XNA
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Built with XNA, a NES emulator on your 360
For everyone who thought Microsoft's XNA project would be worthless, now is the time to rethink your opinion. Xbox-Scene got word that a guy by the name of Lone Coder has used XNA to build a NES emulator that runs on the 360 called XNA SharpNES. Though, you'll need to purchase a XNA Creator's Club membership, have Visual C# Studio Express and XNA Game Studio Express installed on your computer. There are a few bugs to work out yet, like no ROM loading menu and overall performance on the 360 running at 60% - 70%. But at least things are moving in the right direction. For more information and to download the code head over to XNA SharpNES's Google Code site. And if you're willing to try this out please comment on your experience with the emulator so we can live vicariously through you.[Thanks, to everyone who sent this in]
XNA launches, policies still being set
Gamasutra interviews Dave Mitchell, Director of Marketing for Microsoft's Game Development Group, about the recent XNA development tools launch. XNA -- which either doesn't stand for anything or "XNA's Not Acronymed" according to the FAQ -- lets hobbyists and small developers create games for the Xbox and Xbox Live Arcade. Gamers have had many questions about the homebrew style of the tools, and Mitchell avoids directly answering most.Instead, at least Mitchell says that Microsoft is trying to answer the important questions, like those relating to IP ownership and distribution. He says that Microsoft wants creators to retain IP "where possible," and the company is uncertain how much policing will be needed to block clones and infringing games, but that he expects that kind of activity. As far as users selling products, setting prices, and if Microsoft will host games or if users need to provide storage space, Mitchell describes a few possibilities without a real plan.The XNA tools have the potential to create a community for homebrew developers and players, but we hope that these fundamental questions are answered soon.
Dave Mitchell and the bright future of XNA
Dave Mitchell, Director of Marketing for Microsoft's Game Developer Group, recently sat down with Gamasutra to discuss the release of XNA Game Studio Express and the Creators Club. Mitchell talks at length about the future of XNA, reiterating the often used idiom that Microsoft wants to create the "YouTube for games."
Microsoft releases XNA Game Studio Express
Microsoft's been talking this one up for some time now, but XNA Game Studio Express, the so-called "YouTube for games," has finally hit the big 1.0 and is now available for would-be game designers everywhere to get their hands dirty with. The software is a trimmed down version of the company's full-fledged XNA game devleopment platform, based on Visual C# Express and able to run on a standard Windows PC (XP for now, Vista later). The YouTube analogy is, of course, a bit of an overstatement as you'll need some honest-to-goodness programming skills to actually create something resembling a game. While the core software is available as a free download, to get the most out of it you'll have to sign up for the XNA Creators Club, which will run you $49 for a four month subscription or $99 for an annual sub through Xbox Live Marketplace. In addition to letting you play user-created games on an Xbox 360, it'll also give you access to a library of game assests, as well as sample products, white papers, and technical support. If you need an added incentive, Microsoft's also announced the "Dream-Build-Play" game design competition, though the only details they're providing at the moment are that you can win "fantastic prizes" and "global envy." Funny, we thought you needed a PS3 for that.
Microsoft launches XNA Creator's Club
Though you might envision a "creator's club" to be some sort of blunt object used to beat beautiful games out of misshapen code, it's actually the next step in Microsoft's ongoing XNA initiative. The "community-powered arcade" is now within reach of any gamer and would-be developer willing to download XNA Game Studio Express (for Windows XP) and spend some time coming to grips with the Visual C# and .NET frameworks its based on. Chris Satchell, general manager of Microsoft's Game Developer group, recounts Microsoft's cunning strategy of having one creative idea at a time. "When it comes to encouraging development on XNA Game Studio Express and through the XNA Creators Club, the limits are truly endless. What users will see today is just the beginning of the plans we have to revolutionize game development one creative game idea at a time."Of course, you'll also want to make your masterpiece playable on an Xbox 360 ("playable" being the keyword so often forgotten by some developers). In order to migrate your game to the 360 and to gain access to samples, game assets and other goodies, you'll need to join the XNA Creator's Club. It's been added as a purchase on the Xbox Live Marketplace, priced at $49 for four months or $99 for an annual subscription. Early adopters will have an opportunity to get their games published on Xbox Live Arcade in a contest launching next month.Well, what are you waiting for? Get cracking on your non-derivative 3rd-person shooter, Cogs of Conflict! Download -- XNA Game Studio Express[Full, slightly boring, press release after the break.]
