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Articles and Resources

Welcome to the articles and resources library of GameDev.net. Here, you will find over one thousand game programming/development tutorials, articles, and other resources.

We realize that the reference section is among the most important and popular parts of the site, and, because of this, we will constantly be trying to improve it. Feel free to notify us of any complaints or suggestions.

You can browse the categories listed here, or, if you're having trouble finding something, try the search form below. Also, don't forget to check out our Featured Articles archive.

Programming

In this section, we cover every area of programming, including areas both directly and indirectly related to game development.

Artificial Intelligence: What is it? How can I do it? What are the various algorithms? And more...

AI Theory Documentation Introduction Gaming Genetic Algorithms Neural Networks Pathfinding and Searching AI Links

Languages: Here you will find tutorials that will help you learn a new programming language or to better understand aspects of a language you already know.

x86 Assembly General Win32 Assembly C and C++ Java Java Links C and C++ Online Books

DirectX: The DirectX SDK is an API developed by Microsoft that allows programmers to access the hardware directly in Windows. These articles cover all aspects of DirectX, including DirectDraw, Direct3D, DirectSound, DirectMusic, DirectInput, and DirectPlay.

GameDev.net is proud to be part of the Microsoft DirectX Developer Community.

DirectDraw DirectInput Direct3D DirectPlay DirectX Audio General DirectX Graphics DirectShow

General Programming: Here you will find articles about algorithms, optimization, and other subjects not specific to game programming.

Compression Algorithms General Sorting Algorithms Data Structures Links

Math and Physics: Here you will find articles and tutorials on subjects that are foundational in games: Math and Physics. Note that most of the articles you will find here will be general in nature, and not discuss implementation details such as how to apply these concepts in games. For articles that do apply these principles directly to graphics and games, see the other appropriate sections.

Miscellaneous Physics Tutorials General Math Quaternions Matrices Vectors Polygons NURBS, Splines and Patches Fourier Transforms Cloth Simulation Noise

Multiplayer and Networking: This section covers all aspects of network and multiplayer programming.

General WinSock

OpenGL: Here you'll find articles specific to the powerful OpenGL API.

Source Code GLUT Library General NeHe Tutorials Online Books OpenGL ES

Sound and Music Programming: Includes the technical details of putting sound and music in a game, including working with various APIs (other than DirectSound, which you will find in the DirectX section).

Audio File Formats General

Graphics: This section has articles related to graphics programming and the theory behind it.

Alpha Blending Denthor's Asphyxia Tutorials Dithering Michael Abrash's Articles Lighting and Shading Radiosity Voxels General Hidden Surface Removal WWH Series Texture Mapping Ramblings in Realtime Cg Cartoon Rendering

Isometric and Tile-based Games: This section covers a genre that many of us here at GDNet have a lot of interest in. Here you will find articles covering the subjects important in these types of games.

General

Game Programming: Here you will find game programming tutorials not specifically covered in other areas.

Landscapes and Terrain Collision Detection General Code on the Cob Optimization Simple DirectMedia Layer Links Source Code

Sweet Snippets: Sweet Snippets are relatively short articles that focus on a very specific aspect of programming. They contain source code and an explanation of how to use it. If you'd like to contribute a Sweet Snippets article (which can be as simple as expounding on a post you've made to the forums) send it to writers@gamedev.net.

Platform Specific: The articles you find here address platform-specific development issues. Platforms covered include Windows, Linux, PocketPC, PalmOS, and Cybiko.

Windows PocketPC Dreamcast Palm Linux Macintosh GameBoy Advance Cellphones Playstation 2

Software Engineering: An architect can't build a building without following a defined process. The same goes for software development. This section provides articles on software analysis and design, design patterns, planning, quality assurance, testing, reuse, and project management.

Code Design Design Patterns Design Patterns Links Formal Methods Object Oriented Viva64

Special Effects: This includes such things as fire, water, particle systems, and shadows.

Fog Particle Systems Shadows Fire Water Lens Flares Lightning Clouds Reflections

Scripting Languages and Mod Development: This section covers the closely related topics of scripting languages and game modifications.

Scripting Languages Game Mods Mod Development Modding Websites

Legacy Articles: We've been collecting articles since 1996. As a result, we have a lot of articles that are old! Fortunately, many of these focus on the algorithms, and so can still be useful to a wide range of people. These can still be found in other parts of our reference section. The other older articles, the ones closely tied to technology which simply isn't used any more, have been placed here, since a few people may still find them useful.

If you come across an article in one of our other sections that you think belongs here, let us know.

Graphics Audio

Tool Development: Covering everything from plugins to standalone tools.

