[Verious]

Has anyone written a game (or other application) using the Microsoft XNA SDK?

[RedSlash]

Tried too.. but failed because of the lack of tutorials available during the time it came out. It seems like a very nice and easy framework to work with.

I think right now the only incentive to use XNA is to target the XBOX360, but that has its complications as in you need to be subscribed to their game creator's club ($99/year) and you can only distribute your game in source code form to others who are also subscribed to the game creator's club.

[Mattias Gustavsson]

For me, the biggest problem with XNA is compatibility issues. There's all sorts of runtimes and stuff which the end-user will need to even run your game. It can easily add 30-40 Mb to your games download size, and I'm sure it will make it less likely to run on older machines.

I really like the idea of a player being able to just download my games and run them, regardless of what they have installed on their machines. That's why I've reduced dependencies for my engine, and now it should run on any windows version out of the box. :D

But I've heard XNA is real nice for development, so I can see why it is so tempting to use...
_________________
www.mattiasgustavsson.com - My blog
www.rivtind.com - My Fantasy world and isometric RPG engine
www.pixieuniversity.com - Software 2D Game Engine

[Nodtveidt]

Tried it for a little bit but ran into some of the same issues that RedSlash did...there's just not enough information out there to help a newcomer get started. Furthermore, you are required to code all of your stuff in C#, which is a truly pathetic frankenlanguage that only Java weenies understand. On top of that, you need XP SP2 to install it, and not all of us are able to install SP2. It's way too much hassle for the headache it will create for you.
_________________
If you play a Microsoft CD backwards you can hear demonic voices. The scary part is that if you play it forwards it installs Windows. - wallace

[Verious]

The main reason I ask is because I do most my coding in C# and I recently stumbled across the RPG Zero website. The author indicates the time from concept to prototype was very short using the XNA framework (and C#). The idea of writing console games for the Xbox 360 definately intrigues me.

[Nodtveidt]

Don't get your hopes up for Xbox 360 development either though. That was essentially a plot set up by Microsoft to lure people away from competing technologies, most notably efforts by Nintendo. While it is true that XNA is able to produce games for the Xbox 360, the process is rather retarded and not free, and forget about trying to make a profit from it without investing a lot of cash.
_________________
If you play a Microsoft CD backwards you can hear demonic voices. The scary part is that if you play it forwards it installs Windows. - wallace

[DeveloperX]

I'm currently using XNA to build a 3d rpg engine for an old design that I wrote up many years ago.
So far its been going well.
I've got heighmapped terrain, and fully textured models.
All the rendering is done with custom vertex & pixel shaders.
I really like the way XNA works.

I think its a great opportunity to learn the technology that you need to know to be able to develop for the 360.

I like the fact that with a well written game, you don't have to do anything to the code to release for the PC and the 360.
That really got my interest. Surprisingly enough, cause anyone who knows me, knows that I was always against microsoft on just about everything. Heh. times change. people change. :D
Give it a whirl man. I think you will like XNA.
If you need help, let me know. I can direct you to some great tutorials and help you myself if you want.
_________________
Principal Software Architect
Rambling Indie Games, LLC

See my professional portfolio

[Verious]

[DeveloperX]

[RedSlash]