XNA Getting Started Guide

[JessBowers]

Hey kind foks!

I just ordered the XNA Export Module and am eagerly awaiting it in the mail. I should have chosen the additional download option as I'm a little impatient for it to arrive.

That said, I should state that I'm a complete n00b when it comes to developing for XNA and the Xbox. Here's what I've done so far:

1. Purchased the Xbox Live Indie Game subscription (to post games).
2. Downloaded Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate (using my new MSDN subscription) - need to install it now
3. Purchased the Clickteam XNA Export Module

I've developed some small games (sometimes with friends) using Multimedia Fusion 2 but this will be my first foray into the Xbox 360.

So, to my question. For someone as "green" as me, is there the equivant to an "Idiots Guide to publishing games on the Xbox 360 using the XNA Exporter Module"?

It's been about 20 years since I've done any sort of programming. Although I'm not against doing some, if someone knows which buttons I need to press and knobs to turn in Visual Studio to get my exported game running on my Xbox 360 I'd be greatly appreciative. Any step by step guides?

Thanks!!!
Jess

[Francois]

Unfortunately, not really. You should read the help section on XNA (Distributing your application), it explains how to build and test your game, and the differences between normal and XNA applications.
The end of the project is always the hardest part, to get the Microsoft approval.
Do intent to work on Windows Phone or XBOX?

[JessBowers]

Thanks for the response, Francois. I just installed Visual Studio 2010 last night and patched it. I'll install the XNA Game Studio 4.0 Refresh today and read the "distributing your application" section you mentioned. I may actually try to document and post a complete list of steps for getting an MMF2 game onto the Xbox 360 -- for myself and any other non-programmers like me.

Honestly, if I get my game running on my Xbox 360 (with rumble support) I'd be completely happy. Getting it approved would be great but I'm most interested in just "seeing" and "playing" at home with myself and my two daughters. :-)

As for the phone (and Windows RT for that matter), if it's not too hard, I think it would be fun to do as well. Full disclosure: I work for Microsoft but am in no way related to the games division. Everyone here is incented to create apps for our products but I'm doing this purely because I love making pixel art and want to get my game, Captain Plokey, running on my Xbox 360. If it turns out that getting it ported to the phone isn't that hard, then I'd love to do it. I'd get everyone in my district to download it! Haha. But, that would be second to getting it running on the Xbox.

[JessBowers]

Got it all setup!!

I received my XNA Export Module disc in the mail yesterday and finished the installation. There were a lot of moving parts to get everything setup properly but none of it was too challenging. I've explorted and run a few incomplete games and now see I'll just need to better understand the limitations of the export module. Some of the MMF2 extensions I was using won't work (I later saw Jeff's post) but none of them are critical. I'll probably approach this by building a sample platform game from the ground up (using the PMO instead of my custom movement) and then move in my artwork. That may not be completely necessary but it'll help me (of limited mental ability) track changes to the game.

I've got other questions but I'll post them in another thread. Thanks, Clickteam! Great stuff with the export module.

[Asholay]

Yeah - it's definitely a thrill to be able to play things you've made with MMF on your TV via the xbox! I remember the days where getting something to run on xbox with MMF was just a pipe-dream, then XNA came along!