Book Image

Beginning C++ Game Programming - Second Edition

By : John Horton
Book Image

Beginning C++ Game Programming - Second Edition

By: John Horton

Overview of this book

The second edition of Beginning C++ Game Programming is updated and improved to include the latest features of Visual Studio 2019, SFML, and modern C++ programming techniques. With this book, you’ll get a fun introduction to game programming by building five fully playable games of increasing complexity. You’ll learn to build clones of popular games such as Timberman, Pong, a Zombie survival shooter, a coop puzzle platformer and Space Invaders. The book starts by covering the basics of programming. You’ll study key C++ topics, such as object-oriented programming (OOP) and C++ pointers, and get acquainted with the Standard Template Library (STL). The book helps you learn about collision detection techniques and game physics by building a Pong game. As you build games, you’ll also learn exciting game programming concepts such as particle effects, directional sound (spatialization), OpenGL programmable shaders, spawning objects, and much more. Finally, you’ll explore game design patterns to enhance your C++ game programming skills. By the end of the book, you’ll have gained the knowledge you need to build your own games with exciting features from scratch

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Table of Contents (25 chapters)
Preface
Preface
Who this book is for
What this book covers
To get the most out of this book
Get in touch
Free Chapter
1
Chapter 1: C++, SFML, Visual Studio, and Starting the First Game
Chapter 1: C++, SFML, Visual Studio, and Starting the First Game
The games we will build
Meet C++
Microsoft Visual Studio
SFML
Setting up the development environment
Planning Timber!!!
The project assets
Understanding screen and internal coordinates
Getting started with coding the game
Opening a window using SFML
The main game loop
Drawing the game’s background
Handling errors
Summary
FAQ
2
Chapter 2: Variables, Operators, and Decisions – Animating Sprites
Chapter 2: Variables, Operators, and Decisions – Animating Sprites
C++ variables
Manipulating variables
Adding clouds, a tree, and a buzzing bee
Random numbers
Making decisions with if and else
Timing
Moving the clouds and the bee
Summary
FAQ
3
Chapter 3: C++ Strings and SFML Time – Player Input and HUD
Chapter 3: C++ Strings and SFML Time – Player Input and HUD
Pausing and restarting the game
C++ Strings
SFML's Text and Font classes
Implementing the HUD
Adding a time-bar
Summary
FAQ
4
Chapter 4: Loops, Arrays, Switches, Enumerations, and Functions – Implementing Game Mechanics
Chapter 4: Loops, Arrays, Switches, Enumerations, and Functions – Implementing Game Mechanics
Loops
Arrays
Making decisions with switch
Class enumerations
Getting started with functions
Growing the branches
Summary
FAQ
5
Chapter 5: Collisions, Sound, and End Conditions – Making the Game Playable
Chapter 5: Collisions, Sound, and End Conditions – Making the Game Playable
Preparing the player (and other sprites)
Drawing the player and other sprites
Handling the player's input
Handling death
Simple sound FX
Improving the game and the code
Summary
FAQ
6
Chapter 6: Object-Oriented Programming – Starting the Pong Game
Chapter 6: Object-Oriented Programming – Starting the Pong Game
OOP
The theory of a Pong Bat
Creating the Pong project
Coding the Bat class
Using the Bat class and coding the main function
Summary
FAQ
7
Chapter 7: Dynamic Collision Detection and Physics – Finishing the Pong Game
Chapter 7: Dynamic Collision Detection and Physics – Finishing the Pong Game
Coding the Ball class
Using the Ball class
Collision detection and scoring
Running the game
Summary
FAQ
8
Chapter 8: SFML Views – Starting the Zombie Shooter Game
Chapter 8: SFML Views – Starting the Zombie Shooter Game
Planning and starting the Zombie Arena game
OOP and the Zombie Arena project
Building the player – the first class
Controlling the game camera with SFML View
Starting the Zombie Arena game engine
Managing the code files
Starting to code the main game loop
Summary
FAQ
9
Chapter 9: C++ References, Sprite Sheets, and Vertex Arrays
Chapter 9: C++ References, Sprite Sheets, and Vertex Arrays
C++ references
SFML vertex arrays and sprite sheets
Creating a randomly generated scrolling background
Using the background
Summary
FAQ
10
Chapter 10: Pointers, the Standard Template Library, and Texture Management
Chapter 10: Pointers, the Standard Template Library, and Texture Management
Learning about Pointers
The Standard Template Library
The TextureHolder class
Building a horde of zombies
Using the TextureHolder class for all textures
Summary
FAQ
11
Chapter 11: Collision Detection, Pickups, and Bullets
Chapter 11: Collision Detection, Pickups, and Bullets
