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Game Engine Architecture 2nd Edition, Kindle Edition

by Jason Gregory (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 163 ratings
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Hailed as a "must-have textbook" (CHOICE, January 2010), the first edition of Game Engine Architecture provided readers with a complete guide to the theory and practice of game engine software development. Updating the content to match today’s landscape of game engine architecture, this second edition continues to thoroughly cover the major components that make up a typical commercial game engine.


New to the Second Edition




    • Information on new topics, including the latest variant of the C++ programming language, C++11, and the architecture of the eighth generation of gaming consoles, the Xbox One and PlayStation 4

    • New chapter on audio technology covering the fundamentals of the physics, mathematics, and technology that go into creating an AAA game audio engine

    • Updated sections on multicore programming, pipelined CPU architecture and optimization, localization, pseudovectors and Grassman algebra, dual quaternions, SIMD vector math, memory alignment, and anti-aliasing

    • Insight into the making of Naughty Dog’s latest hit, The Last of Us



    The book presents the theory underlying various subsystems that comprise a commercial game engine as well as the data structures, algorithms, and software interfaces that are typically used to implement them. It primarily focuses on the engine itself, including a host of low-level foundation systems, the rendering engine, the collision system, the physics simulation, character animation, and audio. An in-depth discussion on the "gameplay foundation layer" delves into the game’s object model, world editor, event system, and scripting system. The text also touches on some aspects of gameplay programming, including player mechanics, cameras, and AI.



    An awareness-building tool and a jumping-off point for further learning, Game Engine Architecture, Second Edition gives readers a solid understanding of both the theory and common practices employed within each of the engineering disciplines covered. The book will help readers on their journey through this fascinating and multifaceted field.

    Previous slide of product details
    1. ISBN-13
      978-1466560017
    2. Edition
      2nd
    3. Publisher
      A K Peters/CRC Press
    4. Publication date
      August 15, 2014
    5. Language
      English
    6. File size
      92.4 MB
    7. See all details
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    There is a newer version of this item:

    Game Engine Architecture, Third Edition
    Game Engine Architecture, Third Edition
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    Editorial Reviews

    Review

    "… this book is the best of its kind, and you’re lucky to have found it. It covers the huge field of game engine architecture in a succinct, clear way, and expertly balances the breadth and depth of its coverage, offering enough detail that even a beginner can easily understand the concepts it presents. The author, Jason Gregory, is not only a world expert in his field; he’s a working programmer with production-quality knowledge and many shipped game projects under his belt. … Jason is also an experienced educator who has taught in the top-ranked university game program in North America. … the many detailed code samples and implementation examples in this book will help you understand just how the pieces come together in a great game. By helping you in this way, Jason’s book might just empower you to outstrip even the most audacious dreams of history’s best game designers and developers."
    ―From the Foreword by Richard Lemarchand

    Praise for the First Edition:
    A 2010 CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title
    "This course resource provides an excellent, comprehensive look at every major system and issue related to modern game development … a must-have textbook for computer science, software engineering, or game programming majors, amateur hobbyists, game 'modders,' and game developers."
    ―A. Chen,     CHOICE, January 2010

    "… it looks like most of the critical areas and concepts are touched on. … it looks like you’ll have some reasonably deep understanding of the elements that go into making a game engine. Quite an impressive work, and I know of nothing else in this area that is so detailed."
    ―Eric Haines, www.realtimerendering.com/blog/, July 2009

    "Jason Gregory draws upon his many years of experience and expertise to create a complete and comprehensive textbook on the theory and practice of game engine software development. Informed and informative, replete with examples for every aspect of the game development process, and fully accessible to aspiring game engine developers as well as a very useful reference for even experienced technicians in the field, Game Engine Architecture is an invaluable, thoroughly ‘user friendly,’ and highly recommended core addition to personal, professional, and academic Computer Science reference and resource collections in general, as well as gaming engine design instructional reading lists in particular."
    ―    The Midwest Book Review, September 2009

