Microsoft XNA Game Studio Creators Guide

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 480 pages
• Published by: McGraw-Hill Osborne Media
• Edition: 1st Edition June 25, 2007
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 007149071X
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0071490719
• Book Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 1.1 inches
• Weighs: 1.7 pounds

Product Description


Bring your gaming visions to life with Microsoft XNA Game Studio Express

Create complete 3D games using Microsoft XNA Game Studio Express and this hands-on guide. Written by experienced game developers, Microsoft XNA Game Studio Creator's Guide details the basics of great game programming and offers detailed examples.

Inside, you'll learn to program a game engine, write shader code, create and animate 3D models, and add fluid motion and special effects. You'll also find out how to launch ballistics, add realistic scenery and terrain, and integrate lighting and textures. Step-by-step tutorials on underlying C# code and explanations of vector and matrix techniques are included.

• Build and dynamically update XNA game windows and custom 3D objects
• Learn scintillating animation techniques
• Create lifelike skyboxes, textures, lighting, and shading effects
• Program shaders using high-level shader language
• Develop single- and multi-player games
• Generate and code terrain with height detection
• Construct impressive graphics using sprites, multi-texturing, and blending
• Integrate audio, game dashboards, and score tracking
• Develop realistic collision detection, ballistics, and particle effects
• HaHHhhndle keyboard, mouse, and game controller input
• Create static *.fbx and animated Quake 2 models and control them in code

 

About The Author

Stephen Cawood is a former program manager at Microsoft Corporation. He has written several gaming titles.

Pat McGee is a faculty member and course developer at the British Columbia Institute of Technology. He is a game programmer.

Reader Reviews
I was excited to see this book arrive from Amazon so quickly and couldn't wait to look at the newest XNA game programming book. Although, I was somewhat disappointed when I first opened the box from Amazon and did a quick look through pages. Realizing this book was far more basic than what the description on Amazon lead me to believe. However, as I read through the book and ran the example downloaded code I realized this really was a good introduction to game programming. Pros * Provides a good introduction to many fundamental game programming concepts * Doesn't jump right into 3D mathematics as many intro game programming books do, I feel this gives the reader a better grasp for how to apply 3D math later in the book * Good examples of the 3D math concepts provided in example code, not many programming books do this * Chapters are short, easy to read and understand * Covers some of the more basic tools a beginning game programmer will use * Provides a lot of example code that compiles and runs without troubles * Book does cover some more advanced concepts that will certainly be useful to any level of user Cons * Wish the example code was highlighted a little better in the books text * Example code uses some dated conventions (Hungarian notation) which somewhat date the code * Would have liked to see some more detailed examples and a game or two that brought the concepts together * Some of the chapters are a little too short for my liking considering some of the concepts this book covers If you are looking for a good introduction to game programming with XNA I would recommend this book. Those with some game programming experience looking for an introduction to XNA may be a little disappointed but overall I feel this is a good title for any novice. Comment | | (Report this)