Maya Plugns and Scripts 3D Studio Max Plugins and Scripts Stand-alone Tools

Intel Developer Zone: Games are much more than software. They're music. They're art. They're imagination. And they take a lot of skill. No matter your game focus or expertise, you can get the latest game and graphics-related features, resources, and opportunities right here. Brought to you by GameDev and the Intel® Visual Computing Developer Community

Visual Arts

When it comes right down to it, the art in games either make the game or break it. A terrific game with amazing attention to gameplay details can turn out to be a flop if the right graphical touches are not added. The minor attention to detail in most games is what leaves the sense of a finished product in the gamers minds.

In this reference section we will go into both 2D graphics and 3D graphics used in the gaming environment. Toss aside your HB pencil "because Kansas is going bye bye." Whip out your Wacom tablet and turn on your creative side of your brain and be prepared for a ride.

Animation and Modeling: Articles on 3D graphics modeling and animation techniques.

Animation and Modeling

Texturing and Skinning: Without skins your characters are naked, and without textures your objects are just lines. Actually, these two topics go hand-in-hand, and this section is dedicated to keeping clothes on your characters and filling in the lines of your objects.

Texturing and Skinning

Sprites and Tiles: 2D games need art too! This section provides articles on these ever important, but difficult-to- create graphics.

Sprites and Tiles

General Art: This section is for everything else the artist might need.

General Art

Art Collections: Links to sites containing models, textures, and other art resources, often available free of charge.

Sprites 3D Models Textures

Game Design

In this section, you'll find the single largest collection of game design articles available on the internet! You'll find everything ranging from postmortems to design documents to design theory.

General Game Design: You can have the best technical programming skills in the world, but if your game design is bad, your game will be bad. Here you will learn the art of game design from the best in the industry.

Design Documents Game Design Psychology Game Dissection and Analysis Online Game Design Character Design Game Mechanics

Writing and Story Development: One of the most important elements of game design is having a strong story and writing that fits, so we've dedicated a whole section to it.

Story Development

Postmortems: Tales from the trenches. Postmortems are summaries by game developers of what went well and what didn't during the development of a specific game.

Level Design: Level design is becoming one of the most important aspects of game development. Here, you'll find articles to help you improve at it.

Level Design

Music and Sound

Here you will find articles about creating music and sound effects for games.

Also, please note that the programming side of audio (i.e., DSP, working with DirectSound, etc.) will be included in the Sound section in the programming reference area.

Music & Sound: Everything from composition to creating special effects, now all conveniently in one section.

Scales Techniques Effects Synthesis

Music and Sound Effect Collections: Find sound and music clips for use in your games.

Game Industry

This section contains articles and stories related to the business side of game development, interviews, industry trends, how to get a job, how to get started, reports on industry conferences, etc.

Game Industry: This section covers several topics related to the game industry, from piracy to conference reports.

General For Gamers Piracy Event Coverage Events and Associations News Editorials

Humor: The game industry is supposed to be about fun, right? Here you'll find some game development related humor.

General

Getting into the Industry: Here you'll find articles providing advice about landing a job in the game industry.

Getting into the Industry

Running your own Game Company: Being an independent developer isn't easy, but this section provides articles addressing your needs.

Running your own Game Company Game Law

Interviews: We get up close and personal with people and companies in the game industry.

General Interviews IGF Interviews Spotlight Interviews

Schools: More and more schools are beginning to offer courses, and even full degrees, in game development related fields. Here you'll find all that we're aware of.

Schools Training

Companies: Companies that are a part of or related to the game industry, including developers, publishers, recruiters, etc.

Developers Publishers Recruiters Service Providers Tools and Middleware Vendors

Resources: A collection of links to SDKs, engines, wrappers, online books, free compilers, art, libraries, and other resources valuable to game developers. If you would like to add something, contact dave@gamedev.net. You can also check out our affiliate, the Game Development Search Engine, which has an extremely complete and thorough listing of resources.

Software Development Kits (SDK) Engines Wrappers Compilers and IDEs Game Creation Kits Graphics Utilities Game Libraries Mailing Lists

Demofx: 3D Bump Mapping Feedback Floor Interference Effect Landscape Generation Morphing Palette Plasma Roto-Zooming Scaling Transparency Voxel Terrain

Columns: A collection of high-quality articles, posted at regular intervals, covering a wide variety of topics.

Hardcore Game Programming Game Engineering Women In Game Development Khronos Kolumn GDNet Spotlight Sample Chapters Game Law

For Beginners: For Beginners

Never Programmed Already a Programmer Game Ideas Advice