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ISBN : 0672328208
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&a>breaks new ground in game development by bridging the alien worlds of hardware and software together for the first time!
The Black Art of Video Game Console Design is written for the programmer and/or hobbyist interested in software game development, but also wants to understand the hardware games are implemented on. This book assumes no prior knowledge of Electrical Engineering or Computer Architecture, but takes you on a breathtaking journey from atomic semiconductor theory to the design and construction of basic video game consoles that you can build and write your own games for! Included in the book is the entire design of numerous embedded game systems including the XGameStation systems and much more.
The Black Art of Video Game Console Design with 800+ pages covers everything you need to know to design your own game console including:
• Basic atomic physics and semiconductor theory primer.
• Introduction to circuit analysis; current, voltage, and resistance.
• Analog design using discrete components.
• Digital electronics and Boolean algebra.
• Physical hardware construction and prototyping techniques.
• Combinational logic and advanced integrated circuit building blocks.
• Finite state machine design.
• Computer architecture and design.
• Understanding and using microprocessors and microcontrollers.
• Developing software for embedded systems.
• Designing video (NTSC/VGA), audio, and input device systems.
• Interfacing and communications.
• The complete design and discussion of numerous game systems including the XGameStations!
Register your book at informit.com/register and download the following additional resources (previously on bundled CD):
• PCB and circuit simulation tools.
• All necessary data sheets.
• Demos and source code.
• Complete designs to numerous embedded systems including the XGameStations.
Direct download links available for Free Download The Black Art of Video Game Console Design [Paperback]
- Paperback: 984 pages
- Publisher: Sams Publishing (December 22, 2005)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0672328208
- ISBN-13: 978-0672328206
- Product Dimensions: 1.9 x 7.5 x 9 inches
- Shipping Weight: 3.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Free Download The Black Art of Video Game Console Design
Andre LaMothe is an amazing guy, no question about it. He tends to write huge books, and the amount of material he fits into them is superlative. He's obviously got a passion for what he does, and that passion is certainly revealed in his writing style. He's a guy who never lost that simple love of video games.
Perhaps it's his sheer enthusiasm that makes him seem to sometimes write too quickly. A few minutes spent with The Black Art Of Video Game Console Design brings this tendency to light: I don't know how long it took to write this book, but I imagine the author was under some pressure to get it finished before some kind of deadline, because there are the typical signs of a book that didn't get properly edited. There are occasional typos and punctuation glitches, but more worrisome is the potential for factual errors. For example, an early and very glaring inaccuracy is the claim on page 66 that most electronics solder is 60% tin and 40% flux. In reality, typical solder is 60% tin and 40% *LEAD*, not flux; the flux burns and evaporates away from the solder once the solder has been melted. Yeah, it's a small detail, but any technical editor should have caught that one a mile away.
On a larger scale, however, LaMothe's enthusiasm propels the book forward at a speed not typically seen in how-to books. Comprising almost a thousand pages, this is already a pretty massive book, but the amount of material LaMothe crams into that space is remarkable. The first few chapters are something you have to see to believe, each chapter condensing basically an entire college electronics class' worth of material into around 50 pages.
In today's world of high-tech computer games, the art of gaming hardware is a lost art...reserved for those with millions of dollars and a PhD in Electronic Engineering. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that I would get to learn it.
But Andre' changed all that. With this book, I have been able to learn all about the black art of electronics and gaming consoles. I have no PhD, no degree in any kind of electronics...and yet I now feel like I know enough to jump into my own console projects after reading this book.
Andre' is brilliant in the way that he writes with the average reader in mind. None of this "high-tech" speak where the author seems like he's trying to impress himself with all he knows...Andre' tells it like it is...and suprisingly enough, it wasn't as difficult to learn as I thought it was.
He starts out with basic electronic theory, then moves into the art of Analog programming (its a bit of a brain-buster at first, but analog electronics always were...when you get into the digital realm, you'll see how much easier it is). He then jumps into digital theory and explains chips, logic gates, etc. And to keep the pace flowing he throws in fun chapters about how to solder or how printed circuit boards are made. Then he gets into the good stuff: he talks about microchips and microcontrollers, RAM and ROM, and everything that a computer contains. He even teaches you how to software render a TV's NTSC signal!
Then my favorite chapter...he takes all that you've learned thus far and shows you how to make simple computers based on the old Z80 chips and 6502 chips (the NES and Atari2600 were both based on this).