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  • Game Programming Patterns

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Game Programming Patterns Paperback – 2 Nov. 2014

4.6 out of 5 stars (1,518)

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The biggest challenge facing many game programmers is completing their game. Most game projects fizzle out, overwhelmed by the complexity of their own code. Game Programming Patterns tackles that exact problem. Based on years of experience in shipped AAA titles, this book collects proven patterns to untangle and optimize your game, organized as independent recipes so you can pick just the patterns you need.

You will learn how to write a robust game loop, how to organize your entities using components, and take advantage of the CPUs cache to improve your performance. You'll dive deep into how scripting engines encode behavior, how quadtrees and other spatial partitions optimize your engine, and how other classic design patterns can be used in games.

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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Genever Benning
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ 2 Nov. 2014
  • Edition ‏ : ‎ 1st
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 354 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0990582906
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0990582908
  • Item weight ‏ : ‎ 626 g
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 19.05 x 2.03 x 23.5 cm
  • Best Sellers Rank: 250,288 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • Customer reviews:
    4.6 out of 5 stars (1,518)

About the author

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Robert Nystrom
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Robert Nystrom has programmed professionally for twenty years, about half of which is in games. During his eight years at Electronic Arts, he worked on behemoths like Madden and smaller titles like Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure. He's shipped games on the PC, GameCube, PS2, XBox, X360, and DS, but is most proud of the tools and shared libraries he created for others to build on. He loves seeing usable, beautiful code magnify the creative ability of others.

Robert lives with his wife and two daughters in Seattle where you are most likely to find him cooking for his friends and plying them with good beer.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
1,518 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find this book to be one of the best on the subject, with excellent content that's worth reading twice and easy to understand. Moreover, the book effectively covers design patterns and provides real-world applications to game development. Additionally, they appreciate its humor, with one customer noting the irreverent sidebars, and its well-written style. However, the programming aspect receives mixed feedback, with one customer noting it's not a book about designing a game engine.
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46 customers mention content, 44 positive, 2 negative
Customers find the book's content excellent and super informative, noting that it's worth reading twice and considering it one of the best books on the subject.
Awesome book! Finally real world applications to game development that incorporate software design patterns.Read more
Great book - it's like 'gang-of-four lite' with game-specific examples.Read more
...could have been elaborated on a bit more but overall this book is a great read for anyone looking to get into game development.Read more
Fantastic book, reads incredibly pleasant and has lots of great information.Read more
15 customers mention readability, 14 positive, 1 negative
Customers find the book easy to read and understand, with one customer noting that relevant applications can be grasped easily and another mentioning that simple visuals are provided when needed.
Worthwhile and very readable....Read more
...I've found this boom very easy to read, the author uses humour to help keep this book from being dull and I find this book gives you the key...Read more
...touched C++ for a long time, all of the examples were clear and easy to follow....Read more
...on the web and it was really good: informative, well written and easy to read....Read more
13 customers mention usefulness, 13 positive, 0 negative
Customers find the book useful, particularly for its real-world applications in game development, with one customer noting it's excellent for planning and another mentioning it's great for young programmers.
Really useful book. Has helped me to figure out new ways of defining my data and making use of design patterns as I build my game engine.Read more
Awesome book! Finally real world applications to game development that incorporate software design patterns.Read more
...written book, it has the right level of technical detail and practical applications, it is written in a very accessible style with some really funny...Read more
Excellent book for planning and executing the programming aspect of video games....Read more
12 customers mention design patterns, 12 positive, 0 negative
Customers appreciate the book's comprehensive coverage of design patterns.
Great book covering all the patterns. Each pattern is clearly explained with points as to when to use and more importantly when not....Read more
...A beautiful toolbox of insightful design patterns presented with just the right level of detail and examples all packaged up with a delicious sense...Read more
Based on the author's website, this book focuses on patterns (think 'algorithm' but a little higher, architecturally speaking) for game...Read more
...in print form, if only to support the original author, contains recipes for patterns that are useful for modern game design.Read more
10 customers mention humor, 10 positive, 0 negative
Customers find the book incredibly funny, particularly appreciating the irreverent bits in the sidebars.
...applications, it is written in a very accessible style with some really funny and irreverent bits in the side bar which make it a good read.Read more
Clear, pragmatic, and funRead more
...Clear, unbiased AND incredibly funny....Read more
...right level of detail and examples all packaged up with a delicious sense of humour....Read more
10 customers mention writing style, 10 positive, 0 negative
Customers appreciate the writing style of the book, describing it as well written and concise.
...the examples are clear and concise. link to gang of four is great. Well written and fun to read. (Dont often say that about technical books)Read more
...of technical detail and practical applications, it is written in a very accessible style with some really funny and irreverent bits in the side bar...Read more
...it way better - the content is not only understandable, but it's well-written, straight to the point and sometimes even funny....Read more
...I also like the writing style, some humour is injected which helps with reading any technical book.Read more
6 customers mention programming, 3 positive, 3 negative
Customers have mixed opinions about the programming content of the book, with some appreciating its patterns and techniques, while others note it requires existing programming skills and isn't focused on game engine development.
Great book with some great programming patterns for games and doesn't over complicate them....Read more
This is not a game programming book - it won’t walk you through writing a game... BUT it cleverly goes through the programming techniques with the...Read more
Excellent book for planning and executing the programming aspect of video games....Read more
...use throughout many areas of a game engine, but it is not a book about designing a game engine....Read more

