Sams Teach Yourself Game Programming in 24 Hours demystifies game programming by providing clear, practical lessons using C/C++, the industry standard in game programming. The book focuses on the Windows API to construct games for the Windows platform and discusses game theory, including double-buffered graphics, sprite animation, and digitized sound effects and music. A fully functional game engine provides readers with the ability to create their own future games.

• 1 Learning the Basics of Game Creation
• 2 A Windows Game Programming Primer
• 3 Creating an Engine for Games
• 4 Learning to Draw Basic Graphics
• 5 Drawing Graphical Images

• 6 Controlling Games with the Keyboard and Mouse
• 7 Improving Input with Joysticks
• 8 Example Game: Brainiac

• 9 A Crash Course in Game Animation
• 10 Making Things Move with Sprites
• 11 Managing a World of Sprites
• 12 Example Game: Hen way

• 13 Getting Acquainted with Digital Sound and Music
• 14 Playing Wave Sounds
• 15 Playing MIDI Music
• 16 Example Game: Battle Office

• 17 Animating the Appearance of Sprites
• 18 Creating Backgrounds for Your Sprites
• 19 Example Game: Meteor Defense