Beginning XNA 3.0 Game Programming: From Novice to Professional

CHAPTER 4Improving Your First 2D Game

Let's face reality. Rock Rain is cool, fun, but—it's too simple, isn't it? In this chapter, you're going to add some more characteristics of a "real game" to it. We'll show you some more sophisticated techniques you can use to create a better game. Let's go.

Planning Rock Rain's New Version

A striking feature of any game is missing in Rock Rain: the presentation screen! When the player runs the game, he is immediately thrown in the meteor field without warning. The ideal would be to show a screen—the game presentation—leading to another screen with instructions, the game help, and an option to start the game itself. That's much more elegant.

Let's also change some aspects of the playability. Now the game ...