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New developer tool will port Xbox 360 games to iOS
ExEn is a brand new tool for developers that's designed to bridge the gap between XNA, Silverlight and iOS (and eventually Android). XNA stands for "Xbox New Architecture," and is the general API used by developers to create games for Microsoft's Xbox console, and ExEn purports to take those games, and bring them over to Microsoft's Silverlight platform as well as Apple's iOS. It's still a work in progress, so some features are missing (the biggest of these being, of course, that Android compatibility), but it's completely free and open source, so any developers who have XNA code that they want to try and port are welcome to go grab it and give it a shot. If it works (I'm not a developer, so I haven't actually used it), this might put an interesting wrinkle in the developer ecosystem. I had a nice chat with the creator of I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MBIES 1N IT!!!1 (yes, that's really the name) a few weeks ago -- that strangely-named dual stick shooter is perhaps the most famous Xbox Live Indie game title, and he recently ported his title over to Windows Phone 7 with the blessing (if not the full support) of Microsoft. But I wonder what his options would have looked like if a tool like this could have allowed him to easily and quickly bring the game over to iOS. At any rate, we'll see if any big XNA developers try to take advantage of a system like this. If it works, hopefully we'll see great XNA games, like Cthulu Saves the World, appear on the iPad and iPhone. [via BGR]
Microsoft takes measure to counter alleged Indie Games ratings manipulation
Microsoft has disabled Xbox Live "Free" members' ability to rate Marketplace content on Xbox.com in an apparent effort to curb ratings manipulation. The announcement was made on the XNA Game Studio Team Blog and was specifically addressed to the Indie Games Community. "By implementing this change, we believe our customers will experience more consistent ratings and a significantly reduced potential for abuse across the entire Xbox catalog," said the statement. "We have also investigated rolling back suspect votes, however, we determined it will not be possible to do this." Several weeks ago, developers of some of the top-rated Indie Games suspected foul play when their games began to slide down the Top Rated listing after receiving, by one developer's count, "hundreds of 1 star ratings" in a single week. While the XNA Team conceded that it would be unable to take away such seemingly unwarranted ratings, it did add that "we are investigating users who may have violated their user agreement during this series of events." "Violating user agreements may result in actions up to and including banning from Xbox Live, removal of currently posted games, and loss of ability to post games in the future," the statement continued. A few Indie Games developers have expressed gratitude, as reported by Armless Octopus, for Microsoft listening to their concerns and taking action. (Historically, it's been a somewhat rocky relationship between the two sides.) While limiting rating powers on Xbox.com to paying Gold members would seem to thwart the most egregious attacks and manipulation of content, it does not solve some of the other issues with the system; most notably that a user need not play, let alone purchase, content to rate it.
Microsoft kicks off Dream Build Play 2011 with $75K prize pool
Registration for Microsoft's fifth annual Dream Build Play competition opened today. Submissions will be accepted from May 17 through June 14. Dream Build Play challenges amateur developers to create a game using Microsoft's XNA Game Studio and rewards winners with a cash prize and "the opportunity" for an Xbox Live Arcade publishing contract (though it's a big commitment, previous winner James Silva warns). A total of $75,000 will be up for grabs this year, with $40,000 going to the grand prize winner, $20K to first prize, $10K to second and the remaining $5K to the third prize winner. Last year's grand prize winner, Lumi (pictured), is available now as an Xbox Live Indie Game. Previous winners include Dust: An Elysian Tale and Silva's The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai. The latter was released on XBLA and its sequel is in the works, while Dust should arrive on XBLA in the near future. Those wishing to enter this year's competition should head over to the Dream Build Play website.
Kinect support for Windows in the works, SDK release this summer?
WinRumors, citing anonymous sources, reports that the official software developers kit (SDK) for Kinect is currently in the works and will be released in beta some time in the next few months. Apparently, support for the device will become a part of Microsoft's XNA Game Studio and also be integrated into Windows 8 in a big way. These details come hot on the heels of CEO Steve Ballmer's statement at CES that the good folks in Redmond would eventually support the device's use on computers, but he set no timetable for the SDKs release. We can't confirm the story, but given the level of detail in the report and the author's confidence in the info, we won't be surprised if Microsoft gives all you Kinect hackers something to cheer about very soon.
Interview: Microsoft on integrating Xbox Live into Windows Phone 7 Series
Windows Phone 7 isn't just Microsoft's attempt to compete against Apple's iPhone. It's also the introduction of the first portable Xbox platform. During GDC today, we talked to Xbox Live GM Ron Pessner and XNA Game Studio manager Michael Klucher about how games integrate into the mobile platform and what gamers and developers can expect in the future. For the purpose of this interview, Pessner and Klucher merged into one entity (they spoke over each other a lot!) to answer our questions: Microsoft plans to separate games that do and don't support Xbox Live functionality on Windows Phone. Are there any concerns that this will turn off indie developers? Pessner and Klucher: The short answer is "no." The way that we built the Phone and Marketplace experience makes it very easy to search for what you're looking for. With XNA Game Studio 4.0, you can use the same set of tools to build an Xbox Live game or non-Xbox Live game on the platform. The benefit that developers get for working with Game Studio is everything we just described. We also are very interested in seeing concept submissions from the indie community, and we're out talking to a lot of independent developers. Fortunately, we're working with a lot of these folks in context of the console today, and many of the console titles that have come to us through the Indie Channel or Xbox Live Arcade, we think will also make fantastic mobile titles. So we're reaching back out to these developers and accepting submissions for ideas as a way to help make those Xbox Live titles. It's up to the developer in terms of what they want to do on the platform, but we're really excited with the response we've seen so far.