XNA Creators Club: see your game on XBLA
Announced months ago, the XNA Creators Club officially launched today. Available on Marketplace as a four month subscription for $49 or a yearly subscription at $99, the Creators Club allows programmers of all stripes to share their game ideas over Xbox Live. Subscriptions provide access to game assets, white papers, tech support, and even starter kits for aspiring programmers. Combined with Microsoft's free XNA Game Studio Express, the Creators Club allows almost anyone to create and share their game ideas with the world.In celebration of this ground breaking launch, Microsoft is hosting the "Dream-Build-Play" competition starting this January. Open to all XNA Game Studio Express users and Creators Club members, the winner of the competition will receive a chance to have his or her game published as an Xbox Live Arcade title. We were jazzed about the idea of a community arcade when the Creators Club was first announced, and it seems to be getting closer to fruition. XBLA really is an innovative platform and we hope that lots of people out there (including our readers) will participate in creating some new ideas. Is there anyone out there dabbling in XNA that wants to enter the contest? Send us a link to your game and we'll pimp it to the world. Also, if you'd like to streamline the development process, you might want to sign up for the beta of Garage Games' TorqueX tools.Full press release after the break.
XNA Studio launch parrrtay!
To celebrate the launch of XNA Game Studio Express and the XNA Creators Club, the XNA Team is holding a launch party Monday, December 11th from 6-8 PM at Microsoft's Millennium Campus. Not only will you be able to get your hands on the final build of XNA, but you'll be able to mingle with the masterminds behind it and play some sweet game demos created with the software. So, if that other party didn't tickle your fancy maybe this more "grown up" party will. I so got dibs on the cotton candy, hands off![Thanks, AoE]
Watch the possibilities of XNA
We found this video on GameTrailers showing off what XNA can do. The video features games of all genres including puzzlers, shooting, and racing. Of course, there are plenty of games that are just prettier versions of games we've been playing since the Atari 2600 (keep your eye out for Combat, Asteroids, and Space War clones). Our programming knowledge is limited (read: nil), but the video shows off some of the XNA interface (probably using Garage Games' Torque X toolset), and it looks about as simple as possible. The Tank Buster game, for example, is made using only a simple drag-and-drop interface. If designing a game really is that simple, XNA has a bright future indeed. Watch the video after the break.
Aeropause: Get paid for your content
With all the talk about user-created content on the next gen consoles, there is one subject that doesn't really come up: Will we get paid for it? Aeropause brings up this very question and points to the PC as an example of what is already done. Console manufacturers aren't planning online repositories of user-made material just because they're nice; they want to get paid. Since we know businesses are only out for the money (duh), we need to know how much of that $2.50 mod we made is going to net us. Will we get paid per download? Will we get a flat fee? Will the publisher call intellectual property and pay us nothing? In any case, Aeropause says we should expect some compensation for content made; don't let it be free ... ever. But the PC community has been giving away free content for years. Even Aeropause mentions that some free mods -- like Counter-Strike -- made it big, but they say we shouldn't be giving anything away. We contend we should stick with the PC model. True, most user mods are junk -- such as the bazillion player houses in Oblivion -- but requiring us to pay for all of them won't make things better; in fact, they'd get worse. The junk won't go away. Instead, we won't find out the mod is garbage until after we've spent our (or mommy and daddy's) hard-earned money. Leave the payments to full XNA games.
XNA Game Studio Express Beta 2 released [update 1]
Microsoft XNA Game Studio Express Beta 2 is now available to the wannabe-developer masses. Download it if you have the talent and the will to create the next homebrew masterpiece. Just make sure to include Vision cam support and 10,000 available GamerScore points. Xboxic has a screen shot.Update: We have already posted a story on the release of this software. Click here for our original post. We apologize for the error.
XNA developer contest blogs
Earlier we mentioned that there are 60 homebrew games already in developement using the XNA Game Studio Express. 53 of those are part of a contest at Mark Coffman's Xbox360Homebrew.com in which developers blog their progress. If you thought these guys were tooling around at Pong level, prepare to be impressed. The blogs offer a detailed look at the creative process, not to mention a tantalizing glimpse of what the XNA community has in store for us. Hint: Ninjas vs. Pirates! Check it out.
XNA beta 2 released, send us games
The 2nd XNA beta was officially released yesterday, bringing with it a boatload of changes that a mere blogger could not possibly comprehend. I'm fairly sure it has something to do with code, pixels, and the relative position of the sun. Basically, it's bigger and badder and includes new 360 development support. You can find the goods on Gamerscore Blog. Also worth mentioning, a closed beta for the new Torque X toolset is beginning as well. Torque X is from GarageGames, creators of several Xbox Live Arcade titles, and contains tools for streamlining the game creation process.Wading through all this talk of assets, component architecture, and whatnot, I was lucky enough to find something I can understand: statistics -- something all bloggers crave with a passion. "The list of universities adopting XNA Game Studio Express into their curricula has grown to more than 30 worldwide. There have been 150,000 downloads of XNA Game Studio Express Beta 1, over 30 new XNA communities launched, 100 user generated tutorials shared online and more than 60 independent games already in development or completed."60 games in development? Wow. That dream of a user created Xbox Live Arcade may not be so far off after all. If you're reading this and you happen to be developing one of those 60 games, let us know. We'd love to check it out. Anyone else out there thinking about making a game?
