Learning XNA 4.0

Chapter 17. Developing for Windows Phone 7

There has been a lot of hype and interest for years surrounding the release of Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 series. Microsoft has been in the mobile communications device market before with previous versions of Windows Phone operating systems, but Windows Phone 7 is aimed at putting Microsoft in the copilot seat of the market that has long been dominated by the iPhone.

For developers, Windows Phone 7 offers something that has previously never been available: the ability to write rich, interactive applications in Silverlight and create 2D and 3D games using XNA. With tons of features, such as 480×800 screen resolution, a slick touchscreen interface, and an internal accelerometer, the possibilities for development on Windows Phone 7 are virtually endless.

This chapter focuses on issues specific to developing games for Windows Phone 7. Instead of porting one of the games from previous chapters to Windows Phone 7, you’ll be building a new game from scratch. Most of the code, however, will be similar to what you’ve done in previous chapters and, as a result, I’ll skim over most of it fairly quickly and concentrate on the distinct features of Windows Phone 7 development.

In addition to the game in this book, there are a large number of Windows Phone 7 samples available on the XNA Creator’s Club website and on the MSDN website.

Setting Up Your Windows Phone 7 Device

Visual Studio 2010 comes with an emulator for creating applications on Windows Phone ...