Exam 98-374: Gaming Development Fundamentals/Understand Graphics

This lesson covers Understand Graphics. It looks at rendering engines, game state, and drawing objects.

Activity 1 - Understand Rendering Engines

This objective may include but is not limited to: DirectX, video and audio compression, display initialization, resolution (full screen, Vsync, and windowed), transforms.

1. Read Introduction to DirectX.
2. Read DirectX Developer Center.
3. Read DirectX Samples.
4. Read QuickStart: A Basic DirectX App.

Activity 2 - Plan for Game State

This objective may include but is not limited to: scene hierarchy engine, gametime to handle frame rate variations, understanding games’ main loop (input/update/render), graphics pipeline; understanding the flow of a game, loading, menus, save-load, configuring options (video, audio, keyboard).

1. Read Exercise 1: Basic XNA Framework Game with Game State Management.
2. Read Game State Management.
3. Watch XNA: Game Development - Loading Content Into Your Game (video).

Activity 3 - Draw Objects

This objective may include but is not limited to: using bitmaps, sprites, vector graphics, lighting, blending, text, textures, 3D geometry, parallax mapping, and different shaders; 2-D vs. 3-D; creating a sprite font.

1. Read Displaying a 3D Model on the Screen.
2. Read 3D XNA Tutorials: Using 3D Models.

References

• Exam 98-374 Gaming Development Fundamentals Student Study Guide
• Microsoft: Gaming Development Fundamentals Exam Details