{"title":"Best Books to Start Learning Game Development","description":"","products":[{"product_id":"learning-gdscript-by-developing-a-game-with-godot-4","title":"Learning GDScript by Developing a Game with Godot 4","description":"In the digital landscape driven by interactive experiences, the demand for creative individuals with the skills to create captivating games has never been higher. Written by Sander Vanhove, a seasoned game developer with over 20 games to his credit, this book will serve as your entry point into game development, showing you how to leverage the powerful features of the open-source, versatile GDScript 2.0 to develop your ideas, from simple platformers to complex RPGs.\nWhether you're an aspiring game developer, a hobbyist seeking a creative outlet, or simply someone intrigued by the world of game programming, this book will guide you through the intricacies of the Godot 4 game engine. Starting with a primer on the fundamentals of programming, you’ll cover everything from data to logic, while familiarizing yourself with Godot’s built-in tools such as the physics engine, navigation, and cameras. As you progress, you’ll unlock deeper insights into more advanced tools that will take your programming to the next level. Aided by easy-to-follow step-by-step tutorials, examples, exercises, and experiments, you’ll seamlessly integrate this newfound knowledge to create a Vampire Survivor-like game from scratch.\nBy the end of this book, you’ll have become proficient in leveraging the Godot 4 game engine to bring your gaming visions to life.","brand":"Packt","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53735880655177,"sku":"9781801812498","price":35.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0965\/3721\/5305\/files\/cover_image_f45deea3-6281-4784-b002-8674fb216e9f.jpg?v=1771860900"},{"product_id":"beginning-c-game-programming","title":"Beginning C++ Game Programming","description":"Always dreamed of creating your own games? With the third edition of Beginning C++ Game Programming, you can turn that dream into reality! This beginner-friendly guide is updated and improved to include the latest features of VS 2022, SFML, and modern C++20 programming techniques. You'll get a fun introduction to game programming by building four fully playable games of increasing complexity. You'll build clones of popular games such as Timberman, Pong, a Zombie survival shooter, and an endless runner.\n\nThe 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 vertex arrays, directional sound (spatialization), OpenGL programmable shaders, spawning objects, and much more. You’ll dive deep into game mechanics and implement input handling, levelling up a character, and simple enemy AI. Finally, you'll explore game design patterns to enhance your C++ game programming skills.\n\nBy the end of the book, you'll have gained the knowledge you need to build your own games with exciting features from scratch.","brand":"Packt","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53735883211081,"sku":"9781835088258","price":39.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0965\/3721\/5305\/files\/cover_image_3b92200f-7bd4-4934-8b9a-47b1998b232f.jpg?v=1772104017"},{"product_id":"hands-on-unity-game-development","title":"Hands-On Unity  Game Development","description":"Take your game development skills to the next level. Dive into the world of game creation confidently by elevating your game development skills. This book is your definitive and practical guide to unlocking the full potential of Unity 2023. Every chapter is designed to empower you to customize your own game, not just replicate what's in the book. This new edition includes immersive Augmented Reality (AR) experiences and performance optimization with Data-Oriented Technology Stack (DOTS).\n\nFrom Scene Creation to seamless Assert Integration, dive into C# programming and Visual Scripting with step-by-step guidance for beginners. Implement dynamic gameplay elements, including movement, spawning, physics, and health systems. Delve deeper into the magic of Game AI through sensor-driven decision-making with Finite State Machines (FSMs). Elevate your visuals with materials, shaders, textures, and particle systems. Optimize performance with Profiler insights and debug your game for a polished final product.\n\n Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned pro, this book will equip you with the skills needed to bring your game ideas to life.","brand":"Packt","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53735884292425,"sku":"9781835086117","price":38.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0965\/3721\/5305\/files\/cover_image_5a27a9a2-dc3b-4dc6-b501-905d8a82d677.jpg?v=1771861050"},{"product_id":"hands-on-unity-2022-game-development","title":"Hands-On Unity 2022 Game Development","description":"Unity is a cross-platform game engine that provides you with powerful but simple-to-use features to solve the most common problems in Game Development, such as rendering, animation, physics, sound, and effects. You’ll learn to use these features to create simple but complete games (and all the nuances needed to handle Unity).