- Who are you?
- What are you working on currently?
- Where can I find you across the web?
- What languages do you use for Game Development?
- Why C?
- How did you learn to write code?
- What do you recommend to learn C?
- Why are you building a game engine for your game?
- What editor do you use?
- What C Programming books do you recommend?
- What books do you recommend for Game Engine Development?
- What books do you like?
Who are you?
Devon, a guy who makes things.
What are you working on currently?
Developing a game idea, as well as freelancing!
Where can I find you across the web?
What languages do you use for game development?
C(99), CMake, and Unix Shell
Why C?
C forces me to look at each individual part of what I’m working on, as well as stick to a standard that is relatively portable. I use C99 for compatibility purposes. Plus I really enjoy the language.
How did you learn to write code?
I’m self taught, mostly thru books and reading other people's code.
What do you recommend to learn C?
Find something small you want to make, and make it. Use a search engine, read examples, and read books on it. (See recommendations below)
Why are you building a game engine for your game?
Simply put, I get to have greater control and I think that the process is more interesting.
What editor do you use?
vim. You can find my configurations here
What C Programming books do you recommend?
From my experience I used these books. You can find them online or often at your local library.
The C Programming Language – Brian W. Kernighan & Dennis M. Ritchie
This book is one of the most prevalent books for programming. It’s easy to come across in local libraries and or college campus libraries. You can also buy the book online new or used for low cost. But keep in mind that, while it is an effective book, some of the implementations/practices are a bit out of date. In my opinion reading it + doing the exercises + reading modern C implementations/books is always a good route!
Expert C Programming: Deep C Secrets – Peter Van Der Linden
First off, this book has an awesome fish on the front of it, so that’s a bonus. This book offers some in depth and quality insights into proper usage of the language. It strengthened my understanding of API design and theory. For anyone planning on using C heavily or in a very stability important environment, this is a must read.
C: A Reference Manual, 5th Edition – Harbison & Steele
This is a solid book for understanding more specific C concepts. It also takes the time to go over proper usage of somewhat under documented C Standard functions. If you want to write correct C, this book will be of big help to that.
What books do you recommend for Game Engine Development?
Unfortunately there aren’t a large number of books that go over game engines in complete. Game Engines are fairly large projects in themselves, which contain many components which are full size projects on their own. All of these different components have to work together in unison, which adds another level of difficulty without the proper knowledge. I encourage you to explore books for each specific part of a game engine (i.e rendering, audio, collision, networking, etc). Try making your own, and make sure to start small!
Game Engine Architecture, Second Edition – Jason Gregory
Game Engine Architecture is one of the few books out there which actually attempts to tackle the subject in whole. While it doesn’t go into complete depth on every subject, it provides a solid reference for people to enter game engine development. The book also provides a good place to figure out what questions you should be asking when constructing your own game engine.
Game Programming Gems Series (1-8)
This series isn’t a definitive guide to making a game, but a collection of useful articles. The first 3 have most of what you need to lay out a functional game engine sanely. Some of the earlier ones are a little dated in terms of publication but don’t let that fool you. These books can be a very good source in the otherwise hard to find knowledge that is game engines.
For a longer list of books that I've enjoyed, check out my list here!
