Computers : Entertainment & Games

This comprehensive guide has everything you need to program Java games. It offers the most thorough coverage of Java 3D available, and clearly details the older, better-known 2D APIs, 3D sprites, animated 3D sprites, first-person shooter programming, sound, fractals, and networked games. This practical book is a must-have for anyone who wants to create adrenaline-fueled games in Java. more...

Price: $35.99

The reader of this book will be someone looking for more detailed information on the NXT-G programming language used to program the LEGO Mindstorms NXT robotics kit. LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT-G Programming Guide is suitable for young programmers, age 10 and up, as well as parents and teachers who want to learn the new language for themselves or be able to assist students/children with learning to properly program their robots. * Includes easy-to-follow examples for each and every programming block * Provides programming techniques simple enough to be understood by young programmers, age 10 and up. * Provides a test robot (with instructions) in the appendix for running the programs What you ll learn * Understand the basics of computer programming. * Easily program your robot with the NXT-G visual programming language. * See how to implement basic, intermediate, and advanced programs. * Learn how to program for o Moving o Waiting o Recording o Stopping o Displaying messages o Sending messages o Defining the duration of an activity o Creating random behavior * Practice with a free sample program. more...

Price: $24.99

Based on Xandros 3, arguably one of the most user-friendly versions of Linux available today, Linux Made Easy concentrates on the subjects of most interest to the average home user or hobbyist: installation, using the Internet, playing CDs and audio files, using scanners, working with digital cameras and images, games, downloading software and fonts, USB storage devices, PDAs, printing, Internet telephony, and more. more...

Price: $22.95

The wholly virtual world known as Second Life has attracted more than a million active users, millions of dollars, and created its own—very real—economy. The Making of Second Life is the behind-the-scenes story of the Web 2.0 revolution's most improbable enterprise: the creation of a virtual 3-D world with its own industries, culture, and social systems. Now the toast of the Internet economy, and the subject of countless news articles, profiles, and television shows, Second Life is usually known for the wealth of real-world companies (Reuters, Pontiac, IBM) that have created "virtual offices" within it, and the number of users ("avatars") who have become wealthy through their user-created content. What sets Second Life apart from other online worlds, and what has made it such a success (one million-plus monthly users and growing) is its simple user-centered philosophy. Instead of attempting to control the activities of those who enter it, the creators of Second Life turned them loose: users (also known as Residents) own the rights to the intellectual content they create in-world, and the in-world currency of Linden Dollars is freely exchangeable for U.S. currency. Residents have responded by generating millions of dollars of economic activity through their in-world designs and purchases—currently, the Second Life economy averages more than one million U.S. dollars in transactions every day, while dozens of real-world companies and projects have evolved and developed around content originated in Second Life. Wagner James Au explores the long, implausible road behind that success, and looks at the road ahead, where many believe that user-created worlds like Second Life will become the Net's next generation and the fulcrum for a revolution in the way we shop, work, and interact. Au's story is narrated from both within the corporate offices of Linden Lab, Second Life's creator, and from within Second Life itself, rev more...

Price: $16.99

Mastering Unreal Technology, Volume II: Advanced Level Design Concepts with Unreal Engine 3 is your start-to-finish guide to state-of-the-art Unreal Tournament 3 modding and level design. Here’s everything you need to know to take your game design skills to the next level, creating content with breakthrough depth and interactivity! Your authors aren’t just the world’s #1 Unreal game development trainers: They’ve built the training mods that shipped with Unreal Tournament. Now, working with the full cooperation of Unreal Engine 3’s creators, Epic Games, they introduce innovative, pro-quality techniques you’ll find nowhere else: outstanding solutions for everything from particle effects to physics, materials to cinematics. Packed with tips, hands-on tutorials, and expert insight, Mastering Unreal Technology, Volume II will help you take Unreal Tournament 3 and Unreal Engine 3 to the limit...and then blow right by it!.  . You’ll find expert tips on: Creating advanced materials that leverage the full power of UnrealEd’s Material Editor; Bringing levels to life with objects affected by gravity, collisions, and player influence; Creating fire, smoke, sparks, and more with Unreal Engine 3’s particle effects system; Building custom user interfaces, including Heads-Up Displays (HUDs) that update constantly; Using SoundCues to mix, modulate, crossfade, and attenuate sounds; Generating real-time camera-based effects, including depth of field, motion blur, and color adjustment; Using post process effects to quickly transform a scene’s look and feel without changing existing materials or textures; Animating characters and vehicles that move with unprecedented realism; Creating in-game cinematics that develop your characters and move your story forward more...

Price: $47.99