\n\nComplete with hands-on tutorials and projects, this book will teach you to use the Unity game engine, create C# and visual scripts, integrate graphics, sound, and animations, and manipulate physics to create interesting mechanics for your game. You’ll then code a simple AI agent to challenge the user and work with profiling tools to ensure code efficiency.\n\nFinally, you'll work with Unity's AR tools to create AR experiences for 3D apps and games before publishing them to the world.\n\nIf you are interested in creating impressive, commercial-quality games that are playable on a variety of platforms, then you’ve come to the right place.","brand":"Packt","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53735889207625,"sku":"9781803246666","price":47.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0965\/3721\/5305\/files\/cover_image_ec4798d6-d137-499a-b0f7-c440c0800e73.jpg?v=1771861253"},{"product_id":"coding-roblox-games-made-easy-second-edition","title":"Coding Roblox Games Made Easy, Second Edition","description":"“I read\/worked through the book with my kids to build a game together and I highly recommend pre-teens, teens, and tweens to pick this up as their first book to coding games”\n\n-James W. Y III, Technology Integration Specialist at Old Bridge Township Public Schools\n\n“...a must-read, must-practice essential book for anyone getting started with building games on Roblox using Luau programming...”\n\n-Frederic Markus, President, Feerik Games (Ex-Ubisoft, Nintendo, Rockstar, Disney, LucasArts, and Epic Games)\n\n“..includes everything from Roblox Studio menus, the basics of the Luau scripting language, how to tie in real-world (or any world!) physics into your experience of marketing your game as well as some great ideas for where to go next.”\n\n-Jay Sebastian, Computer Scientist and Adjunct Lecturer in AI for Games and Simulation\n\nRoblox isn't just popular; it's incredibly popular, featuring more than 54 million active players per day. Any experience imaginable can be created on Roblox.\n\nCoding Roblox Games Made Easy, 2nd Edition, is a go-to guide for anyone at any age looking to get started with building a game on Roblox using Luau programming. In just about 300 pages, you’ll learn the basics of Luau programming, build two end-to-end games, add customizations to finally publish and monetize them.\n\nThe bonus chapter ‘50 Cool Things to do in Roblox’ is a perfect end to your learning journey with information nuggets presented with examples to save your time when coding, animating, building avatars, using Robux and so much more.\n\nJoin Zander, 19-year-old Roblox developer and programmer on this game-development journey and bring your ideas to life","brand":"Packt","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53735890026825,"sku":"9781803247571","price":23.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0965\/3721\/5305\/files\/cover_image_ee53b1e5-23d8-4630-8841-dd13f299855a.jpg?v=1771861415"},{"product_id":"coding-roblox-games-made-easy","title":"Coding Roblox Games Made Easy","description":"Roblox is a global virtual platform like no other for both playing and creating games. With well over 150 million monthly active users, Roblox hosts all genres of games that can be played by other members of the community using the Lua programming language. Not only can you create games for free, but you can also earn considerable sums of money if from the success of your games, and become part of the vast and supportive developer circle that provides excellent opportunities for networking in a tight-knit community.\nWith this practical book, you'll get hands-on experience working on the Roblox platform. You'll start with an overview of Roblox development and then understand how to use Roblox Studio. As you progress, you'll gradually learn everything you need from how to program in Roblox Lua to creating Obby and Battle Royale games. Finally, you'll delve into the logistics of game production, focusing on optimizing the performance of your game by implementing impressive mechanics, monetization, and marketing practices.\nBy the end of this Roblox book, you'll be able to lead or work with a team to bring your gaming world to life, and extend that experience to players around the world.","brand":"Packt","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53735897465161,"sku":"9781800566361","price":23.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0965\/3721\/5305\/files\/cover_image_c9fca587-988a-4d08-b5d0-729c8bf625b6.jpg?v=1771862137"},{"product_id":"blender-for-beginners-part-1","title":"Blender for Beginners Part 1","description":"Blender for Beginners Part 1 is your hands-on visual introduction to Blender, brought to you by the educators at 3D Tudor, who’ve helped over 250,000 students worldwide master 3D design. Starting Blender can feel daunting, but this first part makes it approachable. You’ll develop smart habits and clean workflows to keep projects organized. From setting up a readable interface and clean navigation to mastering reliable modeling tools that create shading-friendly results, every lesson builds your foundation as a confident 3D artist.