Starting Out with Games and Graphics in C++

Tony Gaddis is the principal author of the Starting Out with series of textbooks. He has nearly two decades of experience teaching computer science courses, primarily at Haywood Community College. Tony is a highly acclaimed instructor who was previously selected as the North Carolina Community College Teacher of the Year, and has received the Teaching Excellence award from the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development. The Starting Out with series includes introductory textbooks covering Programming Logic and Design, Alice, C++, Java, Microsoft Visual Basic, and Python.

Chapter 1: Introduction to Computers and Programming

1.1       Introduction

1.2       Hardware

1.3       How Computers Store Data

1.4       How a Program Works

1.5       C++ and the Dark GDK Library

 

Chapter 2: Graphics Programming with C++ and the Dark GDK Library

2.1       Getting Your Feet Wet with the Dark GDK Library

2.2       The Screen Coordinate System

2.3       Basic 2D Shapes

2.4       Displaying Text

2.5       In the Spotlight: The Orion Constellation Program

2.6       The Program Development Cycle

 

Chapter 3: Variables, Calculations, and Colors

3.1       Introduction
3.2       Literal Data
3.3       Variables
3.4       Calculations
3.5       In the Spotlight: Drawing Simple Bar Charts
3.6       Getting Values from Functions
3.7       Colors
3.8       In the Spotlight: Drawing the Italian Flag
3.9       Named Constants

 

Chapter 4: void Functions

4.1       Modularizing a Program with Functions

4.2       Defining and Calling a void Function

4.3       Designing a Program to Use Functions

4.4       Local Variables

4.5       Passing Arguments to Functions

4.6       Global Variables and Constants

 

Chapter 5: Working with Images

5.1       Introduction

5.2       Bitmaps

5.3       Images and Transparency

 

Chapter 6: Control Structures

6.1       Introduction

6.2       Single-Alternative Decision Structures: The if Statement

6.3       Dual-Alternative Decision Structures: The if-else Statement

6.4       Nested Decision Structures and the if-else-if Statement

6.5       Repetition Structures: The while Loop and the do-while Loop

6.6       The Increment and Decrement Operators

6.7       Repetition Structures: The for Loop

6.8       Using the for Loop to Process Pixels in an Image

6.9       Logical Operators

6.10     The switch Statement

6.11     Numeric Truth, Flags, and bool Variables

 

Chapter 7: The Game Loop and Animation

7.1       The Game Loop

7.2       Simple Animation

7.3       Controlling Objects with the Keyboard

7.4       Sprites

7.5       Cel Animation and Sprite Sheets

7.6       Sprite Collision Detection

 

Chapter 8: The Vulture Trouble Game: Introducing Audio, Physics, and Text Effects

8.1       Introduction

8.2       Playing Sound Effects and Music

8.3       Simulating Falling Objects

8.4       Text Effects

8.5       The Vulture Trouble Game

 

Chapter 9: Value-Returning Functions and Mouse Input

9.1       Writing a Value-Returning Function

9.2       Working with the Mouse

9.3       The Bug Zapper Game

 

Chapter 10: Arrays and Tile Mapping

10.1     Array Basics

10.2     Sorting Arrays

10.3     Two-Dimensional Arrays

10.4     Tile Maps

 

Chapter 11: Strings and Files

11.1     Working with Strings

11.2     Introduction to File Input and Output

11.3     Saving a Game's High Score

 

Chapter 12: Object-Oriented Programming

12.1     Procedural and Object-Oriented Programming

12.2     Classes and Objects

12.3     An Object-Oriented Game: Balloon Target
12.4     Inheritance

 

Appendix A: Downloading and Installing the Required Software

Appendix B: The ASCII Character Set

 

Online:

Case Study: Scones McNabb

Case Study: Object-Oriented Vulture Trouble