I’ve compiled a list of books related to game development. I’ve listed only those books which are highly recommended on most of the game development forums & by experienced members. So here is small list I’ve compiled so far on various categories of game development.
2D Game development
There are plenty of 2D game development tools like HGE, Game maker, but very few books are dedicated for such resources.
1) Character Emotion in 2D and 3D Animation
by Pardew
2) Advanced 2D Game Development
by Jonathan S. Harbour
Physics & Maths
Understanding of physics & maths is very necessary, as it solves lot of your game development related problems.
1) Game Physics
by David H. Eberly
2) Mathematics and Physics for Programmers
by Danny Kodicek
3) Mathematics for Computer Graphics Applications
by Michael E. Mortenson
Audio & Sound
Usage of audio adds liveliness in the video game. So understanding how sound works, how to work with it and where to use it effectively is a skill.
1) Fundamentals of Audio and Video Programming for Games
by Mike Wasson, Peter Turcan
2) A Programmer’s Guide to Sound
by Tim Kientzle
C++
C++ is by far most widely used programming language for game development. There are plenty of tutorials and books for C++. Try some of these books.
1) Object-Oriented Programming in C++, 4th ed.
by Robert Lafore
2) Accelerated C++: Practical Programming by Example
by Andrew Koenig, Barbara E. Moo
Java
Java is very popular in game development as it is crossplatform. and it is available on portable devices as well in JME edition. So there are large number of developers using java as their development tool.
1) Java Me Game Programming
by Martin J. Wells, John P. Flynt
2) Developing Games in Java
by David Brackeen
Artificial Intelligence
There are very few books which are informative and readable, as most of the books are too theoretical.
These two books are good starting point for Game AI.
1) AI Game Engine Programming
by Brian Schwab
2) Programming Game AI by Example
by Mat Buckland
DirectX
For those who are solely developing games for windows using directx. These books are excellent starters.
1) Isometric Game Programming with DirectX 7.0
by Ernest Pazera
2) Introduction to 3D Game Programming with DirectX 9
by Frank D. Luna
3) Real-Time 3D Terrain Engines Using C++ and DirectX 9
by Greg Snook
4) Shaderx2: Shader Programming Tips & Tricks With Directx 9
by Wolfgang F. Engel
OpenGL
OpenGL is powerful yet easy to understand. So you can use it with C++ /Java as well. Take a look at some of these books.
1) Beginning OpenGL Game Programming
by Dave Astle, Kevin Hawkins
2) OpenGL SuperBible, 3rd Ed.
by Richard S Wright, Benjamin Lipchak
3) OpenGL ES Game Development
by Dave Astle, Dave Durnil
There are many other books that can be added in the list:
- Code Complete, 2nd Ed.
by Steve McConnell
- Game Testing All in One
by Charles P. Schultz
- Developer’s Guide to Multiplayer Games
by Andrew Mulholland, Teijo Hakala
I’ll update this page with more books and category as time goes on. If you think any book that needs mention here in any category then please feel free to name it in comments.