Top reviews from the United Kingdom

  • 5 out of 5 stars
    Loved it
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 14 January 2022
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    I really liked this book. I started learning programming patterns from the book by Gang of four, but I found it to be very hard to read and understand. This book does it way better - the content is not only understandable, but it's well-written, straight to the point and sometimes even funny.

    Small disclaimer - I am a backend developer, not a game developer (at least professionally). Still, it was still worth reading and I was satisfied with the choice of patterns.

    3 people found this helpful
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  • 5 out of 5 stars
    A useful intro to programming patterns for budding game devs!
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 October 2019
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    Very nice book, goes into just enough detail to give you the concepts but leaves you to think about improvements, extensions or potential uses outside the ones listed. The patterns are classic programming patterns but given a slight twist of game dev. The author does a good job of explaining the patterns and how/where/why they might be used as well as some potential pitfalls. If you want extensive detail on game engines or how to make your first game this isn't the book, but it doesn't claim to be! The patterns within would be a great help to any budding C/C++/Java game developer (as well as many other mainly OOP based languages I'm sure). Don't expect to be able to write the next AAA title after reading this but you can be sure that your understanding of how games (and their code more specifically) are generally organised. Some of the patterns I felt could have been elaborated on a bit more but overall this book is a great read for anyone looking to get into game development.

    5 people found this helpful
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  • 5 out of 5 stars
    Surprising and Delightful!
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 May 2021
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    This is not a game programming book - it won’t walk you through writing a game... BUT it cleverly goes through the programming techniques with the thought processes that a game programmer would have, and using game situations as examples.

    As a result, I understood a lot more about why and how game engines work (previously they were a bit of a black box for me) *and* saw how some of these high performance techniques applied in non-game situations.

    Special praise for the even handedness of the approach. For every technique the author gives multiple variations, and full lists of pros and cons. Recommended for all programmers interested in performance.

    8 people found this helpful
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  • 4 out of 5 stars
    Bought this as a gift for my brother - we've ...
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 1 September 2018
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    Bought this as a gift for my brother - we've been getting into a bit of open source game server development recently, but he hasn't got as a strong theoretical grounding in programming as I do. I didn't get to read the whole book (hence why I didn't want to give a five star review), but I read three or four chapters reviewing design patterns, and they were helpful, intuitive and accurate. I can only hope the rest of the book continues in the same way!

    2 people found this helpful
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  • 5 out of 5 stars
    A great read!
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 August 2024
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    What an amazing read! A lecturer had recommended this book to me nearly 2 years ago and I can't stress enough that I wished I read this sooner! The author made sure that this wasn't just some "dry" book stuffed with design patterns. It's incredibly witty at times and is super informative!

    One person found this helpful
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  • 5 out of 5 stars
    One of the best programming books I have ever read.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 28 December 2014
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    Although it deals with patterns in relation to games, in many ways this is a spiritual successor to the Gang of Four's "Design Patterns" and has given me a lot of of ideas for ways to improve my design and architecture outside of games too.

    Very well-paced and despite the fact that I haven't touched C++ for a long time, all of the examples were clear and easy to follow.

    It's very easy to read and the chapters can be read sequentially or individually. One thing I particularly liked was the way the author closes off each pattern with a look at which other patterns in the book it's similar to and why you would choose it over them.