Coding the Bullet class
Making the bullets fly
Giving the player a crosshair
Coding a class for pickups
Using the Pickup class
Detecting collisions
Summary
FAQ
12
Chapter 12: Layering Views and Implementing the HUD
Chapter 12: Layering Views and Implementing the HUD
Adding all the Text and HUD objects
Updating the HUD
Drawing the HUD, home, and level-up screens
Summary
FAQ
13
Chapter 13: Sound Effects, File I/O, and Finishing the Game
Chapter 13: Sound Effects, File I/O, and Finishing the Game
Saving and loading the high score
Preparing sound effects
Leveling up
Restarting the game
Playing the rest of the sounds
Summary
FAQ
14
Chapter 14: Abstraction and Code Management – Making Better Use of OOP
Chapter 14: Abstraction and Code Management – Making Better Use of OOP
The Thomas Was Late game
Structuring the Thomas Was Late code
Building the game engine
Coding the main function
Summary
FAQ
15
Chapter 15: Advanced OOP – Inheritance and Polymorphism
Chapter 15: Advanced OOP – Inheritance and Polymorphism
Inheritance
Polymorphism
Abstract classes – virtual and pure virtual functions
Building the PlayableCharacter class
Building the Thomas and Bob classes
Updating the game engine to use Thomas and Bob
Summary
FAQ
16
Chapter 16: Building Playable Levels and Collision Detection
Chapter 16: Building Playable Levels and Collision Detection
Designing some levels
Building the LevelManager class
Coding the loadLevel function
Updating the engine
Collision detection
Summary
17
Chapter 17: Sound Spatialization and the HUD
Chapter 17: Sound Spatialization and the HUD
What is spatialization?
Handling spatialization using SFML
Building the SoundManager class
Adding SoundManager to the game engine
Populating the sound emitters
Playing sounds
Implementing the HUD class
Using the HUD class
Summary
18
Chapter 18: Particle Systems and Shaders
Chapter 18: Particle Systems and Shaders
Building a particle system
Exploring SFML's Drawable class and OOP
OpenGL, Shaders, and GLSL
Summary
19
Chapter 19: Game Programming Design Patterns – Starting the Space Invaders ++ Game
Chapter 19: Game Programming Design Patterns – Starting the Space Invaders ++ Game
Space Invaders ++
Design patterns
C++ smart pointers
Casting smart pointers
C++ assertions
Creating the Space Invaders ++ project
Where are we now?
Coding the Screen class and its dependents
Adding the WorldState.h file
Coding the derived classes for the select screen
Coding the derived classes for the game screen
Running the game
Summary
20
Chapter 20: Game Objects and Components
Chapter 20: Game Objects and Components
Preparing to code the components
Coding the Component base class
Coding the collider components
Coding the graphics components
Coding the TransformComponent class
Coding update components
Coding the GameObject class
Summary
21
Chapter 21: File I/O and the Game Object Factory
Chapter 21: File I/O and the Game Object Factory
The structure of the file I/O and factory classes
Describing an object in the world
Coding the GameObjectBlueprint class
Coding the ObjectTags class
Coding the BlueprintObjectParser class
Coding the PlayModeObjectLoader class
Coding the GameObjectFactoryPlayMode class
Coding the GameObjectSharer class
Coding the LevelManager class
Updating the ScreenManager and ScreenManagerRemoteControl classes
Where are we now?
Summary
22
Chapter 22: Using Game Objects and Building a Game
Chapter 22: Using Game Objects and Building a Game
Spawning bullets
Handling the player's input
Coding the PhysicsEnginePlayMode class
Making the game
Understanding the flow of execution and debugging
Reusing the code to make a different game and building a design mode
Summary
23
Chapter 23: Before You Go...
Chapter 23: Before You Go...
Thanks!
24
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C++ assertions

In this project, we will be using C++ assertions. As usual, there is more to this topic than we will discuss here, but we can still do some useful things with just an introduction.

We can use the #define preprocessor statement in a class to define a value for the entire project. We do so with the following code:

#define debuggingOnConsole

This code would be written at the top of a header file. Now, throughout the project, we can write code like the following:

#ifdef debuggingOnConsole
    // C++ code goes here
#endif

The #ifdef debuggingOnConsole statement checks whether the #define debuggingOnConsole statement is present. If it is, then any C++ code up to the #endif statement will be included in the game. We can then choose to comment out the #define statement to switch our debugging code on or off.

Typically, we will include code such as the following in the #ifdef blocks:

#ifdef debuggingOnConsole     ...
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