Microsoft Releases XNA Game Studio Express


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http://news.teamxbox.com/xbox/12415/Micros...-Creators-Club/

Copying the whole thing, since basically, it is just a press release, so no need to click on the link this time :D

Microsoft announced today it has launched the XNA Creators Club along with the release of the Microsoft XNA Game Studio Express. In addition, to celebrate the worldwide launch of XNA Game Studio Express, the “Dream-Build-Play” contest will be open to XNA Game Studio Express customers on Windows as well as those on Xbox 360 through the XNA Creators Club membership. Below is the press release with the announcement:

Microsoft Releases XNA Game Studio Express and Launches XNA Creators Club, Enabling the World to Play Their Creations on Xbox 360

Global game development competition, "Dream-Build-Play," offers an opportunity for winner's game to be published on Xbox Live Arcade.

UK - 11th December — Your World. Your Game. With today’s release of Microsoft? XNA™ Game Studio Express and the launch of the XNA Creators Club, this phrase has never been more true. Based on the easy-to-use Visual C#? 2005 Express Edition and Microsoft .NET Compact Framework, XNA Game Studio Express opens up the world of game development to the masses and is now available for free to anyone with a Windows? XP-based PC at http://www.msdn.com/XNA. With the release of XNA Game Studio Express, Microsoft Corp. unveiled the XNA Creators Club, opening up video game development to untapped creative minds, enabling anyone to affordably build and play amazing game ideas on Xbox 360™ systems for the first time ever.

The XNA Creators Club is available on Xbox Live? Marketplace for ?30.00 for a four-month subscription, or ?65.00 for an annual subscription. Both subscriptions provide aspiring game developers with access to thousands of game assets from Microsoft and key supporters such as Turbo Squid Inc., as well as white papers, specialised starter kits, samples and technical product support to help turn Your World, Your Game into a reality.

“The XNA Creators Club is really the first of its kind — an opportunity to join a community of other developers who are empowered to bring their game ideas to life on a next-generation console system,” said Chris Satchell, general manager of the Game Developer Group at Microsoft. “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.”

In addition, to celebrate the worldwide launch of XNA Game Studio Express, the “Dream-Build-Play” contest will be open to XNA Game Studio Express customers on Windows as well as those on Xbox 360 through the XNA Creators Club membership. The contest offers the opportunity for the community to showcase its innovation and talent to the world, culminating in the incredible chance for the winner’s game to be published on Xbox Live Arcade, the premier source for downloadable independent, retro and original games. The “Dream-Build-Play” contest will be launched in January. Additional contest details will be available at http://www.dreambuildplay.com.

“Xbox Live Arcade has opened up a wealth of new publishing opportunities for established and independent developers alike, so it made perfect sense to also extend this privilege to hobbyists and amateur programmers,” said Greg Canessa, group manager of Xbox Live Arcade at Microsoft. “We have a tremendous opportunity to shine the spotlight on up-and-coming talent through the ‘Dream-Build-Play’ contest, and we can’t wait to share their creativity with our gaming community around the world.”

To coincide with the release of XNA Game Studio Express, XNA supporter GarageGames has launched an open beta for its Torque X platform, including Torque Game Builder. Based on the XNA Framework, the easy-to-use Torque X tools bring drag-and-drop game development to Windows and Xbox 360. Final availability of the Torque X platform is scheduled for early 2007.

Homebrew, please begin now...i want native XVID support, upconverted to HD of c:Drse :D

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It kinda sucks that you have to be a subscriber to actually use the homebrew, or is my info wrong?

You're right, but that is rumored to change. As of right now, with a subscription you create your own games and then (if I'm not mistaken) you may submit the games to Microsoft for certification. Then, AFAIK, if all is well it can get published to XBLA as an official game for all to download (even those w/o an XNA subscription).

But, as of right now, for those that just want to test out a game that a friend made or something, yes you do need a subscription. But it seems as though that that's just in place temporarily and soon you won't need a subscription, I quote from the official forums:

Currently, yes, you need a membership in the Creator's Club to play XNA games. This is not the permanent implementation however from what has been hinted at, but it's what they had time to implement given the time frame they had.
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^ That's good to hear. It's something that has troubled me since the announcement of XNA Express. It'd be nice if there was something like a 2nd tier XBLA where you could try out or even beta test some games/apps that might not appeal to the mass market. Even the XBLA games from big publishers are getting stuck in the QA process for quite some time. You'd lose that homebrew feel if that happens to too many XNA Express games.

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I have a question. I tried it out and you can export the game to debug to your Xbox 360 via Wifi. Couldn't you just download this application and give the source to everyone who wanted to play it? You wouldn't need any kind of subscription for that.

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I have a question. I tried it out and you can export the game to debug to your Xbox 360 via Wifi. Couldn't you just download this application and give the source to everyone who wanted to play it? You wouldn't need any kind of subscription for that.

Wait, so you're able to successfully 'debug' an application that you created in XNA Game Studio Express on your Xbox 360 for free?

If that's the case, then I'm sure there will be 'open-source' type of games where people will just stream the downloaded games to their 360 and play them for free.

The thing is, however, this is meant as a low-cost entry to the official Xbox Live Arcade Marketplace and without official release/certification you won't have Achievements, MSPoints, Multiplayer (I guess), etc involved.

But this free 'debug' testing would definitely open the door for 'open-source' XNA games.

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I have a question. I tried it out and you can export the game to debug to your Xbox 360 via Wifi. Couldn't you just download this application and give the source to everyone who wanted to play it? You wouldn't need any kind of subscription for that.

You need to join the Creator's Club before you can do that, though.

There are already sites like www.xnadevelopment.com and www.threesixbox.com for sharing source projects.

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Wait, so you're able to successfully 'debug' an application that you created in XNA Game Studio Express on your Xbox 360 for free?

I don't have an Xbox 360. However when I build the included 360 source code, it builds it but comes up with the error that it can't connect to an Xbox. It seems like I'd be able to play games without anything extra.

For those who want to see it without installing it. I've included a screenshot.

post-73695-1165904452_thumb.jpg

post-73695-1165904570.png

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I like some of comments in the Xbox 360 game source code

//This is a BAD thing and should never happen

// What does this map to on XBox 360?

//Debug.Assert(false, String.Format("Invalid State transition {0} to {1}", gameState.ToString(), NextState.ToString()));

// Update the AudioEngine - MUST call this every frame!!

Sound.Update();

// we might as well use the xbox in all its glory

// we disable the depthstencil when setting back to the back buffer

// because the depthstencil surface (1280x720) might be smaller

// than the output window (say 1600x1200) and the graphics device

// doesn't like that

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