Hi. I've just started C++ programming just a while back ,and i'm
interesed in getting into game programming (using C++). I just wanted
to know if you have any recomnedations of any books that you think
might be good and helpfull for someone who has an acceptable(but not
even close to enough to land me a job in the feild!) of C++
programming.

Hello Doctoracid-ga

I am going to recommend 2 books for you to try.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/sim-explorer/explore-items/-/1592002056/0/101/1/none/purchase/ref%3Dpd%5Fsxp%5Fr0/002-0844871-3171234

and 

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1584502274/ref=pd_sxp_elt_l1/002-0844871-3171234

You can purchase both together at a discount here:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/static/-/generic/shopping-cart-gp-add/ref=pd_bxgy_button/002-0844871-3171234?%5Fencoding=UTF8&isDirectAssociateLink=0&quantity.1=1&ASIN.1=1592002056&sourceCustomerOrgListID=&bxgy.plus=1&itemCount=2&sourceCustomerOrgListItemID=&ASIN.2=1584502274&isDebug=&isToBeGiftWrapped=0&store=books&quantity.2=1

If this answer requires further explanation, please request
clarification before rating it, and I'll be happy to look into this
further.

Nenna-GA
Google Answers Researcher

It depends on the amount of experience you have.

If you're a newbie, I'd start out with "Beginning C++ Game Programming
(Game Development Series)" by Michael Dawson, available on Amazon.com
for $18 used.


If you're a little more familiar with coding, I'd suggest "Game
Programming All in One, Second Edition", by John Harbour. This allows
you to create better games, because he assumes you already have a
strong foundation in coding.

My personal suggestion is that you not start out with trying to code
games. I made that mistake and I got really discouraged. Ideally, you
start out making little dinky Windows apps that automatically change
your background or something, and then go for the more interactive
stuff like games or visualizers.

Thanks for the reply. The thing is, i've already got the book you
mentioned, however, i've lost the c.d, and since the book kinda does
rely alot on the c.d, i'm having a little bit of difficulty dealing
with it, so it's kinda useless. Plus, I also wanted to know if you
have any idea on what books I can start working with that can give me
a good intro into working with, (don't know how to phrase exactly),
but something that will allow me to control pixels, or work with
video, since I have no experince what so ever with this side of the
programming !!!

I would not recommend to anyone to ever buy a book about "game
programming."  Either you know enough about programming to know how
you could make a game without anyone telling you how, or you don't
have the programming knowledge it would take even if someone told you
exactly what to do.  The solution?  Learn about programming and let
the "game" part come on its own.  Below is a list of books about
programming.  If you right now were to pick up any of them, you'd say,
"My God, this is the most boring book I've ever seen."  So before you
go out and read them, first try to make a game.  Don't look at any
book other than what you've used so far to learn C++.  Pick something
fairly simple that can be played through a text interface, like
Tic-Tac-Toe or Yahtzee.  Chances are if you're new to coding the
result will be half broken and contain a lot of kludgy work-arounds,
but that's okay.  Now take a look at some of these books, and you are
very likely to learn something you can immediately apply to re-code
your game in a better way.  Suddenly the books will look a lot less
boring since you can see how they are useful - at least that's how it
was in my experience.  Work through the list, alternating coding with
reading.

First you'll need a much deeper understanding of the language than you
can get from a "for dummies" or "in 21 days" kind of book.  For C++, I
recommend:
"The C++ Standard Library" by Nicolai Josuttis
"Effective C++" and "More Effective C++" by Scott Meyers

A basic understanding of algorithms and data structures from a book like
"Introduction to Algorithms" by Cormen, et. al
or "Algorithms in C++" by Robert Sedgewick
(I prefer the first one, but the second is easier to understand for a beginner.)

You'll also want to expose yourself to ideas in higher-level program design such as
"Design Patterns" by Gamma, Helm, Johnson, and Vlissides
and "Refactoring" by Martin Fowler

After digesting all that, you'll probably be a year older, but you'll
finally be ready for some reading material specifically applicable to
games.  You'll want a reference book on your graphics API of choice
(such as DirectX, OpenGL, or SDL.)  You'll also have enough background
to make good use of the articles on sites like gamedev.net

With one or two simple 3D games under your belt, you'll stand to
benefit from some math - particularly linear algebra and quaternions. 
Concurrent programming, AI, networking, databases, and rigid body
physics would also be good areas for further study.

After all that, you will have basically taught yourself a bacherlor's
degree in computer science.  If that sounds like a much bigger
commitment than you were looking for, you might find more satisfaction
making levels and modifications for your favorite existing PC games.

Thanks for the reply. And surely must say "WOW", I never thought about
it this way. It does make alot of sense to perfect my C++ skill's and
then just let the game part flow in by itself ( I don't know how I
missed that logic). Ne ways. Thanks for the reply. I've already
checked most of the books that you've mentioned and i'm on my way to
order 2 of them (didn't have time to buy the rest...budget issues !!)
Ne ways. Thanxs again.

Thank you for the nice rating and tip. I'm glad I could be of help.

Nenna-GA