computers, c#, xna, and you
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Computers, C#, XNA, and You
Session 1.1
Session Overview Find out what computers are all about
...and what makes a great programmer Discover how C#, XNA, and Microsoft Visual
Studio fit together to allow you to make games
See how to set up a development environment to create game programs
Run our first-ever XNA game
Chapter 1: Computers, C#, XNA, and You 2
COMPUTERS AND PROGRAMS A program is a list of instructions that tell a
computer what to do When you write a program you have to do
two things:1. Figure out how to solve the problem2. Express your solution in a form the
computer can understand If you can’t do it, neither can the computer!
Chapter 1: Computers, C#, XNA, and You 3
Learning to Program To be able to program you must be able to
do two things:1. Solve problems2. Explain your solution to something very
stupid (the computer) There is actually a step 0 as well:
0. Find out what the customer wants This is the most important step in real-
world applications
Chapter 1: Computers, C#, XNA, and You 4
Becoming a Great Programmer Great Programmers are:
Knowledgeable – they know a lot about how to tell computers what to do and what computers are capable of doing
Creative – they enjoy finding new ways to do things
Good Company – they have to work with other programmers, and sometimes find out what the customer wants, even if the customer doesn’t actually know themselves
Persistent – they will keep working at a problem until they find a way to solve it
Chapter 1: Computers, C#, XNA, and You 5
How You Will Learn You are going to find out how to write C#
programs by creating games You are also going to learn how games
themselves are made to work, based on your experience with the XNA Framework
There will be lots of game examples along the way which you can make, play, and modify
There will presentations like this, practical sessions, and hands on practical activities Along with the odd test....
Chapter 1: Computers, C#, XNA, and You 6
Three Things To Learn The C# programming
language Used to tell the computer
what to do The XNA game development
framework A set of resources to help
you make games Visual Studio
A tool used to create, run, and debug programs
Chapter 1: Computers, C#, XNA, and You 7
The C# Programming Language Lets you tell the
computer how to do something
You write programs as a sequence of simple steps
A thing called a compiler converts your C# into computer instructions
Chapter 1: Computers, C#, XNA, and You 8
The XNA Framework A framework for
creating games XNA Game Studio
provides resources for game programmers
XNA also runs the “game loop”
Chapter 1: Computers, C#, XNA, and You 9
Microsoft Visual Studio An “Integrated
Development Environment” (IDE)
Where you write, run, and debug C# programs
A “word processor” for software
Chapter 1: Computers, C#, XNA, and You 10
Getting Started Creating Games To get started you need to:
Install Visual Studio 2010 Install XNA Game Studio 3.0
Both these items are available for free They will run on most modern Windows PCs
which support Windows XP or Vista You don’t need a massively powerful
computer to learn to program with XNA You can even use a NetBook
Chapter 1: Computers, C#, XNA, and You 11
The XNA Creators Club Only Trial and Premium members of XNA
Creators Club can send their games programs to an Xbox
Only Premium members of the XNA Creators Club can sell their games on Xbox Live Trial membership is available to students Premium membership costs $99 a year
You don’t need to join the Creators Club to run your game programs on a Windows PC or Zune
Creators Club Web site: http://creators.xna.com
Chapter 1: Computers, C#, XNA, and You 12
Linking a PC and an Xbox 360 The PC sends XNA games into the Xbox 360 via
the network connection The PC and the Xbox must be “bonded”
together so they know about each other You do this once and both devices then
remember the connection The XNA Game Studio Device Center program
manages this for you XNA game programs are stored on the hard disk
inside the Xbox, so you can play them later
Chapter 1: Computers, C#, XNA, and You 13
Linking a PC and a Zune The Zune portable music device can also run
XNA programs You do not need to be in the XNA Creators
Club to send game programs to your Zune The Zune is connected to the Windows PC
using its USB cable The Zune and the Windows PC are “bonded”
using XNA Game Studio Device Center XNA games are stored on the Zune hard disk
Chapter 1: Computers, C#, XNA, and You 14
XNA Game Studio Device Center
Used to manage the connection between devices
You can run it from within Visual Studio, or as a free-standing program
Chapter 1: Computers, C#, XNA, and You 15
Running Your First Game Program A game contains lots of content. This is the
stuff that is not program code: Graphics, sounds, level designs, scripts, help
text This must all be managed as part of the game
so that when it is sent to the Xbox 360 it is all available for use
XNA Game Studio provides a Content Manager to look after this
Works with Visual Studio to create a project that contains everything the game needs to run
Chapter 1: Computers, C#, XNA, and You 16
Making an Empty Project Visual Studio will make you an empty game
project This is like giving a sculptor a block of clay You select the target device when you make the
project You then add your program code and your
content to make your game Visual Studio will then use this project to build
