Learning XNA 3.0

Have you ever wondered what it takes to become a game developer? Or what about taking it a step further and developing for a next-gen console like the Xbox 360 instead of just a PC? With Microsoft's XNA framework, game development has never been more straightforward. This book takes you through introductory and intermediate game development concepts from 2D animation to 3D cameras and effects. Delve into high level shader language (HLSL) and introductory artificial intelligence concepts. The author avoids unnecessary details on background architecture and historical facts and instead focuses on what you want most - developing games from start to finish. The author is an experienced university-level game development instructor and the book was written specifically as a resource for first time game developers. The hands-on approach walks you through the XNA 2.0 framework for Windows and Xbox 360 development in a concise and easy to follow format.

Aaron Reed has extensive software development experience and more importantly, experience in software development education. Since 2004 he has taught courses at Neumont University in .NET, web development and web services, XNA, systems design and architecture, and more.

Aaron's experience in teaching both DirectX and XNA for several years to university-level students helps him understand what topics are easily understood and which ones need more depth and emphasis. Through experience in the classroom he also has a good understanding of what format and sequence makes the most sense to present the material. This book follows that format and is meant to present game development concepts in the way most efficient and most comprehendible as proven in the classroom.

Preface	p. xiii
Getting Started	p. 1
System Requirements	p. 1
Additional Resources	p. 2
Installation	p. 2
Creating Your First XNA Application	p. 4
What You Just Did	p. 5
Summary	p. 6
Test Your Knowledge: Quiz	p. 7
Fun with Sprites	p. 8
A Look Behind the Scenes	p. 8
Game Development Versus Polling	p. 11
Modifying Your Game	p. 14
Adding a Sprite to Your Project	p. 15
Loading and Drawing Your Sprite	p. 18
Transparency and Other Options	p. 21
Layer Depth	p. 25
Let's Move	p. 28
Animation	p. 30
Adjusting the Framerate	p. 35
Adjusting the Animation Speed	p. 36
What You Just Did	p. 38
Summary	p. 38
Test Your Knowledge: Quiz	p. 39
Test Your Knowledge: Exercise	p. 39
User Input and Collision Detection	p. 40
More Sprites	p. 40
Keyboard Input	p. 43
Mouse Input	p. 45
Gamepad Input	p. 47
Keeping the Sprite in the Game Window	p. 50
Collision Detection	p. 50
What You Just Did	p. 55
Summary	p. 56
Test Your Knowledge: Quiz	p. 56
Test Your Knowledge: Exercise	p. 57
Applying Some Object-Oriented Design	p. 58
Designing Your Classes	p. 58
Creating a Sprite Class	p. 59
Creating a User-Controlled Sprite Class	p. 63
Creating an Automated Sprite	p. 65
Game Components	p. 67
Coding the SpriteManager	p. 69
Cleaning Up	p. 71
Making Them Move	p. 74
What You Just Did	p. 74
Summary	p. 74
Test Your Knowledge: Quiz	p. 75
Test Your Knowledge: Exercise	p. 75
Sound Effects and Audio	p. 76
Using XACT	p. 77
Implementing XACT Audio Files in Code	p. 83
Using the Simplified API for Sound and Audio	p. 85
Adding More Sound to Your Game	p. 86
What You Just Did	p. 91
Summary	p. 91
Test Your Knowledge: Quiz	p. 91
Test Your Knowledge: Exercise	p. 91
Basic Artificial Intelligence	p. 92
The Turing Test	p. 93
Creating Sprites at Random Intervals	p. 93
Randomly Spawning Sprites	p. 95
Irrelevant Objects	p. 99
Creating a Chasing Sprite	p. 101
Creating an Evading Sprite	p. 107
What You Just Did	p. 112
Summary	p. 113
Test Your Knowledge: Quiz	p. 113
Test Your Knowledge: Exercise	p. 113
Putting It All Together	p. 114
Drawing 2D Text	p. 115
Randomly Generating Different Sprite Types	p. 121
Adding Some Variety to Your Sprites	p. 123
Adding a Background Image	p. 128
