Hacker News Books

The way you made your book(s), from making them available online for free to the excellent layout of the printed version, was a huge inspiration for me to write my own book. Thank you.

Also, cool to see him pull a Knuth and writing his own typesetting and build system for the book!

Also enjoyed Game programming patterns by Bob again, but that has already been mentioned.

http://gameprogrammingpatterns.com/

http://gameprogrammingpatterns.com/contents.html

Somewhat (un)related: check out his book on Game Programming Patterns (http://gameprogrammingpatterns.com/). Great read of software design and patterns (not only for game developers).

https://gameprogrammingpatterns.com/data-locality.html

:)

I loved his "Game Programming Patterns" book, and this new book is looking totes spiffy

http://gameprogrammingpatterns.com/

http://aka.ms/mspnp

Game Programming Patterns is another resource that is quite clear

https://gameprogrammingpatterns.com/

As a non-game developer, it's been one of the most invaluable resources I jump too when trying to optimize something.

I know patterns (especially "design patterns") have become a bit of a swear-word, something which hints at severe engineering malpractices, especially along the lines of introducing unnecessary complexity for seemingly its own sake. I think that view oversimplifies the topic greatly, so hopefully people don't dismiss it at face value.

[1] http://gameprogrammingpatterns.com/
[2] http://gameprogrammingpatterns.com/contents.html

[0] gameprogrammingpatterns.com

This is also available on the authors website: http://gameprogrammingpatterns.com/contents.html

[0] http://gameprogrammingpatterns.com/

[1] http://journal.stuffwithstuff.com/2014/11/20/how-my-book-lau...

[2] http://journal.stuffwithstuff.com/2014/11/03/bringing-my-web...

[3] http://journal.stuffwithstuff.com/2014/04/22/zero-to-95688-h...

Really looking forward to going through this.

https://tylerayoung.com/2017/01/23/notes-on-game-programming...

http://gameprogrammingpatterns.com/contents.html

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7634734

I wrote it because there was nothing else like it.

So if you're researching something, but have to combine various sources and figuring out stuff, because there is no easy blog post, write that easy blog post yourself.

Since I'm talking about him I'll say I think his Game Programming Patterns book is great: http://gameprogrammingpatterns.com

I've seen you around here a lot and enjoyed your comments, but until now, I never realized you're the author of "Crafting Interpreters" and "Game Programming Patterns"! These are some of the best resources I've ever read on-line! Thank you for doing those!

It’s classic software architecture patterns, only seen through the lens of performance and design iteration speed, which is the way I see the world even though I don’t make what most people would consider games.

As for marketing, I've just replied earlier in the thread with a little more detail.

For a site with tutorials on game development, most of your readers will be using adblocking software. Therefore most popular monetization methods are: selling a book, a course or locking off content behind a paywall.

Here's an example of premium content:
http://aigamedev.com/premium/interview/dying-light/

Here's an example where the author sells the source code for his articles
http://www.wildbunny.co.uk/blog/

This blog is about all sorts of tech stuff but he sells his book "Game Programming Patterns" (which is very good!) in the side bar.
http://journal.stuffwithstuff.com/

Also nice is this archived post[1] on getting started as game programmer.

I am making my first real game this year, also using SpriteKit.

[0]: http://gameprogrammingpatterns.com

[1]: http://web.archive.org/web/20051104034215/http://www.lupineg...

If I'm rendering a forest of course I don't want to copy the data for trees a 1000 times so of course I need to use the flyweight pattern

The decoupling patterns chapter is particularly good and will help you understand how to turn each entity in a game into a server which sends events to other entities. That way you end up with many small pieces of a code as opposed to a single giant game loop. The entity component system (ECS) is one of the main reasons why programming games in Unity is so pleasant.

If it wasn't obvious by now, this is not a book about game programming patterns it's the best book on software design patterns that I've ever read. Most software design books seems to think I'm only interested in designing accounting or banking software, why not a game?

If design patterns are comfortable and understandable for you then check out Game Programming Patterns[0]. It's a decent book.

However I agree with Casey's philosophy and the wider data-oriented design approach to programming. C++ is not a great language. Zero-cost abstractions are a myth. We should be thinking about the data and not about how to write clever, abstract code.

[0] http://gameprogrammingpatterns.com/

Next up after that I’m gonna finally finish Practical Object Oriented Design in Ruby by Sandi Metz. I started this one after reading 99 Bottles of OOP.

Longer term project is to read through The Little Schemer and the other books in that series like The Reasoned Schemer, The Little MLer, etc.

[0] http://gameprogrammingpatterns.com/

My self-published book "Game Programming Patterns" has made me a lot more money every year for the past six years than I ever expected. It's not enough to live off of, at least not in an expensive city while raising a family, but it's nothing to scoff at either. I could probably make quite a bit more if I put time into marketing, supplementary materials, etc. As it is now, I just let the checks from Amazon etc. roll in and treat it as a nice bonus to my day job income.

If I lived somewhere cheaper, wrote full time, and made some adjustments in my lifestyle, I could probably get by on just my writing.

My original plan was to have a photo with me and both of my dogs with the implication that each later book must feature yet another additional dog.

Unfortunately, Ginny, the dog in the photo on the back of Game Programming Patterns died earlier this year. (This makes it even more meaningful to me that she is immortalized on the book. You'd be surprised how many strangers have asked me about her.)

So, I don't have any firm plans, but I might just try to do a new photo with me and my other dog, Benny. He's getting pretty old too, though, so I guess the pressure is on for me to finish the book.

Bob Nystrom wrote a very good chapter on composition in his Game Programming Patterns book [1] and is worth reading if you want to program in the OO paradigm.

