Summary

If there was one lesson that I dreaded writing in this book, it was this one. This is because I didn't relish the idea of departing from the emphasis on creating games for a whole lesson to teach Windows programming. Not only that, but I worried incessantly over how to explain enough of a complex topic in a single lesson without scaring you away from the remainder of the book. Now that it's behind both of us, let me say that from here on you'll find the book smooth sailing. Even the most complex game code in the book pales in comparison to being slapped with Windows code when you've never faced it before. So, please take this lesson for what it is: a necessary speed bump on the way to becoming a Windows game developer.

Hour 3, "Creating an Engine for Games," picks up where this lesson leaves off by freeing you from the messy Windows code that lies beneath every Windows program. More specifically , you learn how to develop a game engine that allows you to focus only on the game specific parts of your game programs, as opposed to the overhead code that is only there to satisfy Windows. The game engine also lays the groundwork for integrating advanced game features throughout the remainder of the book.