Learning XNA 3.0

Chapter 1. Getting Started

Computers truly are amazing machines. Contemplating how a modern computer starts with nothing but 1s and 0s and ends up with the tools we use on a daily basis is both awe-inspiring and mind-boggling. Perhaps nothing does a better job of harnessing the power of the computer and the interest of the user than a good computer game. From the early days of Pong to the latest titles of today, video games have captured the imaginations of billions of people.

With Microsoft's XNA game development framework, writing exciting games for the PC has never been easier. On top of that, XNA 3.0 offers individual developers an unprecedented opportunity: the ability to develop your own games for the Xbox 360 and the Microsoft Zune. Never before has access to software development kits targeting next-gen consoles or the latest handheld media devices been so readily available.

I'm sure you're ready to get started and begin building the next great game, so let's get right to it. This first chapter will help you get everything installed so you can dive in and start developing in XNA 3.0.

System Requirements

This book uses XNA Game Studio 3.0, which is an integrated development environment (IDE) extension to Microsoft's Visual Studio for developing games in XNA. XNA Game Studio 3.0 uses the XNA Framework 3.0, which provides developers with a skeleton XNA game to begin with and the ability to customize and extend that game in order to create their own games in XNA.

XNA Game Studio 3.0 runs on multiple versions of Microsoft Visual Studio 2008. To install it, you must first install either Visual Studio 2008 Standard Edition or higher (with C# language support installed), or Visual C# 2008 Express Edition.

Visual C# 2008 Express Edition is available at no cost from Microsoft at http://www.microsoft.com/express/vcsharp/. It's a great way to get started in XNA if you don't have a license for one of the other versions.

Throughout this book, I'll be using Visual Studio 2008 Professional Edition. The screenshots should look the same (or at least similar) across versions, but you should be aware of the version used to create these examples in case there are discrepancies.

With XNA 3.0, developers can target the following platforms for their games: Windows Vista, Windows XP, Xbox 360, and Microsoft Zune. To run XNA games on Windows, you'll need a graphics card that supports Shader Model 1.1 or higher and DirectX 9.0c. However, some examples may require Shader Model 2.0.

XNA Game Studio 3.0 is available for download at no charge through Microsoft's website at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=df4af56a-58a7-474c-bfd0-7cf8ed3036a3&displaylang=en&tm.