- XNA - Intro :
- XNA Setup :
- The Game Loop :
- State Machines :
- 2D Starter - part 1 :
- 2D Starter - part 2 :
- 2D Starter - part 3 :
- 2D Starter - part 4 :
XNA Development - Intro
Writing a game is hard.
One of my first memories of coding was typing in C64 BASIC programs from copies of COMPUTE! magazine.
Once I realized that the stuff I was typing in was directly related to the cool chess game I was playing, I was hooked.
The problem was, it was really hard to make things happen onscreen.
Peek() and Poke() commands were tough for the eleven year old mind to wrap around, never mind the binary math required to get sprites going.
Twenty-five years later, the barriers to entry are finally starting to lower.
XNA is a set of tools and class libraries designed to make game development easier.
It's based on the .NET framework with it's own virtual machine that runs on Windows XP, Vista or an XBOX 360.
This is the evil seductress that made dabbling in the dark side a done deal.
One of the great things about XNA is that it greatly simplifies all the really nasty stuff in game development: the loading of content (your models, textures and sounds), the game loop, the math, etc.
By installing Visual C# Express, XNA Game Studio Express and the DirectX SDK, you end up with a pretty awesome game development suite. Add in a 3D modeler (say, Blender) and an image editor (the Gimp) and you're ready to rock!
The biggest downside: it's by no means free as in speech. For that, pyGame is still your best bet.