XNA Game Studio Express - Game Programmer Resource

Totally amazing, Microsoft has made it easy for a home programmer to create games and actually play those games on the XBOX 360. This is just one more value added to this great system. I remember when I was 12 yrs old I actually wanted to learn how to program video games. But the only resources at that time to learn from were small magazines that published small 3 page programs written in basic. There were a few books out but they didn't really touch on the gaming aspect. Now in comes the XNA Game Studio Express.

Microsoft truly has a large vision. First they created a system that is basically a PC transformed into a gaming system (XBOX 360) and with the XBOX platform Microsoft is basically forming a community that will create a underground programmers base, thus, leveraging all of their programming tools. For example, visual express C#, XNA Game Studio requires an install of this software before it can be installed. This brings exposure to C# and also visual studio. Once the user gets acquainted with using each of these they will probably eventually upgrade to a paid version of visual studio. I think this is genius. Let me get back to the XNA Game Studio.

XNA Game Studio is aimed a hobbies and students to build games for XBOX 360 and the PC. The XNA Game Studio is based on C#. Sorry visual basic folks. The framework is a set of managed code libraries specifically made for game developer. The libraries are to help game programmers expedite game development, thus, increasing productivity. In terms of running side by side with other visual studio components, don't worry about it. The XNA Same Studio Express is designed to do just that. Run seamlessly with other development environments without interference.

How about 3D graphics? XNA Game Studio Express has that covered. The framework content pipeline includes a set of tools that enable programmer 3D graphics.

Unfortunately, there are some prerequisites to using XNA Game Studio Express. One prerequisite is you must download and install visual studio C#. Two, you must have the latest DirectX runtime installed on your system. That includes have a compatible Direct3D 9.0 video card. Three, you must have a subscription to XNA Creators Club. Subscriptions are purchased directly from XBOX Live Marketplace. Two subscription levels are available: $99 dollars per year and $49 per four months.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. To learn more visit the XNA Game Studio Express FAQ site at: http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/xna/aa937793.aspx