\nThrough easy-to-follow exercises, you’ll learn how to install Blender, navigate key menus and viewport modes, and use essential tools like Extrude, Bevel, and Loop Cut. You’ll build small assets and understand why seams, sharps, normals, and pivots matter for clean surfaces and predictable shading. Neil adds a touch of British humor that will keep you engaged throughout, even as you unwrap UVs using seams and projections, measure texel density, and explore trim sheets and UDIM basics. With principled PBR materials and Node Wrangler shortcuts, you’ll progress from flat clay to believable surfaces. Everything is taught step by step, with keystroke callouts and definitions.\nBy the end of this part, your models will look great under lighting, your topology will behave, and your files will be ready for 3D animation—setting you up for Geometry Nodes, rendering, and compositing in Part 2.\n*Email sign-up and proof of purchase required","brand":"Packt","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53864140407113,"sku":"9781837636648","price":39.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0965\/3721\/5305\/files\/cover_image_a42b2feb-a59d-40ad-9abe-01cba5012cd6.jpg?v=1772104159"},{"product_id":"learning-c-by-developing-games-with-unity-6","title":"Learning C# by Developing Games with Unity 6","description":"It's the ability to write custom C# scripts for behaviors and game mechanics that really takes Unity the extra mile. That's where this book will help you as a new programmer!\nHarrison Ferrone, in this eighth edition of the bestselling series, will take you through the core concepts of programming and the C# language from scratch, while building an engaging and playable game prototype in Unity 6.\nYou’ll get to grips with the fundamentals of object-oriented programming (OOP) and the Unity engine with lots of code samples, exercises, and tips to go beyond the book with your work. You’ll write C# scripts for simple game mechanics, perform procedural programming, request live data from the web, and add complexity to your games by introducing intelligent enemies and damage-dealing projectiles. You’ll also explore the underlying mechanics of Unity game development, including game design, lighting basics, player movement, camera controls, collisions, and more, with every passing chapter.\nNote: The screenshots in the book display the Unity Editor in full-screen mode for a comprehensive view. You can easily reference color versions of images by downloading them from the GitHub repository or the graphics bundle linked in the book.\n*Email sign-up and proof of purchase required","brand":"Packt","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53864142995785,"sku":"9781805808701","price":35.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0965\/3721\/5305\/files\/cover_image_c7375e67-a4bc-40b1-a8c8-4a3f007f48fd.jpg?v=1772103879"},{"product_id":"godot-4-for-beginners","title":"Godot 4 for Beginners","description":"Jumping into Godot 4 as a beginner can be overwhelming. You’re wrestling with a new interface, trying to wrap your head around how nodes and scenes work, and learning GDScript all at once. After years of teaching game development and creating YouTube tutorials, Robert Henning knows exactly where you’re likely to have those “wait, what?” moments. He’s built this guide to systematically address those challenges head-on, breaking down complex concepts into digestible steps.\nYou’ll start by setting up Godot 4 and understanding its interface and tools. Then, you’ll dive into nodes and scenes, Godot’s way of organizing everything, which sounds intimidating but is actually quite intuitive. From there, you’ll explore both 2D and 3D game creation, adding key elements such as players, enemies, collectibles, and lighting effects that make your game pop visually. You’ll also get hands-on with Godot’s scripting language, GDScript, to bring your game ideas to life.\nBy the end of this Godot 4 book, you’ll have the skills to build complete 2D and 3D games from scratch, covering everything from level design and game state management to score tracking and more. Whether you’re just getting started or are ready to level up, this book will help you turn your ideas into fully playable games.","brand":"Packt","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53864145060169,"sku":"9781836203087","price":39.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0965\/3721\/5305\/files\/cover_image_1bbcba38-594a-4109-a0ca-b6ea0e750df2.jpg?v=1771862005"}],"url":"https:\/\/gamedevassembly.com\/collections\/best-books-to-start-learning-game-development.oembed","provider":"Game Dev Assembly - Powered by Packt","version":"1.0","type":"link"}