XNA 3.0 Game Programming Recipes: A Problem-Solution Approach (Expert's Voice in XNA)

Join the game development revolution today! XNA 3.0 greatly simplifies the development of your own games, lowering the barrier for programmers to get into game development. In XNA, you can start coding your games from the very start, a true revelation compared to other game programming environments. XNA doesn’t sacrifice power for this ease of use—it is built entirely on DirectX technology.

Completely updated for XNA 3.0, expert Riemer Grootjans brings together a selection of the hottest recipes in XNA programming for the Xbox 360, PC, and Zune. Advanced XNA programmers, experienced coders new to game development, and even complete beginners will find XNA 3.0 Game Programming Recipes an invaluable companion whether building games for fun or as commercial products.

What you’ll learn

This title covers virtually every feature of the XNA 3.0 Framework. It focuses primarily on 2D and 3D graphics programming, but other game programming features such as audio playback, networking, and mobile gaming are also discussed in detail.

These are some of the topics that are being covered in depth:

• How to create 2D graphics
• 3D rendering techniques at various levels of difficulty
• Creating games for the Zune mobile device
• Loading, rendering, and animating 3D models
• How to read input devices: keyboard, mouse, and Xbox 360 Controller
• Using audio to spice up your game
• Adding networking to your game to challenge your friends
• Architectural XNA features, such as GameComponents
• The content pipeline: one of the three major components in XNA game development
• A whole list of HLSL techniques!

Who this book is for

This book is for everyone! Whatever your experience, you will find a recipe to suit your need and skill. Great care has been taken to ensure the easier recipes provide a great deal of detail so they can be followed by readers without much programming experience. Each chapter gradually builds in difficulty so you will be able to progress through it as your XNA coding improves and you move on to more sophisticated techniques.