XNA Essentials

Game Programming for Xbox 360, PC + Windows Phone

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Programming Advice?

Hi. I was wandering if I should make some simple games in pure C# first to fully enjoy this book?


I have studied basic C#. But I have no experience in making my own games yet....


Advice?


 


Thanx. :)

dshuffman33 - Wednesday, June 9, 2010 @ 10:54 AM

Re: Programming Advice?

Sorry for not seeing your questions sooner.


As long as you understand C# you should be fine even if you haven't created any games yet.  You may need to spend some time outside of the book to dig deeper into some topics on game math, etc but you can do that while working through the book.  The book assumes no prior game programming knowledge.  It only assumes programming knowledge.


Hope this helps, if you have any other questions don't hesitate to ask and hopefully I'll respond faster next time!


Thanks!


Chad

Chad Carter - Saturday, June 12, 2010 @ 5:08 PM

Re: Programming Advice?

Chad,


I'm considering picking up your XNA book, however I have very little experience programming, and no experience with C#. Can you recommend a good C# book for beginners?


Thanks!

EasyTarget878 - Tuesday, June 22, 2010 @ 2:34 PM

Re: Programming Advice?

I used Head First C#.... excellent beginners book. Makes you learn.. :)

dshuffman33 - Tuesday, June 22, 2010 @ 8:10 PM

Re: Programming Advice?

Hi Chad,


I was wandering..... would this be a good learning order ?


1) Complete Head First C# Space Invaders.


2) Make Pong, Tetris and Breakout in Pure C#.


3) Go through XNA 3.0 Unleashed....


I feel that if i go straight into your book, afterwards I will still have no idea how to make a game outside of your book.


 


Thanx.

dshuffman33 - Wednesday, June 23, 2010 @ 4:41 PM

Re: Programming Advice?

I'd suggest going through your C# book first as you have, but then I think it would be beneficial to go through the XNA book to understand the XNA Framework, but to also understand general game programming principles like Finite State Machines / Game States and general game programming topics like Physics and AI.  The games you write will all be in "Pure C#" but it will be relying on the XNA Framework.  Ultimately, you will need some kind of library to display graphics on the screen.  Once you are done with the XNA Book I think you will be able to create the Pong/Tetris/Breakout games quicker. 


Hopefully that helped and didn't sound too self-serving. I do think you will be able to create other games faster after learning the concepts in the XNA book.

Chad Carter - Sunday, June 27, 2010 @ 6:37 PM