★★★★★ 5
There's nothing else out there that's this comprehensive
Format: Hardcover
Unlike my last review, this one I'm happy to write. I'm a game engine programmer, but I don't have a long history with games, and how their engines are typically structured. Every in-house AAA engine will be different of course, and obviously you won't find books (or typically any docs at all really) on the structure of these behemoths, so the best you can hope for is something that tries to give you the high level overview of what to look for - how a tools pipeline is setup, what subsystems to expect, how they interact, etc.
This book provides all of that, and so, so much more. I really can't believe how much is packed in this thing. A really nice section on OS fundamentals, extensive coverage of concurrent programming, tools, audio, physics, it's all there (in one way or another). Like most of these kinds of books, you probably don't want to try and read it front to back (although that would be awesome, who has the time for that?) Instead, I've been going to sections on an as-needed basis and picking up just the stuff I need most at that time, and it's been great.
I'm at the point in my career where I'm just not buying as many books as I used to, either because they don't deliver on their promises, they only cover the basics, or they just rehash things that have already been covered extensively in other books. This book's definitely got me excited, because it provides a ton of real-world info that's hard to get anywhere else. 100% recommend to anyone new to game engine software development.
UPDATE: 6 months later, and this book continues to amaze. After studying every line of code in the section on memory allocators, I've added this feature to my engine and it works great. Same with quaternions. I just keep finding myself reaching for this book! What a great resource, rock solid.
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Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2019
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