XNA Game Studio Express: Subscription required
Reader James has not-so-stupid question about this part of the Fall Dashboard Update: Support for upcoming release of XNA Game Studio Express (separate download and subscription required.) This means that a subscription (should be well under $1000 for the professional edition) will be required to run code on the 360 using the XNA Game Studio Express development tools. As far as I know, there will be no separate subscription for playing "homebrew" games that ultimately make it to XBLA (aside from whatever the devs decide to sell them for), although it does sound like a nefarious idea.
Xbox 360 Fall Update tomorrow, 85+ tweaks included
We called it! Microsoft has confirmed the worldwide street date for the Xbox 360 Fall Dashboard Update: tomorrow, October 31. The update will incorporate roughly 85 changes (down from Spring's 125 features and fixes), most notably: 1080p output HD-DVD support XNA functionality WMV compatibility (streamed from PC; or read from discs or USB storage devices) Auto-downloads for new Arcade demos WMV's are a start, but we want DivX & XviD support. And still no web browser? (The other guys will have 'em.) Strange. So what else is missing from the update? Anything still broke? Tell us.
Xbox 360 fall update details revealed: 1080p, auto-download, WMV playback and more
Microsoft has finally seen fit to release the details of its Xbox 360 dashboard update. Scheduled for release the morning of October 31st -- yes, that's tomorrow -- the update will add the much-talked about 1080p / HD DVD support, as well as the ability to play WMV files from a connected PC, disc, or USB storage device. Currently, users can only stream video from connected Windows Media Center PCs, but any XP machine running Windows Media Connect or Windows Media Player 11 should be able to do it post-update, as demonstrated during a press conference in Japan with several 720p-encoded videos. This compares to the PlayStation 3's recently-revealed compatibility with MPEG-4 and other video files, but so far neither has announced support for DivX / Xvid and Media Transcode 360 still requires Media Center. Apparently only 84 things needed fixing this time, down from the 125 in the spring update, including the option to automatically download demos of new Xbox Live Arcade titles, Zune media streaming, wireless headset support, XNA Game Studio Express and numerous improvements to video playback and menu handling.[Via AV Watch]
Early details on XNA B2 from CodeCamp Seattle
If you're unable to attend the CodeCamp XNA sessions taking place today in Seattle, but still want to get early deets on XNA Beta 2, you can check out Andy Dunn's extensive notes from yesterday's presentation by Mitch Walker. Check back later for photos of the demo. Meanwhile, Microsoft Game Development Community Maganger Dave Weller has his own comments on the meetings Andy didn't bother to crib, and adds that the second beta will be released "Very, very soon."
XNA Studio Express beta 2 announced
Following the release of the XNA Game Studio Express beta at the end of August, the XNA Team blog -- guys, put some pictures up or something, seriously -- has announced the XNA Game Studio Express beta 2. For those that don't know, XNA Game Studio Express is the free, hobbyist programming suite that makes creating your own games a snap. This suite also promises the ability to run code on an Xbox 360. The idea is to bring back the days when two people in their garage could make and sell a game. Microsoft hopes to one day put user created games on Xbox Live Arcade, for example. The new beta promises to incorporate many features requested during the first beta. Expect new details in the coming weeks. Do we have any programmers out there? Have you put together any games with XNA? Send us a link and we'll check 'em out.[Via Let's Kill Dave]
A very special "hands-on" with Major Nelson
In episode # 191 of his famous podcast, Major Nelson talks to XNA's Chris Satchell and briefly discusses the masturbatory possibilities of the Vision Camera. Yes, you read that right.
Mainstream press talks up XNA
BBC technology commentator Bill Thompson is excited about developing games for the 360 using XNA Game Studio Express, despite not being able to play Halo without looking at the buttons. [Thanks laserboyjc]
XNA confusing? Get the tutorial
Most of you are probably aware that the beta version of XNA is now available for download. So you downloaded it, and are now staring at your computer, waving your arms at it, trying to make it do something. Lucky for you, the fine folks at XNA Spot have got your back. They posted a tutorial that promises to help you install XNAl, build the included Space War kit, and start making your own creative changes. Now, we won't go into all the technical details because, frankly, we don't understand them and are in fact frightened by them. But you guys go ahead. Go get it and start making the next Live Arcade game all by yourself. Seriously. Go ahead. We'll wait.[Via Let's Kill Dave]
