| XNA Game Studio Express: Developing Games for Windows and the Xbox 360 | 
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Avg. Customer Rating:   (based on 11 reviews)
Sales Rank: 95284
Category: Book
Author: Joseph B Hall
Publisher: Course Technology PTR
Studio: Course Technology PTR
Manufacturer: Course Technology PTR
Label: Course Technology PTR
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 700
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 7.4 x 1.6
ISBN: 1598633686
Dewey Decimal Number: 794.81526
EAN: 9781598633689
ASIN: 1598633686
Publication Date: September 6, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
XNA Game Studio Express: Developing Games for Windows and the Xbox 360 is the ultimate resource for hobbyists and students who want to write games for Windows and the Xbox 360 game console. Learn how you can create your own games using the amazing tools of XNA and Game Studio Express, the free game development tools and APIs from Microsoft, based on the incredibly popular Visual Studio IDE. You'll begin with an introduction to the XNA platform and the Game Studio Express development environment. From there, you'll examine many different game genres and will develop your own working games. You'll also cover writing components and libraries and will develop reusable code that can be plugged into your game projects. Wrap things up with a collection of more advanced topics. To get the most out of this unique guide you will need a working knowledge of programming, but readers with a variety of backgrounds will still benefit from the comprehensive coverage found inside. XNA will turn players into developers, doing for game creation what YouTube and myspace have done for music and video.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 6 more reviews...
 Good Book September 16, 2008
The difference this book is that it teaches the engine of a good variety of simple games that can be made by amateur programmers.
The only negative point that I thought it was the fact that the examples contained in the CD are in XNA version 1.0, and that to be returned to that version, is a bit outdated.
But in terms of learning, this has an excellent didactic.
Excellent Book and a bunch of fun August 31, 2008
This book is excellent *IF* you know C#. I rated it 5 stars because I work in C# everyday and am able to find my way around the code. I'm also translating the XNA 1.0 examples into 2.0 examples using the Author's website. The way I approach the examples is to actually load the code that is working in one instance of VS 2005 and then work in another version. I attempt to put the code together, learning along the way, and then look at the finished example. In this manner I learn even more about C# while learning XNA. I own many XNA books and this one is by far the best of the bunch and one I keep close at hand.
If you are brand new to C# this should be your second book after a good basic C# book.
 Great 2D book. Works with 2.0 April 30, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This book talks about 3D, but it's main focus is 2D. I would have liked to seen some more information on 3D, but obviously you can only fit so many things in a book. This book was released after the 1.0 refresh was out, but it still has it's own font class instead of using the built in font class in XNA. This annoyed me a little, but nothing major.
The author does a great job at explaining most of the code. He has good text information as well. My biggest complaint was all of the "redundant" 2D games. Granted, they are different games but it is really more of the same. This is just my jaded view to wish there was more information on 3D.
If you are looking for only 2D games, this is the book for you. It also has some basic info on 3D that is beneficial, but if you are looking to actually create a 3D game you will want to grab a different XNA book on the market. Check my reviews to see which ones I like. This book gets my second highest review because it is such a good book. The author did a great job ... main reason for the dock of one star is for the lack of 3D content.
The book has updated code and doesn't seem to change to much from what is printed in the book. That is a good thing!
Beginner Book March 31, 2008
Great for new person to XNA. General OO programming knowledge required, but the basics of game design are there.
Easy to read, very concise book about XNA February 26, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Just real brief - this book is a must for developers who are familiar with programming concepts (i.e. conditions, loops, etc), and who wish to dabble in XNA. XNA's a different beast in itself, as the book will explain - and the author will strive to explain every single detail about the code he uses and the formulas he places in them. Reason why I only rated this book a 4 out of 5 is because all the code in the book is based off of XNA 1.0 - and the current version, XNA 2.0, deprecates some of the programs in the book. You can download the code from his site, however - but often times I want to be able to just thumb through the code in the book and not worry whether or not the code's deprecated. Otherwise, it's a highly recommendable book.
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