This guide to maximizing visual effects and optimizing graphics for game programming with C++ and DirectX is a practical introduction to the latest C++ technologies and techniques. The new concept of demo coding--a program whose purpose is to present the technical and artistic skills of programmers--is provided, as is help for programmers demonstrating their new skills in creating 2-D and 3-D games and demo scenes. An accompanying CD-ROM includes demo scenes, game-development projects, and examples from the book.