Ebook: Game Programming Gems 4 (Game Programming Gems Series) (v. 4)

Intended for the intermediate to advanced game programmer, this is a book that will literally have something for everyone. It contains sixty-two 'gems' that is, articles on how to some particular aspect of game programming. Sophisticated game programming is probably the most complex programming there is. And this book goes into some pretty sophisticated programming details. It is written by a collection of the best in the business today.

For instance:

3.1 - Ten Fingers of Deaty: Algorithms for Combat Killing
5.11 - Heat and Haze Post-Processing Effects
7.2 - A Simple Real-Time Lip-Synching System

There is no question that the main driving force for faster computers is to make for more realistic gaming. And the faster computers allow more sophisticated programming to be done to make the grass wave realistically.

This is probably not a book you're going to sit down and read from cover to cover. You'll probably scan through and read the ones that are applicable to just what you need to do next. But then in a couple of weeks, in a couple of months....