[cellis]

Not much math. Some simple physics like velocity and momentum transfer that you can learn in a tutorial (in a day). I think it is important to make the distinction between game development (lots of simple math and complex "pluggable" formulas) and game engine development (yes, you need to understand linear algebra,trig, and perhaps calculus).

[derefr]

I believe, when the parent said "hack together a basic pool game," they meant "hack together just enough of a game engine to write a pool game on top of it, and then write said pool game atop it."

[sshumaker]

No, game development includes 'game engine development' - the majority of companies write their own engine or have heavily modified a licensed engine. And you often need to understand quite a bit of math to use even off the shelf engines - to debug issues and to tweak stuff.

Perhaps you're referring to what industry folk call gameplay programming? There's a lot less hardcore math there - but you still typically need to understand basic physics, trig, interpolation, etc.

[nzmsv]

Most of the time working with a game engine does not involve inventing any new mathematics, so there is an upper bound on just how hardcore it can really get :)