Before you can do this tutorial, you will need the following:

1.  Visual Studio 2005 (or Visual C++ 2005 Express Edition)*.
2.  A knowledge of basic C++ and Win32 programming.
3.  DirectX SDK (February 2005 or later) and a knowledge of its basics.
4.  A burning desire to make games.

* - other versions of C++ compilers will also run DirectX, however, there are some language specific changes you may need to make in each of the demo applications.

This first lesson will introduce game programming, and all of its complicated aspects.  These are the basics.  You will not be able to create a program from these, but you will understand more where the big picture is going.

It is crucial to know about header files.  One of the worst mistakes you can make is to do what I did once upon a time: pile all your game code into one .cpp file and hope to retain some sanity.  Knowing about header files and how to use them is a real life saver, as you'll see.

In this lesson I will guide you through the first steps of building a DirectX wrapper.  I will guide you through all the little traps that are so easy to fall into while building wrappers.

At last!  We are ready for graphics!  We'll start in this lesson with sprites before building a 3D engine.

Artificial Intelligence?  Well, not yet, but close.  In this lesson we will deal with keeping track of the game itself, not just where things are on the screen.  This includes hitpoints, speed and direction, as well as position and animation.

All that is left at this point is Input.  How do you turn keystrokes and mouse movements into actual game instructions, and how are those instructions interpreted by your Logic.

Now we will take an actual example, Pong.  We'll put all we have learned so far and create a very simple game.

Ok, 2D games are boring.  I believe we need a little 3D action.  In this lesson we will cover how to use the same principles we've been using all along to build an actual 3D engine!

You know you're curious.  Let's look at how to make a game of Tetris, but let's flex our new skills and add one startling new element to it, 3D.

It is unfortunate the DirectX makes errors.  I know, I wish DirectX would just be perfect and never make mistakes.  But let's face it.  There are hardware issues, bugs and more.  This lesson shows how to avoid all these.