    "The book contains a huge amount of data on specifics to consider when developing a game engine."
    ―Gamasutra.com, November 2009

    "Game Engine Architecture by Jason Gregory has been named a finalist for the Game Developer's 2009 Front Line Award."
    ―PR Newswire, December 2009

    Product details

    • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00MMOJ076
    • Publisher ‏ : ‎ A K Peters/CRC Press; 2nd edition (August 15, 2014)
    • Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 15, 2014
    • Language ‏ : ‎ English
    • File size ‏ : ‎ 92.4 MB
    • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Not enabled
    • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
    • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
    • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
    • Print length ‏ : ‎ 1052 pages
    • Format ‏ : ‎ Print Replica
    • Customer Reviews:
      4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 163 ratings

    About the author

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    Jason Gregory

    Jason Gregory

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    Jason Gregory has worked as a professional software engineer since 1994. He got his start in game programming in 1999 at Midway Home Entertainment in San Diego, where he wrote tools and engine code, including the Playstation 2/Xbox animation system for "Freaky Flyers," "Hydro Thunder 2" and "Crank the Weasel." In 2003, Jason moved to Electronic Arts Los Angeles, where he worked on engine and gameplay technology for "Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault" and served as a lead engineer during the early phases of the "Medal of Honor: Airborne" project. Jason is currently a lead programmer at Naughty Dog Inc., where he most recently completed work on "Uncharted: The Lost Legacy" for PlayStation 4. He and his teammates are now hard at work on "The Last of Us Part II" (PS4). Jason also developed engine, tools and gameplay technology for Naughty Dog's "Uncharted: Drake's Fortune" (PS3), "Uncharted 2: Among Thieves" (PS3), "Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception" (PS3), "The Last of Us" (PS3), "The Last of Us Remastered" (PS4), "Uncharted 4: A Thief's End" (PS4), and has developed and taught courses in game technology at the University of Southern California.

    Customer reviews

    4.6 out of 5 stars
    163 global ratings

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    Customers say

    Customers find the book useful and informative, providing a good overview of the subject matter. They appreciate the coverage of concepts, algorithmic details, and high-level understanding of game engines. The book covers programming best practices and patterns in Chapter 3, making it perfect for new game developers. Readers praise the writing style as well-written, with no wasted words.

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    27 customers mention "Book content"27 positive0 negative

    Customers find the book useful and engaging. They say it's one of the best technical books ever written, a great buy for students and hobbyists, and worth the price. The book is written by a highly respected studio.

    "Wow! This is the best technical book I have read this year...." Read more

    "It's a solid book and will keep a place on my shelf, but I don't think it rates a solid 5 stars...." Read more

    "...This book is a gem, because from my point of view (mainly as a .NET developer), it contains the bases that any respectable programmer must know...." Read more

    "Excellent book. It's kind of a gateway book into software architecture...." Read more

    25 customers mention "Information quality"21 positive4 negative

    Customers find the book informative and well-written. It provides a good overview of the subjects with plenty of conceptual, algorithmic, and mathematical information. The style is concise and detailed, with many useful examples. Readers appreciate the author's good pointers for further learning. Overall, it's considered an excellent resource for planning and understanding game engine architecture.

    "...this book is absolutely phenomenal and the way it is organized makes it very understandable...." Read more

    "...know what you need to know, then this book is the best all-in-one for planning/understanding." Read more

    "...This book is about any architecture, about best practices, about the idea how to truly know how to program...." Read more

    "...here are easily applicable to other areas, and it's neat to read about domain specific problems that need to be solved. It's really a gem of a book." Read more

    6 customers mention "Programming knowledge"6 positive0 negative

    Customers find the book helpful for learning programming best practices and game programming patterns. They mention it's the best game programming book they've read, with more direct implementation instructions. The book is suitable for new game developers.

