This hour tackled one of the most important topics of game development by introducing you to bitmap images, as well as how they are loaded and displayed in a Windows program. You first analyzed the inner structure of a bitmap, which was necessary in order to gain an understanding of what it takes to write code that can load a bitmap from a file or resource. You then used this knowledge to assemble a bitmap class that handles the messy details of creating bitmaps based on files, resources, or solid colors. The hour concluded by demonstrating how to use the bitmap class in a practical example program. This hour concludes the first part of the book, which laid the groundwork for game programming in Windows. The next part of the book addresses the all-important topic of interacting with game players. You find out how to receive and process user input from a keyboard, mouse, and joystick, as well as creating your first complete game. |