Contents -- Introduction -- PART I: THE GAME ENGINE -- Chapter 1 Getting Started -- What Is Game Programming Really All About? -- Creativity, Talent, and Hard Work -- Taking a Look at Celtic Crusader -- Summary -- Chapter 2 Introduction to Visual Basic .NET -- What Is Visual Basic? -- Writing Your First Visual Basic .NET Program -- Variables of All Types -- Branching/Conditional Statements -- Subroutines and Functions -- Mathematical Operators -- Relational Operators -- Looping Statements -- Arrays -- Structures -- Object-Oriented Programming -- Summary -- Chapter 3 Introduction to Managed DirectX -- Getting Started with DirectX -- Loading and Rendering a Bitmap -- Video Card Adapter Information -- Level Up -- Chapter 4 Sprites: The Key to 2D Games -- Introduction to Sprites -- Direct3D Sprites -- Creating Some Helper Classes -- Sprite Animation -- Level Up -- Chapter 5 Printing Text and Getting User Input -- Getting User Input -- Programming the Keyboard -- Programming the Mouse -- Printing Text -- Level Up -- Chapter 6 Tile-Based Scrolling -- Introduction to Scrolling -- The Scroller Engine -- The ScrollWorld Program -- The CTileScroller Class -- Level Up -- Chapter 7 Entity Management -- Reacting to Solid Objects -- Entity Management -- Level Up -- Chapter 8 Playing Sound Effects and Music -- Introduction to DirectSound -- Programming DirectSound -- DirectSound Helper Classes -- Additional Audio File Options -- Level Up -- PART II: THE GAME WORLD -- Chapter 9 Designing the Celtic Crusader Game -- The Quest-Based Storyline -- Designing the RPG World -- The Player's Character (PC) -- The Non-Player Characters (NPCs) -- Weapons and Armor -- Magic -- Communication -- Combat -- Level Up -- Chapter 10 Creating the Game World -- Creating the Game World -- Advanced Map Editing -- Level Up -- Chapter 11 Exploring the Game World.

Mapping the Game World -- Exporting the Tilemap to a Binary File -- The Animated Character Artwork -- The WalkAbout Program -- Level Up -- Chapter 12 Adding Scenery and Objects -- The World Is a Desert -- Inserting Random Scenery -- New Character Animations -- Level Up -- PART III: THE CHARACTERS -- Chapter 13 Creating the Player Character -- Character Classes and Attributes -- Using Character Types in the Game -- Character Artwork -- Level Up -- Chapter 14 Building the Celtic Crusader Engine -- Assembling the Game Engine -- Test Run -- Level Up -- Chapter 15 Keeping Track of Inventory -- Managing Inventory -- Creating the Player -- Creating Items -- Main Code Modifications -- Level Up -- Chapter 16 Adding NPCs and Monsters -- Introduction to NPCs -- Creating Reusable ''People'' -- The New and Improved Game -- Level Up -- Chapter 17 Engaging in Combat -- Contemplating the Combat System -- Implementing the Combat System -- Level Up -- Epilogue -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- Q -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- X.