Interactive Computer Graphics: A Top-Down Approach with OpenGL (3rd Edition)

Rating:
Summary: The code sample for the scene graph was excellent
Review: Visit WSU Virtual Worlds. In terms of an academic book, I preferred "Computer Graphics Using Open GL" by Francis S. Hill Jr. However, there are many helpful graphic concepts in the "Interactive Computer Graphics" book. One of the most valued concepts in this book for me was the explanation of the scenegraph. I was able to write c/c++ functions that allowed the creation of a scene graph. In my most recent game "GL Tank Maze 2001," I have multiple environments which the user can explore, such as: wall maze and tree maze. Each environment has a scene graph that loads or unloads. In one level, I have a mechrobot that is total controlled by the scenegraph and engines that plug into the scene graph. I found the book to be a nice blend between academic and game development. Academically, the book focuses on most of the classical graphical concepts: affine transformations, clipping, splines, and texture mapping. Codewise, the book has some nice examples for building a 3D mouse function. One of the disadvantages to the book is that each concept is not robustly backed up with code samples like the Super Bible. However, if your a reasonable GL programmer this will not be a barrier.

Rating:
Summary: The code sample for the scene graph was excellent
Review: Visit WSU Virtual Worlds. In terms of an academic book, I preferred "Computer Graphics Using Open GL" by Francis S. Hill Jr. However, there are many helpful graphic concepts in the "Interactive Computer Graphics" book. One of the most valued concepts in this book for me was the explanation of the scenegraph. I was able to write c/c++ functions that allowed the creation of a scene graph. In my most recent game "GL Tank Maze 2001," I have multiple environments which the user can explore, such as: wall maze and tree maze. Each environment has a scene graph that loads or unloads. In one level, I have a mechrobot that is total controlled by the scenegraph and engines that plug into the scene graph. I found the book to be a nice blend between academic and game development. Academically, the book focuses on most of the classical graphical concepts: affine transformations, clipping, splines, and texture mapping. Codewise, the book has some nice examples for building a 3D mouse function. One of the disadvantages to the book is that each concept is not robustly backed up with code samples like the Super Bible. However, if your a reasonable GL programmer this will not be a barrier.

Rating:
Summary: Waste of Money, Waster of Paper, Waster of Atoms
Review: Whatever u do don't buy this book. It is absolutely terrible, perhaps the worst book I have been subject to in my entire undergraduate experience. To begin the book has absolutley no structure (top down approach my @!?) which has basically left we with knowledge of concepts yet with no idea how they relate. The knowledge I did get however was like pulling teeth because the examples in the book are soooo awful(I was forced to use the net to supplement my learning). The book rarely works out an entire example and just assumes that you understand it after your first try. The book is also terrible on the explanation of concepts and does not defines few terms adequately. Whatever you do DO NOT buy this book, it only use for u would be to keep your fire burning or as a mighting fine doorstop.

Rating:
Summary: Good, but buy it for the right reason
Review: You shouldn't buy this book if ALL you want to do is learn the commands of the OpenGL API. You shouldn't buy this book if you don't have a strong mathematical background. You shouldn't buy this book if you need the author to hold your hand on the exercises or the explanations, because that's not what this book is about. This is a computer graphics book, not an OpenGL API book. It uses the OpenGL API to aid in an in-depth study of Computer Graphics principles, much like Computer Graphics: Principles and Pracitce uses SPHIGS to aid in a more in-depth study of Computer Graphics principles. This book is highly mathematically oriented and the problems and exercises are practical and challenging, much like in the real world. You don't get silly exercises like "Draw a triangle on the screen" (except in maybe the first or second chapter). Instead you get exercises like "Write a program to simulate a bouncing ball taking into account gravity and elastic collisions". I like this book, but your primary goal should be Computer Graphics, not OpenGL. This book does go great, however, with the official opengl programmer's guide (forget the exact name).