    7 people found this helpful
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  • 5 out of 5 stars
    I am 14 years old...
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 December 2017
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    I am 14 years old and I have been doing game development for over a year. I have probably read about up to 50 books on game developmet/programming but this is definitely the best. I understand this book perfectly and looking forward to implementing these patterns/theory into my games. I strongly recomend reading this book as you will come back to it repeatedly and you will learn A LOT. I really wish I read this book earlier. Anybody, young or old, asiring to beome a successful game developer should read this book.

    Thank you @Robert Nystrom for creating this wonderful book.

    P.S. Although, to gain a good understnding of this book you should be at an intermediete level in programming(in any language)as this book teaches you programmng methods/theory.

    40 people found this helpful
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  • 5 out of 5 stars
    Wicked book
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 April 2019
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    This book is brilliant!

    The author manages to talk you through the tricks of the game development trade very clearly. He includes useful diagrams, margin notes, and his writing is quite witty too! The examples are non-trivial and don't feel contrived.

    You'll need to have a decent grasp of object oriented programming to really get the benefits, preferably in C++ - the "lingua franca of game development".

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  • 5 out of 5 stars
    Excellent book, especially for newcomers to game development, or even generalist programming.
    Reviewed in Spain on 20 May 2019
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    I'm an almost self-taught programmer, and one of the things I've never quite finish to understand were programming patterns.

    This book is so masterfully written that it doesn't just make them easy to comprehend and implement, it is also really enjoyable to read.

    It has many great examples, some bits of history and even some humor.

    I've used the things I learned with it, not only for games, but also for more generalist projects. Definitely a must.

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  • 5 out of 5 stars
    Not just for game developers either!
    Reviewed in Canada on 4 August 2017
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    An excellent read - very well structured and written - reads as a casual conversation with the author.

    While the content is quite in-depth, a consistent use of examples (both in concept and in code) makes it easy to keep reading page after page.

    This book is not just for game developers either - the patterns covered have a board application outside of game dev.

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  • 5 out of 5 stars
    Un classique instantané
    Reviewed in France on 21 December 2016
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    Bien qu"il soit associé aux jeu vidéo, ce bouquin est en fait l'un des meilleurs livres sur les design patterns que j'ai pu lire.

    L'auteur a un sens pédagogique certain : les explications sont claires, les exemples bien choisis et longuement interprétés. Les limites de chaque approche sont explicitées et mises en relation avec d'autres design patterns.

    Cerise sur le gâteau : le style est simple, précis, efficace et bourré d'humour. De nombreuses anecdotes personnelles donnent de la couleur au texte.

    Je recommande chaudement ce livre accessible et agréable mais qui n'en est pas moins rigoureux et efficace. Une réussite !

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  • 5 out of 5 stars
    Sehr gutes, unterhaltsames Buch über Code-Patterns in Spielen
    Reviewed in Germany on 3 May 2019
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    Ein sehr gutes Buch um Architektur-Patterns hinter Spielen (und anderer Software) zu verstehen. Wer schon ein wenig anfängliche Erfahrung in Frameworks wie Unity oder Unrealengine gesammelt hat und jetzt lernen möchte, wie man seinen Code besser strukturiert, dem kann ich das Buch wärmstens empfehlen.

    Es werden auch Grundlagen erklärt, die in vielen Spieleengines verwendet werden, dadurch ist das Buch auch allein für ein besseres Verständnis interessant. Aber Achtung! Wer lernen möchte, selber eine Engine von Grund auf zu schreiben, der braucht eher andere Literatur. Ebenfalls muss man schon ein wenig allgemeine Programmiererfahrung mitbringen, um die Konzepte verstehen und einordnen zu können.

    Durch die sehr unterhaltsame Schreibweise des Autors macht es Spaß, dieses fachlich ausgelegte Buch zu studieren und es hat einen festen Platz in meinem Bücherschrank gefunden.

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  • 5 out of 5 stars
    Um excelente livro para engenheiros de software
    Reviewed in Brazil on 19 May 2015
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    Para entender o código e preceitos do livro é importante entender C/C++ ou linguagem similar para aplicação.

    Este livro não vai te ensinar a programar, mostrar aspectos particulares da linguagem ou de engines de games e não mostra códigos ou arquiteturas completas que servem para um jogo, porém o livro é uma excelente introdução ao design de software e como pensar sobre otimização.

    Este livro é excelente e você deve considerar lê-lo caso queira aprimorar seus conhecimentos na indústria pois cada exemplo deste livro é uma demonstração de aspectos que algumas vezes deixamos de considerar no momento de construir games e softwares.

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