    "...On top of this, in Chapter 3 the author goes over programming best practices and where you can get more information on making very performant code...." Read more

    "...It explains you about memory, it gives you the programming/engineering experience accumulated over the years that is far more precious than the..." Read more

    "...It's the best game programming book I've read." Read more

    "...patterns is a nice tl;dr of this book and has more direct implementation instructions." Read more

    5 customers mention "Coverage"5 positive0 negative

    Customers find the book covers everything they'll encounter in sufficient detail to get up to speed. They find it informative with a wide coverage of subjects.

    "...It covers almost everything you will encounter in just enough detail to get you up to speed...." Read more

    "...It does cover everything, but is often so general in said coverage that you can't use it as a reference...." Read more

    "Excellent book covering a wide spectrum of what a game engine consist/is made of...." Read more

    "Informative with wide coverage of the subjects but almost like the table of contents of the whole field." Read more

    4 customers mention "Writing style"4 positive0 negative

    Customers enjoy the writing style. They say it's well-written and that no words are wasted.

    "...it up myself for the chapter on positional audio but it was so well written I have been reading it straight through, and enjoying every moment of it." Read more

    "...The crazy part of this book is that it feels like no words are wasted...." Read more

    "...Jason's writing style is crisp, concise, and detailed, and I was able to work my way through this book pretty quickly despite the 1,000+ pages of..." Read more

    "High level understanding of game engine. Very will written." Read more

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    Top reviews from the United States

    • David Tucker
      5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for new game developers.
      Reviewed in the United States on September 25, 2017
      Verified Purchase
      Wow! This is the best technical book I have read this year. I have been a C++ developer for almost 20 years and have been working in the game industry for the last 8 years. I wish I had found this book 8 years ago, it would have gotten me up to speed much quicker. This is not a how to guide and it is also not a deep academic dive into the low levels of game engine architecture. Instead it fits into its own category, it is really a book designed to get experienced programmers into the game industry. It covers almost everything you will encounter in just enough detail to get you up to speed.

      Think of this as a jumping off point, after you read this you will be qualified to read and understand how most any game is setup, but not quite ready to write a game from scratch. But that is huge, it is often so hard to get the basics when you are going into a new field. Most books are written for users in the field who know the basics, or are written for people that can only dream of working in the field and have no depth at all.

      I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has less than 5 years experience in the game industry. I picked it up myself for the chapter on positional audio but it was so well written I have been reading it straight through, and enjoying every moment of it.
      10 people found this helpful
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    • Ameer Abdallah
      5.0 out of 5 stars Stellar Book For Intermediate Programmers
      Reviewed in the United States on June 14, 2020
      Verified Purchase
      I bought this book because I was trying to look for information on Game Engine Development so I can build my own game engine. Upon reading the first chapter, I was really locked into reading the book and definitely felt the need to take notes on almost every single page. The way the author explains things in this book is absolutely phenomenal and the way it is organized makes it very understandable. It is by no means an easy read but it is definitely informative. On top of this, in Chapter 3 the author goes over programming best practices and where you can get more information on making very performant code. He includes diagrams that depict what he is trying to explain very well. The format in which he teaches is introducing a problem, then explaining what some people have come up with as solutions, and then explaining what solution to the problem he thinks is best. He gets very low level and even gets to explaining how to avoid cache misses. Explains the why as to cache being faster than memory. I can go on all day long. The crazy part of this book is that it feels like no words are wasted. Through over 1000 pages of text, every bit of information he provides feels as though it has importance. Just getting into the 4th Chapter right now but so far this book is great! Will update when I am finished with the book.
      2 people found this helpful
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    • SDM
      4.0 out of 5 stars it's not really like that. If you don't know what you need ...
      Reviewed in the United States on November 27, 2015
      Verified Purchase
      It's a solid book and will keep a place on my shelf, but I don't think it rates a solid 5 stars. It does cover everything, but is often so general in said coverage that you can't use it as a reference. It's also likely that, unless this is one of the first game programming books you have purchased, a lot of the info has already been covered.

      If you read the title and think this is a book that will lead you thru building a game engine, it's not really like that. If you don't know what you need to know, then this book is the best all-in-one for planning/understanding.
      4 people found this helpful
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    • Andy B.
      5.0 out of 5 stars about best practices, about the idea how to truly know ...
      Reviewed in the United States on February 3, 2015
      Verified Purchase
      I am not a game developer, however I want to become one, but this book is clearly not only about that.

