence and more. Starting chapters look at game programming in general, what goes into a game from a high-level perspective by explaining how to implement a game loop using a Delphi-centric techniques. The majority of the remaining chapters use DirectX.

In addition the book includes a complete example game illustrating the different techniques discussed throughout, an appendix explaining how to use DirectSetup for installing DirectX, and a glossary of common words and phrases used in the game programming industry.

What's not in the book? Well, you won't find any information regarding 3D programming, neither in its Direct3D or OpenGL form. Also, the book focuses solely on 8-bit color depths.

The CD includes all of the projects and example code found in the book; plus bonus programs, shareware, and freeware games written in Delphi; graphics and sound manipulation software; a collection of royalty-free graphics, sounds, and music for use in custom games; evaluation versions of Delphi game components and graphics software; full retail version of Delphi 4 and other retail software products.

At the end, I found the book to be enjoyable to read, with just the right level of detail to guide me through various stages of game production.

Zarko Gajic, your About Guide to Delphi Programming