Microsoft shows off XNA games running on Windows Phone, full 3D is a go
Alright, we're going to be straight with you: you're not going to like this. See, Microsoft just showed us a pair of 3D games running on its ASUS Windows Phone prototype and built with its brand new XNA Game Studio 4.0, but wouldn't let us nab a single photo or video of the process. What we can tell you is that they exist, they work, and at least Microsoft tossed us some screenshots to wave in your face. The two titles are The Harvest (pictured), a good looking touch-controlled dungeon crawler with destructible environments, being developed by Luma Arcade; and Battle Punks, a less impressive one-on-one sword fighting Facebook game by Gravity Bear that's being ported over. We didn't get to see any full motion 3D camera moves, since Battle Punks is just composed of two characters duking it out, and The Harvest has a fixed camera and some pre-rendered elements, but there were indeed some real polygons being crunched before our eyes at a full resolution (no upscaling), alpha-rev, choppy framerate, and we were assured that full screen 3D was possible. We also got to see one of our first glimpses of universal notifications on Windows Phone: Achievement unlock notices (also pictured above) that slide down from the top of the screen in a black bar and then slide back, and can't be interacted with. Follow after the break for some more nerdy details, along with a video of VisualStudio in action, and screenshots of the two games are in the gallery below. %Gallery-87820%
XNA Game Studio 4.0 includes Windows Phone support
Microsoft took yet another step today in convincing us that Windows Phone 7 will be a legitimate gaming platform. The company just unveiled XNA Game Studio 4.0, which, in addition to supporting PC and Xbox 360, will also let designers make games for the new mobile platform. Besides being great news for indies, it also means that you'll be able to use your gamertag and Avatar on the phone, as well as unlock Xbox Live Achievements. You can read more about the technical integration of XNA and WP7 on Microsoft program manager Michael Klucher's blog. Hopefully we'll have even more details for you as the tech is rolled out during GDC.
Microsoft bringing XNA Game Studio 4.0 to GDC this week, does 3D gaming for Windows Phone
We've all had a feeling that Microsoft is holding back some pretty big surprises (or at least completely reasonable revelations) when it comes to Windows Phone 7 Series and gaming, and here at GDC this week it sounds like we're going to get a little glimpse into that. Microsoft is unveiling its new XNA Game Studio 4.0, which lets developers work on games for Windows Phone 7 Series, Xbox 360 and Windows PC. The integration with Visual Studio 2010 that we saw the other day allows developers to build a single project and then make slight modifications to let it run on each platform respectively. Most importantly, Microsoft specifically mentions that 4.0 will include hardware accelerated 3D APIs for Windows Phone 7 Series -- not stunning, giving the fact that Zune can do 3D games (and is supported by XNA), but relieving just the same. Other phone-related tidbits are also telling: there will be fairly deep Xbox LIVE integration, including unlocking achievements from phone-based games and push notifications for asynchronous turn based gaming. Hopefully we can get some real live multiplayer gaming going as well, but there's no mention of that just yet. Microsoft promises "much, much more" will be revealed at MIX 2010, but for now we're gonna dig for all we can here at GDC.