the game and send it to your target device All XNA games start from the same empty project
Chapter 1: Computers, C#, XNA, and You 17
Running a Game Project Visual Studio provides commands to run and
stop a game program Visual Studio compiles the game program from
C# into instructions the target can understand The game program runs alongside Visual
Studio You can think of Visual Studio as the “Remote
Control” for your game program The game can also run “free standing”
without Visual Studio
Chapter 1: Computers, C#, XNA, and You 18
1. Creating an Empty XNA Game Project
Chapter 1: Computers, C#, XNA, and You 19
It is very easy to create an empty XNA game project
It will even run However, it won’t
do much
Using Multiple Hardware Platforms XNA is a framework which is designed to be
independent of the actual game hardware Can run on a Windows PC, a Zune, or an
Xbox 360 Might even be new XNA devices in the future
When you create a game, you can consider running it on any one or all three of these platforms
Now you are going to find out how run the same game on a different device
Chapter 1: Computers, C#, XNA, and You 20
XNA Project as Containers People create projects to manage all the
aspects of a job A director of a play will have scripts, costume
designs, sound effects, tickets, etc. Visual Studio creates a project to keep all
the items together for a particular game The Content Manager looks after the game
assets A particular project is targeted at a
particular XNA device
Chapter 1: Computers, C#, XNA, and You 21
Making Multiple Projects in Solutions A solution is a container for projects
Think of it as a filing cabinet that we can put plays in if you like
A solution can hold multiple projects so that a single game development can be aimed at different hardware They can share the same program code, but
perhaps use different asset files to match the target device
Visual Studio can copy projects from one device to another
Chapter 1: Computers, C#, XNA, and You 22
2. Making Multiple XNA Projects
Chapter 1: Computers, C#, XNA, and You 23
You can copy a Windows PC project to run on either a Zune or an Xbox
Summary Programs tell computers what to do People write programs in a programming language
(we use C#) to provide these instructions XNA is a framework for writing computer games Visual Studio is a tool for program (and game)
creation You can target a Windows PC, Xbox 360, or Zune
with XNA games To target Xbox 360 you need to be a “Trial” member
of the Creators Club To sell games you need to be a “Premier” member
Chapter 1: Computers, C#, XNA, and You 24
True/False Pop Quiz Computers write their own programs XNA is a programming language Visual Studio is used to write C# programs You have to have a huge brain to write games You need to be in the Creators Club to write
XNA games C# is just for writing games XNA stands for Xbox is Nicer than All other
consoles
Chapter 1: Computers, C#, XNA, and You 25
True/False Pop Quiz Computers write their own programs XNA is a programming language Visual Studio is used to write C# programs You have to have a huge brain to write games You need to be in the Creators Club to write
XNA games C# is just for writing games XNA stands for Xbox is Nicer than All other
consoles
Chapter 1: Computers, C#, XNA, and You 26
True/False Pop Quiz Computers write their own programs XNA is a programming language Visual Studio is used to write C# programs You have to have a huge brain to write games You need to be in the Creators Club to write
XNA games C# is just for writing games XNA stands for Xbox is Nicer than All other
consoles
Chapter 1: Computers, C#, XNA, and You 27
True/False Pop Quiz Computers write their own programs XNA is a programming language Visual Studio is used to write C# programs You have to have a huge brain to write games You need to be in the Creators Club to write
XNA games C# is just for writing games XNA stands for Xbox is Nicer than All other
consoles
Chapter 1: Computers, C#, XNA, and You 28
True/False Pop Quiz Computers write their own programs XNA is a programming language Visual Studio is used to write C# programs You have to have a huge brain to write games You need to be in the Creators Club to write
XNA games C# is just for writing games XNA stands for Xbox is Nicer than All other
consoles
Chapter 1: Computers, C#, XNA, and You 29
True/False Pop Quiz Computers write their own programs XNA is a programming language Visual Studio is used to write C# programs You have to have a huge brain to write games You need to be in the Creators Club to write
XNA games C# is just for writing games XNA stands for Xbox is Nicer than All other
consoles
Chapter 1: Computers, C#, XNA, and You 30
True/False Pop Quiz Computers write their own programs XNA is a programming language Visual Studio is used to write C# programs You have to have a huge brain to write games You need to be in the Creators Club to write
XNA games C# is just for writing games XNA stands for Xbox is Nicer than All other
consoles
Chapter 1: Computers, C#, XNA, and You 31
True/False Pop Quiz Computers write their own programs XNA is a programming language Visual Studio is used to write C# programs You have to have a huge brain to write games You need to be in the Creators Club to write
XNA games C# is just for writing games XNA stands for Xbox is Nicer than All other
consoles
Chapter 1: Computers, C#, XNA, and You 32
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