      Jason has put an enormous effort into explaining things that few will tell you about.

      This book is a gem, because from my point of view (mainly as a .NET developer), it contains the bases that any respectable programmer must know. It explains you about memory, it gives you the programming/engineering experience accumulated over the years that is far more precious than the money you pay for the book. It explains you concepts that must be explained before anyone letting you write your first piece of code. Don't fool yourself thinking that this is only about game architecture. This book is about any architecture, about best practices, about the idea how to truly know how to program.

      My favorite statement from this book is the one that says something like this: Before you develop something, you must know the underlying hardware.

      Thank you Jason for sharing all this experience!

      P.S. I've started to read a lot of books, but this one is one of the bests in keeping you reading and making you want more.
      3 people found this helpful
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    • J. W. Powell
      5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book. It's kind of a gateway book into ...
      Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2016
      Verified Purchase
      Excellent book. It's kind of a gateway book into software architecture. I could totally see a college student start reading this because he "wants to write a game" and end up wanting to develop real-time and embedded software--regardless of the application.

      As a mid-career software architect who enjoys gaming, I found this book fascinating and engaging at a professional level. I don't work in the gaming industry, but the concepts in here are easily applicable to other areas, and it's neat to read about domain specific problems that need to be solved. It's really a gem of a book.
      5 people found this helpful
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    • rationalcoder
      5.0 out of 5 stars This is an amazing book that every game developer should own
      Reviewed in the United States on September 21, 2014
      Verified Purchase
      This is an amazing book that every game developer should own. This book will teach you how the different subsystems in a game engine work together in a general overview kind of way. Basically, it demystifies the process of how a game is made from start to finish. After reading it, you have all the knowledge you need to find all the information you need in the future about specific subsystems. I'd recommend getting this once your at the programming level of good memory management techniques and design patterns in c++.
      4 people found this helpful
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    • RBWD
      3.0 out of 5 stars Okay.
      Reviewed in the United States on December 26, 2022
      Verified Purchase
      Use as a reference for the subjects covered. There are better books available.
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    Top reviews from other countries

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    • Chris Baek
      5.0 out of 5 stars Mint condition
      Reviewed in Canada on January 29, 2024
      Verified Purchase
      I got the book very fast and the book was kept in mint condition. Very satisfied with speed and quality
      Report
    • Misael
      5.0 out of 5 stars Un libro genial!!
      Reviewed in Mexico on August 11, 2018
      Verified Purchase
      El libro realmente te da una visión bastante buena de los servicios que puede tener un motor de juego, y el como poder armarlo, cuando lo termines de leer tendrás, creo, libertad de poder escribir un simple motor con servicios básicos de la manera que más sea apropiada para tú jueguito.
      Report
    • Heugue Blandine
      5.0 out of 5 stars Livre game engine architecture 2e édition
      Reviewed in France on January 20, 2019
      Verified Purchase
      Beaucoup de redites par rapport au tome 1 quelques améliorations et précisions. Conseillé de ne prendre que le 2e
      Report
    • bharath
      5.0 out of 5 stars Satisfied
      Reviewed in India on May 5, 2019
      Verified Purchase
      Very good book
      Report
    • Rostislav
      5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best Books about Game Engines in general.
      Reviewed in Germany on November 27, 2017
      Verified Purchase
      This book is one of the most well-written books in Computer Science generally.
      Although you should have some good understanding of programming in general, low-level hardware
      concepts, operating systems and of course some mathematics, like linear algebra, trigonometry, and
      geometry in general, it's must to have book for someone who wants to start in the game programming
      field. It covers almost every topic that surrounds modern game engine, although it
      cannot cover everything in depth, it contains one of the best explanations for topics like
      Animations, Memory allocations and low-level systems in general. Must have book for every game
      developer. A book that you cannot get a bored while reading.
      Report

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