Discover how to create exciting and challenging games for the Xbox 360 using XNA Game Studio 4.0 and the Visual C# programming language. XNA Game Studio 4.0 for Xbox 360 Developers provides experienced game developers with a comprehensive overview of the XNA Framework, providing all the tools, source code, and information you need to develop Windows and Xbox 360 games. You’ll find an introduction to programming in XNA, the XNA Framework, and all the new features included in XNA 4.0 to get you started. The bulk of the book focuses on the XNA Framework, in particular the features of the Xbox 360, including the controller, playing audio, and creating graphics. The final part of the book covers the major features of Xbox Live, including creating and rendering an avatar, 3D programming, loading and rendering a mesh using a basic shader, and networking via system link and online. You’ll tie together all the skills you’ve learned in a final game project that demonstrates the networking capabilities of XNA and acts as a rudimentary, sprite-based networked game engine for your own projects.
Source code and artwork from the book as well as Visual C# 2010 projects for Windows and Xbox 360 are available as accompanying downloads.
About author
Jonathan S. Harbour has been programming video games since the 1980s. His first game system was an Atari 2600, which he played with disassembled on the floor of his room as a kid. He has written on numerous subjects such as C++, C#, Basic, Java, DirectX, Allegro, Lua, DarkBasic, Pocket PC, and game consoles. He is the author of the recent books Visual C# Game Programming for Teens; Beginning Java Game Programming, 2nd Edition; Visual Basic Game Programming for Teens, Third Edition; and Multi-Threaded Game Engine Design. He holds a master’s degree in Information Systems Management. Visit his Web log and game-development forum at http://www.jharbour.com.