This introductory book on programming uses the C# programming language. The book presents the basic concepts of programming in the context of game programming. This strategy may be an appealing and exciting idea to many students studying introductory programming.

The programming environment used and recommended throughout the book is Microsoft .NET studio. European Computer Manufacturers Association (ECMA) standards are used in the presentation of the code discussed in the examples.

The book is divided into two parts: “Programming Basics,” which contains the first two chapters, and “Game Programming Concepts,” which contains the last three chapters. Among other topics, chapter 1 addresses setting up the .NET compiler and programming environment. It also introduces the .NET framework, and covers some basic C# language features, such as data types, input/output commands, and the base class library. Chapter 2 covers control structures, including selection and iteration statements, functions and the passing of parameters, function overloading, and variable scoping rules.

Chapter 3 serves as an introduction to game programming. The author presents a simple and effective framework, and techniques for the development of such applications. Substantial parts of the source code for three games are included and discussed. Chapter 4 primarily addresses the topics of arrays, pointers, and strings. Two more games are discussed in this chapter. These interesting and nontrivial games are likely to appeal to readers of the book. Finally, chapter 5 discusses basic topics in object-oriented design and programming. Two more games are discussed within the context of this chapter.

The author achieves two major objectives in the book. First, the basic syntax and semantics of the C# programming language are introduced, using arcade game development as a vehicle. Second, the concepts of object-oriented programming and the .NET programming environment are presented.

I have a few suggestions that might be of use for the next edition of the textbook: first, it might be helpful to the reader if the author inserted comments within the code presented in the examples. The screen shots used are difficult to discern, and the text included in them is difficult to read. If the book is to be used as a textbook, the author should consider adding, at the end of each chapter, a set of exercises or projects that students can use for practice. Overall, I liked the book for its approach, taking a traditional subject and presenting it in a new and interesting context.