Below are some useful resources to reference for developing projects in Microsoft XNA Game Studio, one of several platforms used by Student Game Developers to develop projects (by no means the only platform, however). I personally have used all of the resources listed below and have found them all to be helpful in some form or another.
Note that all resources listed (particularly the books) assume a functional understanding of programming concepts, particularly with regard to C#, but in my experience if you are comfortable with C++ and Java you should have no problem picking up C#.
Full list after the jump.
BOOKS
Microsoft XNA Unleashed by Chad Carter
Focuses on how to do lower-level tasks, such as shading, controller input, sprite and 3D model drawing, etc.
Microsoft XNA Game Studio Creator's Guide, 2nd Edition by Stephen Cawood and Pat McGee
Like XNA Unleashed, but also provides overview of mathstuffs pertinent in computer graphics concepts such as vectors, matrices, etc. and how to use them in the context of XNA
Professional XNA Programming: Building Games for Xbox 360 and Windows with XNA Game Studio 2.0 by Benjamin Nitschke
A higher-level overview of XNA, featuring tutorials that have the reader implementing complete games such as Pong, Breakout, and Rocket Commander.
(note: written for XNA Game Studio 2.0, and code samples are out-of-date)
INTERNETS
GameDev.net
A general-purpose game programming help website; doesn't necessarily focus on XNA, but lots of useful stuff all over the website and forum.
Ziggyware
Like GameDev.net, but more focused on XNA. Features XNA tutorials, help forum, and a 3D model database.
XNA Creators Club Online
Official website for XNA Game Studio; features games developed in XNA, programmer blogs, tutorials, and help forum.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
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