Game Scoring	p. 130
Game States	p. 137
Enabling/Disabling GameComponents	p. 141
Game-Over Logic and the Game-Over Screen	p. 143
Fine-Tuning Gameplay	p. 150
Creating Power-Ups	p. 154
What You Just Did	p. 159
Summary	p. 159
Test Your Knowledge: Quiz	p. 160
Test Your Knowledge: Exercise	p. 160
Deploying to the Microsoft Zune	p. 161
Setting Up Your Zune Device Connection	p. 161
Creating a Zune Project	p. 163
Input on the Zune	p. 165
Audio on the Zune	p. 167
Resolution and Gameplay Issues	p. 169
Converting the Collision Game from Windows to Zune	p. 170
Conditional Compilation Symbols	p. 171
Converting the Collision Game Audio	p. 173
Converting the Collision Game's Player Input Code	p. 175
Converting the Collision Game's Screen Size	p. 178
Zune Performance	p. 179
What You Just Did	p. 180
Summary	p. 181
Test Your Knowledge: Quiz	p. 181
3D Game Development	p. 182
Coordinate Systems	p. 182
Cameras	p. 184
Creating a 3D Camera	p. 186
Drawing Primitives	p. 189
Matrix Multiplication	p. 194
Movement and Rotation	p. 194
Backface Culling	p. 197
More on Rotations	p. 198
Even More Rotations	p. 200
Primitive Types	p. 202
Applying Textures	p. 204
What You Just Did	p. 209
Summary	p. 209
Test Your Knowledge: Quiz	p. 210
Test Your Knowledge: Exercise	p. 211
3D Models	p. 212
Using 3D Models	p. 212
Setting Up the Project	p. 213
Adding a Model to Your Project	p. 216
Drawing a Model Using a BasicModel Class	p. 217
Adding a Model Manager	p. 221
Rotating Your Model	p. 224
What You Just Did	p. 226
Summary	p. 226
Test Your Knowledge: Quiz	p. 226
Test Your Knowledge: Exercise	p. 227
Creating a First-Person Camera	p. 228
Components of a Moving 3D Camera	p. 228
Moving in a First-Person Camera	p. 232
Rotations in a First-Person Camera	p. 235
Coding the Camera for the 3D Game	p. 240
What You Just Did	p. 244
Summary	p. 244
Test Your Knowledge: Quiz	p. 245
Test Your Knowledge: Exercise	p. 245
3D Collision Detection and Shooting	p. 246
Creating a Moving Enemy	p. 246
Adding Some Game Logic	p. 248
Firing Shots	p. 257
3D Collision Detection and Bounding Spheres	p. 261
Adding a Crosshair	p. 265
Adding Sound	p. 266
What You Just Did	p. 273
Summary	p. 273
Test Your Knowledge: Quiz	p. 274
Test Your Knowledge: Exercise	p. 274
HLSL Basics	p. 275
HLSL Syntax	p. 277
Dissecting a Sample HLSL Effect File	p. 278
Applying an HLSL Effect in C#	p. 287
Applying HLSL Using Textures	p. 295
HLSL Effects: Creating a Negative	p. 303
HLSL Effects: Blur	p. 304
HLSL Effects: Grayscale	p. 304
What You Just Did	p. 306
Summary	p. 307
Test Your Knowledge: Quiz	p. 307
Test Your Knowledge: Exercise	p. 307
Particle Systems	p. 308
Creating a Custom Vertex	p. 308
Creating a Particle Engine	p. 312
Adding a Particle Effect File	p. 320
Adding Your Particle Engine to Your Game	p. 322
Adding a Starfield	p. 325
What You Just Did	p. 330
Summary	p. 331
Test Your Knowledge: Quiz	p. 331
Wrapping Up Your 3D Game	p. 332
Adding a Splash Screen Game Component	p. 332
Keeping Score	p. 342
Adding a Power-Up	p. 347
What You Just Did	p. 352
Test Your Knowledge: Exercise	p. 353
Deploying to the Xbox 360	p. 354
Adding an Xbox 360 Device	p. 354
Converting a Project to Run on the Xbox 360	p. 358
Supporting Gamepad Input	p. 361
Deploying to the Xbox 360	p. 367
Xbox 360 Display Settings	p. 369
The Title Safe Region	p. 370
What You Just Did	p. 372
Summary	p. 372
Test Your Knowledge: Quiz	p. 373
Multiplayer Games	p. 374
Split-Screen Functionality	p. 374
Network Game Development	p. 384
Network Configurations	p. 385
Writing an XNA Network Game	p. 387
Modifying the Sprite Class	p. 388
Modifying the UserControlledSprite Class	p. 388
Coding Your Game1 Class	p. 391
Adding Update Code	p. 394
Adding Draw Code	p. 410
Adding Biohazard Bombs of Insanity!	p. 415
What You Just Did	p. 422
Summary	p. 423
Test Your Knowledge: Quiz	p. 424
Answers to Quizzes and Exercises	p. 425
Index	p. 477
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