A comprehensive, self-contained guide to building games — 2D and 3D, from the game design that makes them fun, through the engine that runs them, t…

Welcome to Game Development: A Complete Guide from Novice to Professional.

A comprehensive, self-contained guide to building games — 2D and 3D, from the game design that makes them fun, through the engine that runs them, to a full tour of the major genres with concrete guidance on how to build a game in each, and finally the craft and business of shipping as a professional. It assumes no prior game-development experience and carries you from your first game loop to the skills and knowledge of a working professional.

This title is part of the ShriIra library and is free to read in full, right here — our small contribution to making world-class knowledge easy to reach.

A note on reading it: open the Contents menu at the top of the reader to jump between chapters, use the Aa menu to set a comfortable text size, theme (light, sepia, or night), and single- or two-page layout. Your place is saved automatically, so you can always pick up where you left off.

We hope it serves you well.

— Shriira Press

Contents

1. Chapter 1 — What Is Game Development?
2. Chapter 2 — Game Design Fundamentals
3. Chapter 3 — How Games Work: The Game Loop and Real-Time Systems
4. Chapter 4 — Game Engine Architecture
5. Chapter 5 — Rendering: 2D and 3D Graphics
6. Chapter 6 — Physics, Collision, and Game Math
7. Chapter 7 — Audio, Input, Assets, and Tooling
8. Chapter 8 — Foundations of 2D Games and the Platformer
9. Chapter 9 — 2D Action Genres
10. Chapter 10 — 2D Thinking and Progression Genres
11. Chapter 11 — Foundations of 3D Games
12. Chapter 12 — 3D Action and Adventure Genres
13. Chapter 13 — 3D World and Strategy Genres
14. Chapter 14 — Game AI
15. Chapter 15 — Multiplayer and Networking
16. Chapter 16 — Performance, Optimization, and Polish
17. Chapter 17 — Shipping and the Profession
18. Appendix A — Glossary and Notation
19. Appendix B — Further Reading and Resources