Mathematics and Game Programming

Question

I want to program graphical 2D games more complex than the basic 2D stuff I already know. I don\'t want to do 3D programming. Just more complex 2D stuff. I dropped high school b

Answer 1

If you want a general math website I'd recommend planetmath.org. The articles there tend to hold a higher standard than wikipedia (which in my experience can be downright appalling when it comes to math) and are more user friendly than mathworld. Mathworld is good if you are a mathematician and need the complete correct definition of some term, but for day to day use it tends to be far to theoretical and obtuse.

Answer 2

You can start out by learning Processing!

Then move onto this amazing book by Daniel Shiffman called 'The Nature of Code'. The book is also available online with interactive examples written in Processing.js

http://natureofcode.com/book/

The book covers

1. VECTORS
2. FORCES
3. OSCILLATION
4. PARTICLE SYSTEMS
5. PHYSICS LIBRARIES
6. AUTONOMOUS AGENTS
7. CELLULAR AUTOMATA
8. FRACTALS
9. THE EVOLUTION OF CODE
10. NEURAL NETWORKS

He also has uploaded videos to Vimeo explaining concepts from each chapter! http://vimeo.com/shiffman/videos/sort:date/format:detail

How can we capture the unpredictable evolutionary and emergent properties of nature in software? How can understanding the mathematical principles behind our physical world help us to create digital worlds? This book focuses on the programming strategies and techniques behind computer simulations of natural systems using Processing.

He has also written a book to teach you the basics of Learning processing

http://www.learningprocessing.com/

This book tells a story. It’s a story of liberation, of taking the first steps towards understanding the foundations of computing, writing your own code, and creating your own media without the bonds of existing software tools. This story is not reserved for computer scientists and engineers. This story is for you.

Answer 3

I recommend Wolfram's resources: http://mathworld.wolfram.com

They're thick, but I know of no better online resource.

Answer 4

I'm currently going through "Physics for Game Developers" by David M. Bourg. So far, I'd recommend it.

It provides the math-y concepts behind physics that can easily be applied to the 2D realm to spice up your games a bit.

Answer 5

GameDev.net has a section of articles for Math and Physics coding. It's worth a quick look through to see if anything is related to what you're trying to do.

http://www.gamedev.net/reference/list.asp?categoryid=28

Answer 6

I have to disagree with the recommendation of Physics for Game Developers.

I found that book pretty boring, and I wouldn't call my own attention span that short.

I would say the top things to get good at are vectors, using trig to manipulate them, and then on top of that foundation you apply whatever physics are specific to your current project.

I'd just fire up google/wikipedia and start bouncing around the web soaking up random stuff, and when your limited attention span gets antsy, bounce again.

Taking on that book is probably not going to suck you in and inspire you.