XNA Notes 014

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What a crazy week! Big game releases from the XNA Community, podcasts, reviews, interviews, new educational content being posted and all sorts of upcoming titles that I’m excited about. If there was ever a week that I missed stuff, this was the week. Seemed like every time I glanced at twitter or checked my RSS feeds there was some interesting and new XNA thing going on. No need for me to try and convince you, just like at the size of this weeks XNA Notes!

Time Critical XNA News:

• Making Windows Phone 7 games or apps? Then don’t miss out on the Microsoft Spring Cleaning Project
• http://create.msdn.com/en-US/news/Spring_Cleaning_Opportunities
• Deadline to sign up for Dream Build Play is fast approaching. Make sure you get signed up so you can submit your entry in June!
• http://www.dreambuildplay.com/Main/Default.aspx
• And just what are you working on for Dream Build Play 2011? Share your progress here!
• http://forums.create.msdn.com/forums/t/79711.aspx
• If you saw people tweeting with the hashtag #ims211 this past week, this is what it’s about. (and what an amazing response from the game development community!) Make sure to introduce yourself and say Hi!
• http://tagdef.com/ims211
• http://twitter.com/#!/search?q=%23ims211
  

XNA Team:

• XNA Team Blog announces new game development page and tutorials on the App Hub
• http://blogs.msdn.com/b/xna/archive/2011/04/04/new-game-development-page-and-tutorials-on-app-hub.aspx
• Shawn Hargreaves in another flurry of multiple posts in a week hit on several different topics
• What’s with all the hating on Comic Sans
• http://blogs.msdn.com/b/shawnhar/archive/2011/04/01/what-s-with-all-the-hating-on-comic-sans.aspx
• Keyboard Macros
• http://blogs.msdn.com/b/shawnhar/archive/2011/04/01/keyboard-macros.aspx
• Visitor and multiple dispatch via C# ‘dynamic’
• http://blogs.msdn.com/b/shawnhar/archive/2011/04/05/visitor-and-multiple-dispatch-via-c-dynamic.aspx
• Nick Gravelyn has been busy with the work on Pixel Man 2 (which should be in playtest again this weekend, hint, hint to all your Xbox LIVE Indie Game playtesters...)
• http://twitter.com/#!/search?q=%23pixelman2
  

XNA MVPs:

• I’m either missing what the XNA MVPs are doing (which is my guess)…or we’re not doing anything! So yeah, if you’re an XNA MVP make sure to let me know what you’re doing and where your blog/site is so this section has a bit more content.

XNA Developers:

• James Johnston (@MadNinjaSkillz, creator of ezmuze) shares some tricks/techniques for making your life easier with the GamePad in XNA
• http://dev.ezmuze.co.uk/
• @theBigDaddio shows off his new title screen for his Windows Phone 7 XNA game (and it’s using the framework from the Windows Phone 7 book I wrote!)
• http://imgur.com/GITYM
• @mrhelmut of The Daily XNA is still looking for suggestions and feedback on just what the site should be and how it should look. Drop them a line, leave some comments, tweet them!
• http://www.daily-xna.com/
• Kris Steele of FunInfused Games shares a better three level parallax star field using XNA
• http://www.krissteele.net/blogdetails.aspx?id=254
• Jason Mitchell shares information about working with the basics of the IntermediateSerializer (and by shares more, I mean reminds everyone to be reading Shawn Hargreaves blog!)
• http://www.jason-mitchell.com/index.php/2011/04/06/xna-intermediateserializer/
• Philippe Da Silva shares making a Simple GUI and Menu system using IGF
• http://indiefreaks.com/2011/04/06/simple-gui-and-menu-system/
• and shows a simple video of implementing 3D rendered menus using XNA and the SunBurn engine
• http://www.vimeo.com/16693774
• Simon (Darkside) Jackson shares SunBurn Snippets
• http://xna-uk.net/blogs/darkgenesis/archive/2011/04/06/sunburn-snippets-helper-series-for-getting-started-with-the-sunburn-game-engine.aspx
• http://faux-motion.blogspot.com/2011/04/sunburn-snippets-2-troubleshooting.html
• http://faux-motion.blogspot.com/2011/04/sunburn-snippets-3-troubleshooting.html
• Blender to Sunburn - Step by Step
• http://faux-motion.blogspot.com/2011/04/blender-to-sunburn-step-by-step.html
• mavarok shares a brief run through of an XNA game he made using graphics from Lost Planet (man I love Lost Planet’s graphics!)
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4l9e5hdrfaM&feature=related
• Jesse Chounard has been giving Demina a few updates (along with some help from others in the community, thanks RobotVsEverything and oddy). I’ve been using this in my game and it’s working wonderfully!
• http://demina.codeplex.com/
• Eric Cosky shares some recent Farseer optimizations
• http://blog.boundingboxgames.com/2011/04/recent-farseer-optimizations.html
• Andrew Mount writes, can you hear that? It’s the sound of a great game
• http://www.xnajunkie.com/2011/04/07/can-you-hear-that-its-the-sound-of-a-great-game/
• @mechaghost (Elbert Perez) developed the game for the new beginners guide on WP7 and XNA
• http://twitter.com/#!/mechaghost/status/54959660905672704
• Allen Pestaluky shares how to change the windows mouse cursor in XNA
• http://allenwp.com/blog/2011/04/04/changing-the-windows-mouse-cursor-in-xna/
• Dimi Grigoriadis shares his collection of XNA resources and tutorials he’s found useful in learning XNA
• http://www.dgrigoriadis.net/post/2011/04/04/XNA-resources-and-tutorials.aspx
• Mathias shares Open Source Project for Animated COLLADA models in XNA 4
• http://bunkernetz.wordpress.com/2011/04/03/open-source-project-for-animated-collada-models-in-xna-4/
• Spyn Doctor shares and gives an example of how to use the Global Scoreboard component to share more than just high scores
• http://forums.create.msdn.com/forums/p/60475/482361.aspx#482361
• Andrew Russel and ExEn are chugging merrily along and he’s currently seeking funding for an OS X port. If he keeps this up, soon you’ll be able to port your XNA game easily to EVERY PLATFORM IN THE WORLD.
• http://andrewrussell.net/exen/
• berben11 posts about Using Late Binding in XNA 4.0 and the importance of interfaces
• http://www.daniweb.com/software-development/game-development/threads/358502
• The XNA UK UserGroup held their monthly meeting this week with Charles Humphrey and Edward Powell giving interesting talks covering re-usable HUD elements and Windows Phone Particle systems. The meetings are held on the first Wednesday of each month in Kenilworth just outside Coventry.
• http://xna-uk.net
• Edward Powell (@verashackle) has some pretty awesome posts about creating battleship in XNA for Windows Phone 7
• http://xna-uk.net/blogs/braindump/archive/2011/03/17/battle-of-trafalgar-for-windows-phone-7-part-1-pocket-battleships.aspx
• http://xna-uk.net/blogs/braindump/archive/2011/03/17/battle-of-trafalgar-for-windows-phone-7-part-2-creating-a-skybox.aspx
• http://xna-uk.net/blogs/braindump/archive/2011/03/17/battle-of-trafalgar-for-windows-phone-7-part-3-creating-an-ocean-effect.aspx
• Johannes Hubert (@SpynDoctorGames) reports that Episode 4 of GamePro’s Indie watch is continuing to cover Xbox LIVE Indie Games on the German Dashboard!
• http://twitter.com/#!/SpynDoctorGames/status/55669759374659584
• http://forums.create.msdn.com/forums/p/77343/483700.aspx
  

Xbox LIVE Indie Games:

