3D Game Programming for Kids: Create Interactive Worlds with JavaScript (Paperback)

content<DIV><p>You know what's even better than playing games? Creating your own. Even if you're an absolute beginner, this book will teach you how to make your own online games with interactive examples. You'll learn programming using nothing more than a browser, and see cool, 3D results as you type. You'll learn real-world programming skills in a real programming language: JavaScript, the language of the web. You'll be amazed at what you can do as you build interactive worlds and fun games.<br><br> You'll jump right in and write games and simulations while learning programming fundamentals. You'll use the ICE Code Editor, which was created especially for this book to make it easy for you to get started with JavaScript programming. With the ICE Editor, you'll see the results of your work right away. Want a red donut? You can make hundreds of them, spinning around like crazy right next to the code you just typed.<br><br> You'll do hands-on coding in every chapter. You'll start by building simple animated shapes, then make your own player--who can do cartwheels! You'll learn how to build your own games from start to finish, including a monster eating fruit, a cave puzzle, and rafting on a river. You'll animate simple shapes to create a model of the solar system, and make your own website so that you can show off your games with your friends. If you just want to make games, jump to the lessons focusing on projects. To understand some of the theory better or if you need some help with functions, turn to the chapters that explain the programming concepts. We'll walk you carefully through all the math needed to bring games to life.<br><br> Best of all, you get to create awesome games and say, "I made this!"</p></div>sourceProduct Descriptioncontent<div class="aplus"> <br> <div class="centerImage"> <h4>Q&A with Chris Strom, author of <i>3D Game Programming for Kids</i></h4> </div> <br> <p><b> Why did you write <i>3D Game Programming for Kids?</i></b></p> <p>Like many programmers, I wanted to share my love of programming with my own kids as well as the next generation of programmers. I chose to wrap the message in the deliciousness of 3D gaming because that is what most kids (of all ages) want to create. </p> <p>Let’s face it, no one learns to program because they think programming sounds like fun. Never in the history of the world was somebody sitting around the house or playing outside when the thought suddenly struck them that, “Hey, I think I’d like to learn programming, it sounds fun!” No, we all learn to program because we want to create something amazing.</p> <p>And for the vast majority of kids, learning programming is something to do in order to create incredible games or weird simulations. My hope is that this book will enable kids of all ages to invent those things. And, if they fall in love with programming itself, I would not mind in the least!</p> <p> <b>Why JavaScript? Why not Python or some other language?</b></p> <p>JavaScript makes so much sense for this book; it would have been a crime to try it in a different language. The initial reason that I opted for JavaScript was I wanted no barrier to getting started. Learning to program is hard enough without the initial pain and frustration of installing languages and tools. With JavaScript (and the ICE Code Editor web page) all a new programmer needs is a browser. In the Internet age, what could be simpler?</p> <p>Most kids won’t want to hear this, but I also opted for JavaScript because it is <i>extremely</i> practical. It is the language of the web—web sites, web pages, web applications, and mobile applications are all built with JavaScript. People who know JavaScript are well prepared for the digital future. Being practical does have some advantages—like being able to share games and embed them on your own web sites!</p> <p>And I have to admit that I love programming JavaScript. I have been programming JavaScript myself for years and never tire of it. I love it all the more for the incredible tools and libraries that have sprung up around it recently—especially the amazing Three.js library that we use throughout the book.</p> <p><b>What kind of games will I be able to make with this book?</b></p> <p>The book includes a nice variety of game types. Much of the first half of the book is spent creating a 3D player in a 3D world with a focus on making it as realistic and playable as possible. After that, we learn space simulations, puzzle games, mini-games, and games that simulate real-world physics. Some games include scoring, others a countdown timer, and some a little of both. Even though the name of the book includes “3D,” we also spend time on two dimensional games (think Super Mario Brothers). About the only thing we will not talk about is a multiplayer game—maybe that’s something for another book!</p> <p>We won’t go into great detail about all of these things—this is a getting started book. But you should see enough to know how to start building these on your own. I cannot wait to see what you create!</p> <p> <b>Will I learn enough to be able to move on to other programming languages? </b></p> <p>Absolutely! Programming languages are like spoken languages—there are lots of both kinds of languages and the more you learn, the better you get at learning. This book covers a ton of programming knowledge in addition to describing games and 3D concepts. Much of what you learn about JavaScript will be of use as you explore other programming languages.</p> <p>That said, JavaScript is a fantastic first language to learn. It is the language of the web and you can use it to do an amazing variety of things — from creating web pages, to making web applications, to making games, to even programming robots! You could program only JavaScript for years and still learn something new every day, which is what makes programming so much fun!</p> </div>sourceAmazon.com Review