Microsoft releases XNA update for Zune HD developers, multitouch drawing app created
A lot of people had differing emotions when reading the Zune HD launch announcement yesterday: joy that the system would indeed sport a selection of apps and games, all free; dismay that those apps would be developed almost exclusively by Microsoft. Today you can turn that frown upside down, sweetheart, as it seems that exclusivity won't last long. An update to the XNA Game Studio development environment has already been released, enabling coders to target the Zune HD. The new version, 3.1, adds libraries for handling the system's accelerometer and multitouch screen, both put to use by developer Elton Muuga to create a simple drawing app, shown in video form after the break. It makes lines on a screen with finger touches and, like a ridiculously expensive Etch A Sketch, erases with a shake. It's not much, but impressive given the thing's only been available for a day now, and while we're still unsure how apps like this will find their way into the Zune's app store, we're sure all will be answered soon enough.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]Read - XNA Game Studio 3.1Read - First Zune HD Multi-Touch Drawing App
Boku, Microsoft's 'LittleBigPlanet' heading to 360, PC
Little Big Planet captured players' hearts and free time with its unmistakable mix of ingenuity and cute. Now it appears that Microsoft has its own plan to tap into players' creative wellspring with Boku, a new XNA project billed by The Seattle Times blog as a "visual programming language for kids." Hello World.Following a previous demonstration of the project in 2007, Boku was officially unveiled this week by project lead Matthew MacLaurin during Microsoft's Professional Developers Conference in Los Angeles. The effort looks to build upon Microsoft's ongoing work with the more complicated XNA Game Studio, allowing players to program their own games using a more inviting set of icon-driven instructions on either the PC or Xbox 360. Sort of makes us want to go back and revisit Carnage Heart. No official release date has been announced yet, though MacLaurin noted during his presentation that players will be able to start playing with Boku sometime "early next year." Until then, check out a video of it in motion after the break. [Via Gamasutra]
XNA Community Games go 'Live' for indie devs
Microsoft has taken the next big step towards its goal of bringing user-created games to Xbox Live Arcade. The software behemoth today hung out an "open" sign on its Community Games for Xbox Live beta, allowing small developers enrolled in the XNA Creators Club to share, review, and download each others' games via Xbox Live Arcade. Currently, only Creators Club members with "Premium" accounts -- which cost $99 a year -- can access the service, but MS plans to make top-voted Community games available for download by John Q. Public in the fall.The Creators Club and Community games are the next stage of Microsoft's XNA initiative, which saw the introduction of XNA Game Studio 2.0 -- a suite of tools for creating Xbox 360 and Windows games -- earlier this year. The free software package is intended to simplify the development process and encourage upstarts to make Xbox 360 their platform of choice. It includes a variety of tutorials and samples, which MS added to today with the introduction of a free Role-Playing Game Starter Kit.News of today's beta launch comes in the wake of our earlier post on MS's intention to "leapfrog" PSN and WiiWare with the help of indie developers.
Microsoft talks XBLA future, loosening download size limit
No pressure or anything, but you're the future of Xbox Live Arcade, 'kay? In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Microsoft's worldwide Xbox Live Arcade games portfolio manager, David Edery, states that user-created games are "going to help [Microsoft] leapfrog the competition" -- said competition being PlayStation Network and WiiWare. Edery also questions whether Sony or Nintendo will ever attempt to emulate Microsoft's initiative.Revealed at GDC 2008, Microsoft's Community Games Initiative is set to launch later this year and will allow indie devs to submit games created using XNA Game Studio 2.0 for other Community members to review. The top-rated submissions will be made available via XBLA for all users to download.Some other interesting tidbits from the Edry interview: MS is planning to increase the maximum file size for future XBLA releases from 150 megabytes to 350MB, although he wouldn't divulge when. (MS had already made an exception for Capcom's upcoming Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, affording it 250MB for all its high-res 2D goodness.) Edery also confirms that MS has a "large" number of upcoming XBLA releases in its queue, and may consider more multi-release XBLA Wednesdays as a result.
First Xbox 360 Community Games to hit Live "immediately"
It wasn't all Zune gaming at Microsoft's GDC keynote this morning -- a lot of time was spent discussing Community Games, the new official name for XNA-based games. Amateur devs will get "creator identities" along with their gamertags, and Live members can rate, grade, and discuss your efforts. Of course, as we've heard, games can move from the 360 to PCs to second-gen Zunes, which is definitely pretty cool, but it'll be interesting to see what that means for devs who want to try and take advantage of the 360's horsepower -- will they be restrict their code to a specific platform? While we wait for those answers, it looks like we'll be able to get a taste of what Community Games have to offer right away -- Microsoft announced that the first seven XNA-based games are available immediately, with an open beta to begin in spring and full-on launch by the end of the year. List of games after the jump -- but what are you doing reading this when you could be playing?Update: We just tried downloading RocketBall and the process is totally different than you'd expect. First you have to download the XNA Launcher, which is under New Arrivals in the Marketplace blade -- but you don't need a membership, so skip that, and the XNA ad that displays points you to the wrong thing, so ignore that as well. Then head over to the Games blade and select Games Library, but don't open the Launcher, cause it'll just kick you out. Instead, press Y to view the list of games and download one. So far the "YouTube of games" seems a bit convoluted -- hopefully the next Dashboard update makes this all a bit simpler.
The who, what, when and how of XNA
Michael Klucher, XNA project manager, was interviewed by the adults over at Adult Gaming Enthusiasts to learn more about Microsoft's XNA ambitions. In the interview, Michael talks about why they wanted to create XNA Studio Express and how they are confident in what will come from the program. On a side note, it's interesting to know that XNA SE took roughly a year to complete from idea to implementation. Anyway, Mr. Klucher also mentions that in the future we'll be seeing more and more games come from XNA SE and the possibility of "mom and pop" developers coming forth. It's an interesting interview if you are at all interested in XNA development or where it is headed. We're optimistic in the Xbox 360 community's creativity and coding skills to create the next Geometry Wars or Assault Hero ... but we still worry about the ::shiver:: Microsoft certification process. Oh the pain!
