Professional XNA™ Programming: Building Games for Xbox 360™ and Windows® with XNA Game Studio 2.0, Second Edition

Introduction

Up until recently, the concept for the Xbox 360 as a platform for creating homebrew games was not even thinkable. For most people creating console games was just a pure impossibility, not just because SDKs (Software Development Kit) are expensive, but because you won't even get a SDK. Access to any development information to create console games is often prohibited only to big development studios and game publishers, not independent game developers and beginners.

This has all changed. Microsoft's new XNA Framework makes homebrew, cross-platform games for Windows and the Xbox 360 possible. XNA is not only just a new framework, but it is also the best framework available today to create games. With no other language or tool, you will be able to create powerful games with little effort. I would never have been able to create a great game like the Racing Game in such a short time frame if not for XNA.

Whom This Book Is For

This book is aimed at a variety of audiences. You should have knowledge of the programming language C#, but if you already know C++ or Java, it will be very easy to switch. If you have not worked with any high-level programming language before, I suggest you pick up a C# book first. Even without knowledge of programming, this book has many tips and tricks in it for upcoming game programmers. For a more practical use of this book, you should follow along with the examples and code. Most of the chapters are organized in a way that is equally useful to both ...