Practical C++ Game Programming with Data Structures and Algorithms: Write high-performance code and solve game development challenges with expert-led C++ solutions

Zhenyu George Li

Charles Shih-I Yeh

€15.99 ~~€26.99~~

3 (1 Ratings)

eBook Jun 2025 426 pages 1st Edition

Zhenyu George Li

Charles Shih-I Yeh

€15.99 ~~€26.99~~

3 (1 Ratings)

eBook Jun 2025 426 pages 1st Edition

What do you get with eBook?

Instant access to your Digital eBook purchase

Download this book in EPUB and PDF formats

Access this title in our online reader with advanced features

DRM FREE - Read whenever, wherever and however you want

AI Assistant (beta) to help accelerate your learning

View table of contents

Preview Book

Download Code

Key benefits

Build real-time 2D and 3D games using C++ with practical, executable examples
Gain proficiency in game programming domains like AI pathfinding, camera systems, animation, and rendering effects
Boost runtime efficiency with practical techniques like object pooling, LOD patterns, and terrain partitioning to create smoother, more responsive gameplay systems

Description

Creating responsive, intelligent games takes more than just following engine tutorials. It requires solving real development challenges with practical, efficient code. This book bridges theory and practice with proven algorithms and techniques grounded in real-world production needs, emphasizing clean, portable C++ implementations. Starting with raylib and the custom Knight engine layer, you’ll be introduced to a simple object-oriented scene and game object system. From there, you'll build responsive gameplay systems using essential data structures and algorithms, progressing through 2D rendering, collision detection, effects, and camera control before advancing to 3D graphics environments built using shaders, lighting, quad-tree terrain, and dynamic camera setups. You’ll animate characters using skeletal rigs, interpolation, and inverse kinematics for fluid movement and then develop game AI using FSMs, behavior trees, A* pathfinding, and steering behaviors. The book also covers neural networks, exploring their underlying theories, training processes, and tools. Throughout, the code is written in legacy-compatible C++ to ensure broad support across platforms and compilers. By the end, you’ll have gained the skills to build game systems that not only work but also scale, perform, and adapt like professional-grade code.

Who is this book for?

This book is for junior game developers, hobbyists, and computer science students entering game development, as well as C++ programmers looking to strengthen their skills. While some familiarity with C++ is helpful, the examples are explained step by step to remain approachable. Whether you're starting out or reinforcing your skills before diving into game engines down the road, this book offers a clear and practical foundation to make you a more effective developer, regardless of which tools you choose later.

What you will learn

Use C++ data structures and algorithms to build core gameplay features
Implement 2D/3D rendering with shaders, particle effects, and terrain systems
Design camera systems like third-person, top-down, and split-screen views
Optimize performance using object pooling and LOD
Animate characters using skeletal rigging, interpolation, and inverse kinematics
Build game AI with FSMs, behavior trees, pathfinding, and steering
Apply neural network concepts in a turret defense project

What do you get with eBook?

Instant access to your Digital eBook purchase

Download this book in EPUB and PDF formats

Access this title in our online reader with advanced features

DRM FREE - Read whenever, wherever and however you want

AI Assistant (beta) to help accelerate your learning

Frank Jul 19, 2025

Many good explanations and diagrams about how the CPU and GPU cooperate and 2D and 3D concepts. But there is very little about interactivity with the player/user, only simple keyboard commands. Mouse/joy stick/controller input is completely missing. It could also have used at least C++11 concepts without any problem, this is supported by all important platforms nowadays. So the book seems incomplete in relation to the topic in the title.

Subscriber review

Practical C++ Game Programming with Data Structures and Algorithms: Write high-performance code and solve game development challenges with expert-led C++ solutions

What do you get with eBook?