Book Image

OpenGL Game Development By Example

By : Stephen Madsen, Robert Madsen
Book Image

OpenGL Game Development By Example

By: Stephen Madsen, Robert Madsen

Overview of this book

OpenGL is one of the most popular rendering SDKs used to develop games. OpenGL has been used to create everything from 3D masterpieces running on desktop computers to 2D puzzles running on mobile devices. You will learn to apply both 2D and 3D technologies to bring your game idea to life. There is a lot more to making a game than just drawing pictures and that is where this book is unique! It provides a complete tutorial on designing and coding games from the setup of the development environment to final credits screen, through the creation of a 2D and 3D game. The book starts off by showing you how to set up a development environment using Visual Studio, and create a code framework for your game. It then walks you through creation of two games–a 2D platform game called Roboracer 2D and a 3D first-person space shooter game–using OpenGL to render both 2D and 3D graphics using a 2D coordinate system. You'll create sprite classes, render sprites and animation, and navigate and control the characters. You will also learn how to implement input, use audio, and code basic collision and physics systems. From setting up the development environment to creating the final credits screen, the book will take you through the complete journey of creating a game engine that you can extend to create your own games.
Table of Contents (19 chapters)
OpenGL Game Development By Example
Credits
About the Authors
About the Reviewers
www.PacktPub.com
Preface
Index

Chapter 6. Polishing the Silver

I'm sure that you are as excited as I am about the progress that you have made on your game. It's almost ready to publish, right? Well, not quite! There is a lot of work that goes into polishing your game before it is ready, and that's what this chapter is all about.

Many people have a great idea for a game, and lots of enthusiastic coders, such as you, actually code their game to the point where we have reached so far. Unfortunately, this is where a lot of projects die. For some reason, many first-time game coders don't take the time to really finish their game. There are lots of things that still need to be done to make your game presentable:

  • Game state: We already touched on game state a little bit when you learned how to pause your game. This chapter will continue the discussion of how you use game state to manage your game at various stages of gameplay.

  • Splash screen: Most games display one or more screens before the game starts. These screens, known as...