Professional XNA Programming: Building Games for Xbox 360 and Windows with XNA Game Studio 2.0 - page 5

Credits

Executive Editor
Chris Webb

Development Editor
Kenyon Brown

Technical Editor
Jim Perry

Production Editor
Angela Smith

Copy Editor
Kim Cofer

Editorial Manager
Mary Beth Wakefield

Production Manager
Tim Tate

Vice President and Executive Group Publisher
Richard Swadley

Vice President and Executive Publisher
Joseph B. Wikert

Composition
Craig Johnson, Happenstance Type-O-Rama

Proofreading
Sossity Smith

Indexing
Johnna VanHoose Dinse

Anniversary Logo Design
Richard Pacifico

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 are expensive, but because you won’t even get one or access to any development information to create console games .

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. You will see throughout this book why this statement is true when you take a look at all the great games it covers. I would never have been able to create a great game like the Racing Game in such a short time frame if it was not for XNA.

Who 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, but for a more practical use of this book you should follow all examples and code right along. Most of the chapters are organized in a way that is equally useful to both beginners and experienced game programmers. All you need to write successful games is your willingness to learn the game programming techniques presented in this book and the desire to explore the world of computer games and keep improving over and over again.

What This Book Covers and How It’s Structured

Part I, “XNA Framework Basics,” covers the basics of XNA. You will learn all about the XNA Framework and XNA Game Studio Express. Even if you already know some of the basics there are many useful tips and tricks in the first chapter. The second chapter already explains the creation process of your first game; it is a simple one, but the lessons learned here will help you out later. In Chapters 3 and 4 two more games are created, but more importantly the foundation for your game engine is built.

Thanks to the many helper classes of Part I, writing the game engine in Part II, “Basic Graphics Engine,” is much easier and can focus on the hard parts of getting 3D models and shaders to work. Because everything in XNA is based on shaders because there is no more fixed function rendering, most of the time is spent talking about shaders, normal mapping, post-screen effects, and more. At the end of Part II the Rocket Commander XNA game is shown as a great example of a game combining all the shaders and the game engine from the previous chapters.

Part III, “Improving Your Game Engine,” goes back to the basics and talks about audio, UI, input handling, and managing your game engine in a meaningful way. Based on the XNA Graphics Engine and the Rocket Commander game you also create a new game called XNA Shooter, which is a really fun old-school shoot-’em-up game with cool 3D graphics and advanced shader effects.

In Part IV, “Writing a Racing Game,” you pull in all the knowledge you’ve gained to create full-blown racing game in XNA. This part features the most advanced topics like landscape and 3D track rendering, creating and handling physics engines, and many new shader technologies like shadow mapping, detail mapping, and rendering in an optimized way for optimal performance.

If you are ready to begin learning XNA game development, I suggest reading on and start with Chapter 1, “Introducing XNA.” Good luck creating your first XNA games and, above all, have fun! I hope you enjoy reading this book as much as I enjoyed writing it.