More about XNA
I’ve been told I haven’t blogged anything in while(?) so I’d thought I’d tell you some more about my XNA experiences.
The game loop and graphic device initialization in MS GSE (Game Studio Express) really make a difference to game development in .NET but I have to admit I still feel like I’m basically writing a lot of DirectX code instead of focusing on game mechanics.
One thing I can say is there is a lot of documentation, from slides to videos, being generated for XNA which will hopefully turn into something that a beginning game developer can use to get going (although I deplore some of the attempts starting as such basics as “how to call a methodâ€).
The framework is also promisingly extensible with the GameComponent base class (see this post from the XNA Team to learn more) and Microsoft, third party vendors and developers are expected to all bring out some interesting things.
I’m busy working on an Arkanoid remake using the GSE as demo for my talk at rAge. It’s going slowly because you really have to use your own collision detection and response.
So at the moment you have a lot of work ahead of you if you want to make a game using the GSE Beta and if you’re just starting out I’d recommend rather looking at tools like GameMaker or Torque Game Builder.
