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.