Together XNA Game Studio 3.1 and Microsoft Visual C# 2008 Express provide an intuitive development environment that supports the creation of computer games. They provide everything needed to create, test, run, and debug computer games on a Windows computer. XNA Game Studio 3.1 supplies access to an enormous collection of pre-written program code, which you can call upon to simplify game development. This allows you to create professional-quality computer games, which you can then distribute and even sell royalty-free to other Windows and Zune users. In addition, if you elect to sign up with Xbox Live, you can sell Xbox 360 versions of your games.

Examples of the games that you can create include:

Of course, XNA Game Studio 3.1 doesn’t limit you to the types of games listed above. You can use it to create pretty much any type of game you can imagine.

XNA 3.1 Game Development for Teens has been designed to meet the needs of those gamers who love playing games and who want to make the leap from player to game developer. As this book will show you, playing games is fun, but creating your own games is where the real action and fun is. This book will not only teach you how to use XNA Game Studio 3.1 and Microsoft Visual C# 2008 Express to create all sorts of different games, but it will also teach you good programming about good game development principles.

XNA Game Studio 3.1 is easy enough for beginners to use to get started while at the same time is powerful to meet the need of advanced game developers. In fact, it provides everything you need to make the most advanced professional-looking games, everything that is except for the graphic and audio files that you will also need to give your applications the right look and feel. Fortunately, even if you are not a graphic artist or an audio engineer or musician, you will find there is no shortage of multimedia content available on the Internet.

As this book will show you, thanks to XNA Game Studio 3.1, game development is no longer the exclusive domain of veteran programmers with computer science degrees and decades of experience. While previous programming experience is certainly helpful, first-time game developers only require a good understanding of Microsoft Windows to get started. If you know how to operate a computer and are comfortable working with applications like Microsoft Office, you’ll be surprised how quickly you will pick things up.

Advanced game developers, on the other hand, will be pleased to know that XNA Game Studio 3.1’s game framework provides all of the programming power required to develop even the most complex games. It can be used to create standalone and network games. Whether you are just interested in having a little fun or you want to create and sell the next great Xbox 360 game, XNA Game Studio 3.1 will fit your needs quite nicely. With this book and a little time and effort you’ll be creating all kinds of games and perhaps even taking your first steps in a new career in no time at all.

XNA Game Studio 3.1 is free and so is Microsoft Visual C#, the programming languages that you will use when developing XNA games and applications. These are the only resources that you will need to begin developing games for execution on Windows and the Zune portable media player. XNA games are supported on any type of Zune player. However, if you want to make your games available for execution on the Xbox 360, your Xbox 360 will have to be connected to Xbox Live and you will have to sign up for an XNA Creators Club membership. Also, your Xbox 360 must also be equipped with a hard drive to store your games.

Since almost all of the program code that you will develop is portable to both the Xbox 360 and Zune execution platforms, this book will demonstrate XNA game development on Microsoft Windows. XNA Game Studio 3.1 works with any of the following versions of Microsoft Windows.

All of the figures and examples presented in this book are shown using XNA Game Studio 3.1, running on Microsoft Windows Vista. Later in the book, you will learn how to port your games over to the Xbox and Zune player and to make any required adjustments to your program code. If your computer has a different version of Windows installed, you may notice small differences in how things look. However, all basic features and functionality work exactly the same.

In order install and operate XNA Game Studio 3.1, your computer must meet the minimum hardware requirements listed in Table I.1. However, for good performance, you will want to make sure that your computer meets the recommended requirements.

In addition to the hardware requirements listed in Table I.1, your computer will require a graphics card that supports Shader Model 1.1 or higher and DirectX 9.0c. DirectX is a Microsoft technology that facilitates the development and execution of high-performance graphics and audio applications. Unless your computer is more than several years old, it should meet these requirements. If this is not the case, you can download and install it by visiting http://www.microsoft.com/windows/directx.

As previously stated, game development using Microsoft XNA Game Studio 3.1 requires that you install Microsoft Visual C# 2008 Express Edition or Visual Studio 2008 Professional Edition. Microsoft Visual C# 2008 Express Edition is free and is the version that will be used throughout this book. You can download Microsoft Visual C# 2008 Express Edition at http://www.microsoft.com/express/vcsharp/.

Assuming your computer meets the hardware and software requirements previously outlined, all you need to get started developing your own games is this book. Of course, if you want to develop games for the Xbox 360 or the Zune, you will need access to these devices.

This book uses a number of conventions in order to make it easier for you to read and work with the information that is provided. These conventions are as follows.

You may download the companion website files from www.courseptr.com/downloads.