你知道什麼比玩遊戲更好嗎？自己創造遊戲。即使你是一個完全的初學者，這本書也會教你如何用互動的例子製作自己的線上遊戲。你將學習使用瀏覽器進行編程，並在輸入時看到酷炫的3D效果。你將學習真實世界的編程技能，使用真正的編程語言：JavaScript，這是網頁的語言。當你建立互動世界和有趣的遊戲時，你會對你所能做的事情感到驚訝。

你將立即開始寫遊戲和模擬，同時學習編程基礎知識。你將使用特別為本書創建的ICE Code Editor，這使得你可以輕鬆開始使用JavaScript編程。使用ICE編輯器，你將立即看到你的工作結果。想要一個紅色的甜甜圈？你可以製作數百個，旋轉得像瘋子一樣，就在你剛輸入的代碼旁邊。

每章都有實踐編程的編碼。你將從建立簡單的動畫形狀開始，然後製作自己的玩家-可以做手車輪！你將學習如何從頭到尾建立自己的遊戲，包括怪物吃水果，洞穴拼圖和在河上漂流。你將動畫簡單的形狀，創建太陽系的模型，並製作自己的網站，以便與朋友展示你的遊戲。如果你只想製作遊戲，可以跳到專注於項目的課程。要更好地理解一些理論，或者如果你需要一些關於函數的幫助，可以參考解釋編程概念的章節。我們將仔細引導您完成將遊戲帶入生活所需的所有數學。

最重要的是，你可以創建令人驚嘆的遊戲並說：“這是我做的！”

為什麼你寫了《3D遊戲編程給孩子》？像許多程序員一樣，我想與我的孩子以及下一代程序員分享我對編程的熱愛。我選擇將這個訊息包裝成美味的3D遊戲，因為這是大多數孩子（無論年齡多大）想要創造的東西。

面對現實，沒有人學習編程是因為他們覺得編程聽起來很有趣。在世界的歷史上，從來沒有人坐在家裡或在外面玩耍時突然想到，“嘿，我想學編程，聽起來很有趣！”不，我們學習編程是因為我們想創造一些令人驚嘆的東西。

對於絕大多數孩子來說，學習編程是為了創造令人難以置信的遊戲或奇怪的模擬。我希望這本書能讓各個年齡段的孩子發明這些東西。如果他們愛上了編程本身，我一點也不介意！

為什麼選擇JavaScript？為什麼不是Python或其他語言？JavaScript對於這本書來說非常合適；如果用其他語言來嘗試，那將是一種犯罪。我選擇JavaScript的最初原因是我希望沒有障礙可以開始。學習編程已經夠難了，不需要安裝語言和工具的初始痛苦和挫折。對於新的程序員來說，只需要一個瀏覽器就可以使用JavaScript（和ICE Code Editor網頁）。在互聯網時代，有什麼比這更簡單的呢？

大多數孩子不會想聽這個，但我選擇JavaScript也是因為它非常實用。它是網頁的語言-網站、網頁、網絡應用程序和移動應用程序都是用JavaScript構建的。了解JavaScript的人對於這些都有很好的準備。