Assessment of mathematics
Some resources that would be helpful for a dedicated beginner:
http://www.wolfram.com/broadcast/
- Videos and short tutorials
- Wolfram's blog often shows what's possible with Mathematica and includes code.
http://bmia.bmt.tue.nl/Software/Downloads/Campus/TrainingMathematicaEnglish.zip
- Study books in .zip file.
http://www.mathprogramming-intro.org/
http://www.google.com/search?&q=site:www.mathprogramming-intro.org
-
Mathematica® Programming: An Extended Introduction Leonid Shifrin .
Very advanced introduction, yet still accessible and searchable (second link)
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Mathematica contains a wealth of information that can leave you confused. A good first reference should be the goal of every new Mathematica user, as it can make or break their experience.
First stop, virtual book (found in the Help menu). It contains both quick start material and fundamental principles, but it's easy for me to get distracted and not hard with examples. Also, Wolfram (being a commercial company) sells Mathematica as all things to all people, the virtual book is not objective about its shortcomings.
I used the Pupil's Guide as a guide for the math minor: plotting, multivariable calculus, linear algebra, and data manipulation. In this capacity, it is beautifully laconic.
It looks like you need to look at the "real world" examples - and have a limited amount of time before the trial ends. I recommend O'Reilly's Math Cookbook. You can get the book online right away, and the O'Reilly Cookbook Style will give you the feeling that programming needs to be effective when testing game ideas.
Good luck with Mathematica
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