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Second hand books

Boss_Fight19Boss_Fight19
edited in Questions and Answers
Hey yo,
Lets begin:

I guess at the risk of being excommunicated for being a cheap Jew, i wanna suggest reselling used books to people who would buy them on the forum.

I myself am interested in buying books and the prices at the shops are astronomical!

So if this tread is cool why not post what you looking for and also if you are selling any...

I am interested in buying books on android game development like Game and Graphics Programming for iOS and android with openGL ES 2.0 or Hello Android.

If anyone can hook me up in JHB it would be much appreciated.

Shanks

Comments

  • SkinnyBoySkinnyBoy
    You can read books for free online via safari if you r a student... I have lot of books on game programming to borrow, but I leave in Pretoria.
  • Boss_Fight19Boss_Fight19
    I appreciate it man.
    Im just feeling so lost. I figure now that i know a language i need to use an engine. its between unity, Andengine and slick. But then im not sure which is best for android and im not even sure what i have to know to be able to use these engines (since i know Java basics and thats pretty much is).
    Sorry, had to vent, its been a long morning of research.
  • AngryMooseAngryMoose
    Boss_Fight19 said:
    I guess at the risk of being excommunicated for being a cheap Jew
    No, but you might risk excommunication for making derogatory comments like that. Let's keep it friendly and civil here guys!
    Thanked by 4dislekcia Karuji Fengol Chippit
  • dislekciadislekcia
    Tutorials are the way to go! Have you been able to find any tutorials for the engines you're interested in? I wouldn't worry about books, practical is usually always better. You don't have to "legitimise" your knowledge and there are no gatekeepers, all you need to do is start making stuff :)
  • Boss_Fight19Boss_Fight19
    1) I am a Jew :) "Ani yehoodim".
    Shtayim [2]) If anyone knows any good tuts for beginners for an angine of your choice pls rock out a link.
    Dankie :)
  • FanieGFanieG
    I am interested in buying books on android game development like Game and Graphics Programming for iOS and android with openGL ES 2.0 or Hello Android
    If you are really set on finding a book on the topic, check out "Sams teach yourself Android Game Programming in 24 hours" by "Jonathan Harbour". It is available locally at Exclusive Books for around R200. That being said, I tend to agree with @dislekcia regarding tutorials. It is immediately available to you and does not cost you a cent. It is also a good indicator of what engine you prefer.
  • SkinnyBoySkinnyBoy
    edited
    Don't buy the book mentioned above or any of Jonathan Harbors books. That guy does not explain code in his books, instead he talks about things that are unrelated to the topic at hand. 2 don't read online tutorials if you want to learn something, but only read from them if you are looking for something to use quickly. Remember no one pays people to write online tutorials so any 12 year old can write any crap they want. Even the great magician never learned his tricks from online junk, Dynamo collected many, many books, isolated himself from anyone else, studied for months, when he came out, he was a super magician, that also goes for Mark Zukerberg + he had a programming coach on top of that. That's why you need a priscribed book for each university module you register for.

    I already said much on this topic, check this link
    http://makegamessa.com/discussion/1574/how-to-be-a-game-programmer#Item_34

    If you need help on how to get started follow the following link. This guy writes lot of tutorials and he'll always tell you to get a book after reading his tutorials as he agrees that tutorials are only there to get you started not to make you learn, otherwise no one will waste their valuable time to write a 900 page book in this time and age.
    http://www.gamefromscratch.com/post/2011/08/04/I-want-to-be-a-game-developer.aspx

    here is a link for a nice book

    Beginning android games by Mario Zecner

    http://it-ebooks.info/book/1305/
  • AlphaSheepAlphaSheep
    edited
    @SkinnyBoy Some people learn by reading, others learn by doing. You obviously learn by reading, whereas do not. I have read book after book and gained nothing from them, yet most of the time, a 30 minute tutorial by some teenager is all I need to get going.

    It's a really big mistake to assume everyone is the same.
  • WelshPixieWelshPixie
    And not necessarily by teenagers - there are plenty of tutorials, both written and video, out there by industry professionals sharing their expertise. Conversely, the increasing ease by which you can self-publish means that 'any 12 year old can write any crap they want' and publish it in book form. ;)
  • dislekciadislekcia
    Sounds like we need other methods to judge the quality of both books AND tutorials. What should those be? Can anyone suggest criteria that might be valid?
  • KarujiKaruji
    dislekcia said:
    Sounds like we need other methods to judge the quality of both books AND tutorials. What should those be? Can anyone suggest criteria that might be valid?
    Amount of cool shit you can do with what you have learnt divided by time it took you to learn it?
    Thanked by 1AlphaSheep
  • WelshPixieWelshPixie
    dislekcia said:
    Sounds like we need other methods to judge the quality of both books AND tutorials. What should those be? Can anyone suggest criteria that might be valid?
    Word of mouth, personal experience, recommendations, credibility. But then of course you have to consider what @AlphaSheep said - not everyone learns in the same way. Want to recommend books? Sure, books are good - but if you're recommending one source of learning that you personally feel comfortable with while condemning another that you personally don't feel comfortable with, you have to expect and accept that the inverse will also apply.
  • ElyaradineElyaradine
    edited
    Depending on what I'm looking for, I measure advice by the work of the person giving the advice. I'd rather learn from those who've been there and are doing what I want to do for their work, rather than from someone who's full of opinions and advice, but hasn't actually walked the path of game development. (Which isn't to say that advice from other people isn't useful; but if ever there's conflicting advice, I'd pick that of the working professional, assuming I'm aspiring to make it a profession.)

    As far as I've seen, @SkinnyBoy could make a promising book reviewer, but I'm yet to see any evidence of any game development. (Please show us a game! I'm dying to see the results of what you've learnt!)
    Thanked by 1FanieG
  • rustybroomhandlerustybroomhandle
    I also prefer tutorials or reference material. If I want to learn how to make a duotone shader, instead of reading a book about shaders, I'd rather look up "how do I make a duotone shader", get straight to what I want to learn/do, and absorb whatever knowledge I can from the specific thing I just did. This not only adds to my personal knowledge, but it also means I have something to show for it. And if there's discussions attached to whatever page I got the info from, then I might even learn different ways of achieving what I want to and differing opinions. Does this make me an expert in shaders? No, but I just want to farking make games.

    I could read a book in two days, or I could make a game in two days. I choose the latter.
    Thanked by 1WelshPixie
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