Microsoft XNA Unleashed: Graphics and Game Programming for Xbox 360 and Windows

Description

XNA Unleashed: Graphics & Game Programming for Xbox 360 & windows
Microsoft(R) XNA™ UNLEASHED
  Graphics and Game Programming for Xbox 360 and Windows
  Chad Carter

  Foreword by Tom Miller
  Developer, XNA Game Studio Express, Microsoft Corporation

  Microsoft XNA Unleashed provides comprehensive coverage and solid instruction on how to leverage the XNA Framework to create high quality games for Windows and the Xbox 360. The author shows you how to take full advantage of the many features the XNA Framework provides; you will learn the intricacies of important tasks such as adding sound and music to games, as well as creating, loading, and texturing 3D objects. In addition to providing coverage of 2D programming, the author shows you how to create sophisticated 3D games. All the important topics such as physics, artificial intelligence, and special effects are covered in detail. Chad Carter is the CTO at Robertson Marketing Group. Many Fortune 500 companies use the ecommerce system he architected and developed from the ground up for the promotional business sector. He has been creating DirectX applications since 1996 and has developed games using Managed DirectX. Chad created a 3D locomotive simulator for Norfolk Southern that is used to teach children to obey railroad crossings signals. Chad’s website devoted to the XNA Framework can be found at www.xnaessentials.com.

   Learn how to install and use XNA Game Studio Express
   Discover how to build, deploy, and debug games for the Xbox 360 and Windows
   Examine the XNA Framework in depth: 2D, 3D, sound, input, and HLSL
   Learn how to create game components and game services
   Delve into performance tuning techniques
   Discover how to extend the Content Pipeline
   Learn how to use the Microsoft Cross-Platform Audio Creation Tool (XACT) to add sound and music to games
   Create a full 2D parallax side-scroller game
   Discover how to use sprite batches
   Learn to make the most of sprite fonts
   Create 2D components such as splash screens and progress bars
   Examine the different sprite batch blending modes
   Discover 2D cel animation
   Examine the High Level Shader Language (HLSL) in detail covering basic HLSL as well as vertex deformations and post-processing effects
   Create a full 3D game that includes a 2D radar in the Heads Up Display (HUD), and much, much more

  CD-ROM includes
  • All C# examples and source code presented in this book.
  • Explosion Generator tool for generating explosion animations.

Table of Contents

  Introduction 1
  Part I Get Up and Running with XNA on Your PC and Xbox 360
  1 Introducing XNA and XNA Game Studio Express 7
  2 XNA and the Xbox 360 19
  3 Performance Considerations 35
  Part II Understanding XNA Basics
  4 Creating 3D Objects 59
  5 Input Devices and Cameras 85
  Part III Content Pipeline
  6 Loading and Texturing 3D Objects 113
  7 Sound and Music 123
  8 Extending the Content Pipeline 153
  Part IV 2D in XNA
  9 2D Basics 171
  10 2D Effects 191
  11 Creating a 2D Game 217
  Part V High Level Shader Language
  12 HLSL Basics 255
  13 Advanced HLSL 275
  Part VI Physics and Artificial Intelligence
  14 Physics Basics 289
  15 Finite State Machines and Game State Management 307
  16 AI Algorithms 337
  Part VII 3D Effects
  17 Advanced Texturing Techniques 353
  18 Special Effects 379
  19 Particle System. 397
  Part VIII Putting It Into Practice
  20 Creating a 3D Game 433
  21 Improving the Game 463
  22 Finishing Touches 479
  Index 501