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Learning C++ by Building Games, Second Edition — book cover
✓ Free online edition

Learning C++ by Building Games

From your first line of code to a roguelike you built yourself. The complete second edition — free to read online.

36 Chapters SDL 3 C++20 AI-assisted
Start at Chapter 1 → Get the ebook & paperback →

Reading online is completely free — browse the contents below and start anywhere. The Kindle edition has every chapter; the paperback has the core course.

36chapters, free online
25projects, code on GitHub
200+diagrams & screenshots
£0no sign-up, no paywall

A few screens from the book — a glimpse of the games you'll build.

An arcade shooter running in a desktop window — a green player ship firing at red enemies.
A full arcade shooter — the Act 1 capstone.
A particle fountain — hundreds of coloured particles spraying across the window.
Hundreds of particles from a single vector.
An endless runner — a character running across a blue sky with clouds, coins and a score.
A parallax endless runner.
A vector Asteroids game — wireframe rocks and a ship, with score and lives.
Asteroids, with you directing an AI.

Never written a line of code? Start here. C++ has a reputation for being hard, usually because it's taught in the abstract — this book does the opposite. Every idea arrives because a game needs it, and you build every game step by step, with the code explained as you go. By the end you'll have written modern C++20 and built a roguelike of your own. This whole second edition is free to read online; it's also the complete companion to the print and Kindle editions.

What you'll build

Bouncing Ball Square Invader Cascade Arcade Shooter Whack-a-Mole Click Particle Particle Fountain Loot Grid The Runner Animated Character Vibe Snake Vibe Asteroids Rogue SDL (7 parts)

Contents

Thirty-six chapters and two appendices, every one free to read online. Twenty-five of them are hands-on projects — a game you build. Start at the beginning, or jump to whatever you want to see first.

Act 1 — The Foundations

From a blank window to a working arcade shooter, learning the language one small game at a time.

1Setting Up Visual Studio 2026 & SDL 3Install the tools, create your project, and get a blank SDL 3 window on screen. 2Variables & StructsStore and name your first data — the raw material every program is made of. 3Bouncing Ball ProjectYour first game: a ball that moves, meets the walls and bounces. 4Controlling the Flow of the CodeMake decisions with if and switch so your code can react. 5Square Invader ProjectA player you steer and an invader to dodge, built from what you know so far. 6LoopsRepeat work without repeating yourself, with for and while. 7Cascade ProjectA falling-blocks toy that puts loops to work on screen. 8FunctionsBreak a program into named, reusable pieces you can call anywhere. 9Act 1 Capstone Shooter ProjectPull the whole act together into a small arcade shooter.
Act 2 — Bigger Programs

Memory, collections and the structure you need to build something larger.

10Pointers, Smart Pointers & ReferencesWork with memory safely — the idea that unlocks everything bigger. 11Whack-a-Mole ProjectNewSpawn, whack and score moles — a game built on timing and feedback. 12Click Particle ProjectSpray particles from the mouse and manage many objects at once. 13Arrays & VectorsHold many values in one place, and grow a collection as you go. 14Particle Fountain ProjectA fountain of hundreds of particles, driven by a vector. 15Maps & Other CollectionsLook things up by key with maps, sets and the rest of the toolbox. 16Loot Grid ProjectA grid of loot you generate, store and draw. 17The Runner ProjectNewAn endless runner that ties collections and timing together.
Act 3 — Object-Oriented C++

Classes, inheritance and polymorphism — the way real C++ is organised.

18Object-Oriented Programming: Core ConceptsBundle data and behaviour into classes — the heart of modern C++. 19Animated Character — Classes ProjectWrap an animated sprite in a class of its own. 20InheritanceBuild new classes on top of existing ones without repeating yourself. 21Animated Character — Inheritance ProjectGrow a family of characters from one shared base. 22Polymorphism, Virtual Functions & InterfacesLet one call do the right thing for many different types. 23Animated Character — Interfaces · Act 3 Capstone ProjectFinish the character system cleanly, behind interfaces.
Part 4 — The Wider World & AI

Beyond the basics: real-world C++, building with AI, and patterns for performance.

24The C++ WildernessThe parts of real-world C++ beyond the basics, and how to find your way. 25AI-Assisted Programming PrinciplesHow to write C++ with an AI as a tool, not a crutch. 26Vibe Snake ProjectBuild Snake by directing an AI — and reading every line it writes. 27Vibe Asteroids ProjectA bigger AI-assisted build: Asteroids, start to finish. 28The Component PatternCompose game objects from parts instead of deep inheritance trees. 29The Data Locality PatternLay out data for speed — why how you store it matters.
Final Project — Rogue SDL

Seven parts that build a roguelike of your own, from an empty grid to swords and fireballs.

30Part 1 — A Grid of Characters ProjectLay down the ASCII grid your whole roguelike will live on. 31Part 2 — Dungeons in the Dark ProjectGenerate a dungeon and hide it under the dark. 32Part 3 — Monsters and Treasure ProjectFill the dungeon with monsters to fight and treasure to grab. 33Part 4 — Hunters and Save Files ProjectNewMonsters that hunt you, and a game you can save and reload. 34Part 5 — Sound and Light ProjectNewAdd a field of view and sound to bring the dungeon to life. 35Part 6 — States and Scrolls ProjectNewMenus, game states, and scrolls of magic. 36Part 7 — Swords and Fireballs ProjectNewWeapons, spells and the finishing touches on your own roguelike.
Appendices

A place to look things up, and setup for other platforms.

AGlossaryEvery term the book introduces, defined in one place. BFor Mac & Linux UsersSet up and build every project on macOS or Linux.

Carry on in the series

Fundamentals →

The math every engine hides — vectors, physics, pathfinding and a software 3D renderer, built from scratch.

Using C++ to Build a Traditional Roguelike →

Rogue SDL was a taste. This is the whole meal — a complete dungeon crawler, built properly.

Building C++ Games with AI →

You bring the vision, the AI writes the C++, and you direct it all the way to finished.

Want the story behind the book? About this book →