Looking for introduction to game development on PC book with sample code. (not console)

Question

I know there was similar thread and someone posted a link to gamedev but after taking a quick look I couldn't find a recent game development book that introduces game development but not programming. I found one book on amazon that was teaching game development to someone who doesn't know how to program and all of the examples were console games. That's not what I'm looking for. I guess the question is how does one learn how to write a game?

What I'm looking for is a book with some nice simple game examples so that I can hack them and learn from it.

EDIT: doesn't matter what language but I prefer C++ or C#.

EDIT2: Those were all excellent answers, thank you guys! However I could only choose one to accept. Wish there was a way to choose "rating" for each answer instead of just check mark.

Answer 1

If you like C#, check out XNA:

http://creators.xna.com/en-US/

Lots of libraries available, plenty of documentation/help online, and video tutorials to get you started.

Edit: Sorry, its not a book, just realised that is what you were after. There are several books on programming in the XNA framework, however I couldn't reccomend any personally

Answer 2

If you're looking for an easy place to get started with game programming in C#, XNA is probably what you want. The best way to stay up with the latest developments and the newest versions of the library and tools is simply to go to the XNA Web site. There are a bunch of starter kits there that let you look at real code and help teach you all the basics.

Books aren't always the best place to learn video game development because they become obsolete so quickly. However, I've bought and read a few books on the subject. I can recommend:

Microsoft XNA Game Studio Creator's Guide, Second Edition (I read the first edition, but I'm sure it's similar)

and

Learning XNA 3.0: XNA 3.0 Game Development for the PC, Xbox 360, and Zune

I recommend against Professional XNA Programming: Building Games for Xbox 360 and Windows with XNA Game Studio 2.0. I feel it was poorly written. I very seldom recommend against specific books or products, but in this case I think it's justified.

XNA is cool because it allows you to develop not only for Windows PCs, but also the Xbox 360. There's even a program you can join and have your game published and showcased on the Xbox LIVE Marketplace.

Answer 3

I agree with the XNA. I've been using XNA for a few months now and have prior game programming experience with C++ using SDL, DirectX, and OpenGL. I would highly recommend James Silva's book Beginning XNA 2.0 Game Development. Even though it is 2.0, it is definitely applicable and is written by someone that has creates some of the most downloaded and played XBox community games.

If you go down the C++ path, I would recommend starting with SDL. You can easily take what you learn with SDL and move into OpenGL.

If your intention is just as a hobby, go with C# and XNA. You will be far more productive and get things done a lot quicker.