• For a wonderful feed of Xbox LIVE Indie Games reviews and news and a fantastic pivot table for exploring Xbox LIVE Indie Games, don’t forget XboxIndies
• http://www.xboxindies.com/
• http://www.xboxindies.com/games/PivotDatabase.aspx
• Just Press Start - Episode 52a XBLIG Developer Round Table
• http://justpressstart.net/?p=1740
• Writings of Mass Deduction
• Day 149  http://writingsofmassdeduction.com/2011/04/07/day-149-ufo-commando/
• Day 148  http://writingsofmassdeduction.com/2011/04/06/day-148-didgery/
• and interviews and more... (honestly just subscribe to the RSS feed for this site already!)
• Xbox LIVE Indie Games Summer Uprising. Should it happen? How should it be run? Share your thoughts and opinions in this thread.
• http://forums.create.msdn.com/forums/t/79734.aspx
• Vintage Video Games TV is running “The Art of Indie Contest: A Tribute to Xbox LIVE Indie Games”
• http://vvgtv.com/2011/04/03/the-art-of-indie-contest-a-tribute-to-xblig/
• Indie Lair reviews Monsters (Probably) Stole My Princess
• http://indielair.blogspot.com/2011/04/review-monsters-probably-stole-my.html
• zer0sumGames shares some footage from their XNA Spaceship RPG
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-wiCnbyzw4
• Barker’s Crest Studio gets everyone excited with their newest game The Avatar Legends
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4SlIQs-o6I&feature=youtu.be
• That Gamer Hub reviews Shield The Beat
• http://www.thatgamerhub.com/2011/04/shield-the-beat-review-xblig/
• GameMarx checksout
• Hoardz
• http://www.gamemarx.com/video/trials/45/hoardzz.aspx
• and ...some game, it’s got a title and it’s something like In the Ear Do You Mat...maybe
• http://www.gamemarx.com/reviews/97/mimi-in-the-sky-with-diamonds.aspx
• and more…
• http://www.gamemarx.com
• Armless Octopus covers..
• Sequence, the RPG-rhythm game mash-up
• http://www.armlessoctopus.com/2011/04/06/new-video-shows-off-sequence-the-rpg-rhythm-game-mash-up
• Rotor
• http://www.armlessoctopus.com/2011/04/05/rotor-review-get-into-the-chopper/
• and more…
• http://www.armlessoctopus.com
• The Official Xbox Magazine posts the 50 Best Xbox LIVE Indie Games list
• http://www.oxm.co.uk/27179/features/50-best-indie-games/
• Andrew Mount takes a time out to play a little Infinity Danger and write a hilarious review in the process
• http://www.xnajunkie.com/2011/04/06/time-out-for-game-play-infinity-danger/
• Hedge Wizard coming soon to Xbox LIVE Indie games and is adorably cute
• http://www.zombiebonsai.com/
• VideoGamer.com posts a round up of Xbox LIVE Indie Games
• http://www.videogamer.com/videos/insane_bash_tom_s_indie_bin_19.html#
• Here’s a review of the Windows Phone 7 version RC AirSim, one of the best selling games for Xbox LIVE Indie Games
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fP2PSYZP8j4&feature=youtu.be
• AchievementLocked interviews Mathieu Briau about Shield the Beat
• http://xboxindies.wordpress.com/category/interviews/
• Bunker Buster coming soon to Xbox LIVE Indie Games
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgDdEAwdLXI&feature=youtu.be
• Did you know Chime was originally written in XNA?
• http://www.next-gen.biz/blogs/the-story-of-chime-super-deluxe-why-psn
• http://twitter.com/#!/SuperDiki/status/54967622944571392
• Drew “Viggo” Bergmark reviews Avatar Adventures Online
• http://controllerspike.com/viggo-plays-indie-games-avatar-adventures-online/
• FunInfused Games shares their latest video on Volchaos coming soon to Xbox LIVE Indie Games
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BA_5AvwvdtM&feature=youtu.be
• Indie Lair reports on the recent XBLIG dashboard promotions
• http://indielair.blogspot.com/2011/04/recent-xblig-dashboard-promotions.html
• Perhaps you’ve been asleep and missed the buzz? Ska Studios has released their second Xbox LIVE Arcade title, The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile and people are loving on it everywhere! Congratulations James and the rest of the crew at Ska Studios!
• http://www.ska-studios.com/2011/04/06/vampire-smile-now-available/
• EuroGamer reports on PewPewPewPewPewPewPewPewPew , Xbox LIVE Indie Games voice controlled shooter
• http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-04-04-xblig-gets-voice-controlled-shooter
• 8 Bit Horse covered I Accidentally ...In Space!
• http://8bithorse.blogspot.com/2011/03/i-accidentally-in-space-xbl-indie-games.html
• and Oozi; Earth Adventure
• http://8bithorse.blogspot.com/2011/04/oozi-earth-adventure-xbl-indie-games.html
• Steven Hurdle of Writings of Mass Deductions covers the story of one Xbox LIVE Indie Game developer that doesn’t want you to buy his game
• http://writingsofmassdeduction.com/2011/04/04/at-least-one-xblig-developer-doesnt-want-you-to-buy-his-game/
• and then the follow up interview with the developer
• http://writingsofmassdeduction.com/2011/04/06/interview-with-james-watton-puzzlelights/
• and is managing to turn the comments on Kotaku about Xbox LIVE Indie Games around!
• http://twitter.com/#!/massdeduction/status/55850869790478336
• Raymond Matthews (@DarkstarMatryx) reviews Pioneerz
• http://www.darkstarmatryx.com/?p=315
• XboxHornet is running several contests on their BBQ Games facebook page
• http://www.facebook.com/BBQGames
• Zeboyd Games shares Barker’s Crest new game The Avatar Legends
• http://zeboyd.com/2011/04/06/the-avatar-legends/
• and reviews The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile
• http://zeboyd.com/2011/04/04/the-dishwasher-vampire-smile-review/
• Ben Kane shares video of his upcoming twin-stick action RPG, Project Splice
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0WRL3kj0c4&feature=youtu.be&hd=1

XNA Development:

• Latest Multilanguage Games in Peer Review (if you’re a peer reviewer who can review in other languages, the guys on this list need your help!)
• http://forums.create.msdn.com/forums/p/26091/484133.aspx#484133
• Microsoft released a new and cheaper XDK!
• http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/33914/Microsoft_Releases_New_And_Cheaper_XDK_Optional_Sidecar_.php
• Channel 9 - XNA Game Development - Playing Sounds
• http://channel9.msdn.com/Blogs/The-XNA-Show/XNA-Game-Development-Playing-Sounds
• DigialRuneSoftware posts several videos recently
• DigitalRune Physics v1.2 adds support for 3D ragdoll physics
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sieS2M-5GM&feature=youtu.be
• 3D XNA Vehicle Physics
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0kZiti67h4&feature=youtu.be
• 3D XNA Character Controller
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJp2NnKj1X4&feature=youtu.be
• Channel 9 - XNA Game Development Intro (starring the man, Charles Cox!)
• http://channel9.msdn.com/Blogs/The-XNA-Show/XNA-Game-Development-Intro