[1] http://gameprogrammingpatterns.com/component.html

For completeness and curiosity maybe. Otherwise one doesn't have to read the "actually-seminal papers" if they already know the concepts from the 40 to 20+ years that followed.

Do physicists need to read the original Einstein or Maxwell if they had read tomes of subsequent course and academic books on the subject, plus modern papers for the later developments?

In any case, I'm pretty sure the author of that post [1] had read at least the CSP papers -- he works on the Dart language team, and has written Game Programming Patterns and Crafting Interpreters, both quite popular books, which have been discussed (as in first page) more than 3-4 times in HN in the past years.

[1] https://journal.stuffwithstuff.com/2015/02/01/what-color-is-....

Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship

http://amzn.to/2vcRcgU

This book really helped me focus on code organization and seeing maintainable code as an overall goal whilst building long-term applications. I'd say that one of the reasons why the work I've done 3-4 years ago can still be used, expanded, and maintained today is because of this book. Short functions, code organization, and naming conventions all stuck with me.

I'd say that unlike other programming books, this one focuses on the "art" and "organization" rather than syntax and other aspects of programming.

The Pragmatic Programmer: From Journeyman to Master

http://amzn.to/2vfeUaT

This book tackled real-world application building and practices. I'm still reading it. I liked how it tackled not only some basics of programming (resource management practices) but also project management to a certain extent. Eg. how to use prototypes, how to use "trace bullet" programs, etc.

Game Programming Patterns

I think one of my favorites has been "Game Programming Patterns" http://gameprogrammingpatterns.com/ which is free online or you can get an ebook/print version http://amzn.to/2veRdiO

The book introduces several basic design patterns, it explains WHY they're used, how to implement them, etc. in the best way I've read so far. No CS book or online article has been able to explain these patterns as this book did.

And I'm not even a game developer.

Also, check out this post on dev.to -- https://dev.to/ben/what-are-the-most-interesting-readable-so... it has some good answers! :)

[0] http://journal.stuffwithstuff.com/2014/11/20/how-my-book-lau...

[1] http://gameprogrammingpatterns.com

I've come across very few Design Patterns, and Software Engineering topics in general, that couldn't be taught/explained from the perspective of game development. I'm surprised that it isn't used as a teaching-tool more often then it is. It's an inherently complex domain that most audiences are already quite familiar with; the "why" behind things is either immediately obvious or easily explained. If someone doesn't know what the requirements are for something like an employee record databases, and how such a system might be used, using that as a context for teaching is not much more useful then "class Widget" and "Foo.Bar()".

I'm not a game programmer by trade, but I'm interested in that stuff and I really enjoyed it all the same. It made me rethink some stuff about enterprise patterns too.

GPU Gems, Shader X and GPU Pro are good series for learning specific graphics programming techniques.

https://developer.nvidia.com/gpugems/GPUGems/gpugems_pref01....

http://www.realtimerendering.com/resources/shaderx/

For a general game engine overview: Game Engine Architecture by Jason Gregory (Naughty Dog)

Game Programming Patterns: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Game-Programming-Patterns-Robert-Ny...

Realtime rendering overview: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Real-Time-Rendering-Third-Tomas-Ake...

Related math: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Math-Primer-Graphics-Game-Developme...

Other recommendations:

http://mrelusive.com/books/books.html

http://fabiensanglard.net/Computer_Graphics_Principles_and_P...

It's fun to explore the source though, and NVIDIA has some cool experimental branches of the engine with their stuff integrated.
https://github.com/NvPhysX/UnrealEngine

I started the second half in Rust about a week ago, I don't have enough vacation days to work through it at the pace I did the first half. Finding it a bit harder so far, but I think that's just because I'm still new at Rust.

You may have already mentioned this but will you be publishing a physical copy when your done? I'd love to get one for the shelf.

Yes. Just like with "Game Programming Patterns", once the chapters are done, I'll put together a print edition, eBook, Kindle, etc. Based on the length, I may end up doing it as two separate volumes, which is crazy to think about.

Google search “design pattern book”. Right, now take any of those books.

If you want game related stuff try “game programming gems”.

This book is free... that’s literally all it has going for it. Wikipedia has better stuff that you know... actually compiles, etc.

If you got any value out of Game Programming Patterns, I cannot strongly enough recommend you go and read an actually good book on design patterns; you’ve probably been mislead by its vague hand waving and incoherent discussion of the various topics.

[1] http://gameprogrammingpatterns.com/architecture-performance-...

http://gameprogrammingpatterns.com/

After I complete this book, I think I'll read his other book: Crafting Interpreters. This one teaches about implementing a programming language from scratch, once in Java and a second time in C.

1. Nathan Barry has written extensively about his success with self-publishing. Essentially, his method (I'm simplifying here) is to 1. position yourself as an expert in your field via blogging, then 2. directly market to your audience via email using a 3. tiered pricing model (i.e., multiple packages at increasing price-points). He wrote a book about his methodology entitled "Authority."

Authority:

http://nathanbarry.com/authority

Nathan Barry’s Lessons Learned Selling $355,759 on Gumroad:

http://blog.gumroad.com/post/73421524134/nathan-barrys-lesso...

2. Bob Nystrom has written about his experience writing and marketing "Game Programming Patterns."

http://journal.stuffwithstuff.com/2014/04/22/zero-to-95688-h...

http://journal.stuffwithstuff.com/2014/11/20/how-my-book-lau...

A comment he wrote regarding publishing:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13878280

3. Advice and insight on the topic of traditional publishing from Patrick McKenzie:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12118914

4. Thread entitled "Ask HN: Has anyone here self-published a book? Any advice?"

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6052075

5. Self-publishing success comment involving multiple pricing tiers:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13878266

6. Self-publishing success story entitled "How I Made $70k Self-Publishing a Book about Ruby on Rails."

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13876514

All the best!