Programming Books

• Amazon.com has lots of great books on programming video games. Check it out. This link will take you directly to their section on Programming.Books on Programming
• Amazon.com Best selling books on Game Develoment. Go directly to the list of top sellers.Top Selling Game Development Books

There are a lot of different paths that a game programmer can take and there are a lot of different opinions about what you should learn and why. Different games are programmed with different applications which also ads to the confusion but here is a solid recommended path that will take you to your goal of being a professional game programmer. This path assumes you are starting from not knowing any programming at all.

1. Learn the basic concepts of programming with a language that is relatively easy to learn. The fundamental concepts of software design are universal and once you understand these rules you will be able to adapt and learn other types of languages. One of the variations of a language called BASIC is perfect for this first foray into programming. I suggest you start with a program called DarkBASIC it is a good tool custom made to teach you programming and the fundamentals of game design at the same time. Another program that is just as good for starting out is the suite of Blitz Tools.

• Advance your Skills into a professional level visual programming language You should move on to an industry standard programming language like Microsoft Visual Basic. This also gives you an introduction into skills like programming specifically for the Windows operating system. Note that the book shown here is just a book it is not the Visual Basic program that you would need to purchase in order to do programming. That is here: Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 Learning Edition

• Complete your path to becoming a programmer by learning C++. This is the defacto programming language for serious programmers. Gaining competency in this language takes time but it is professional level and if you can harness the power of this language you have a very marketable skill in the programming world. The book shown here is a good introduction. You will also need to purchase the software.