welcome!

Welcome to the 2D Game Development Tutorial with XNA Game Studio. This tutorial will guide you through the creation of a two-dimensional action game – called Shooter – on Windows, Xbox 360, or Windows Phone 7.

This tutorial will take about 90 minutes to complete. In this tutorial, you’ll be using the C# programming language. Previous knowledge in programming is helpful, but not required. If you’d like a quick primer on the language features we’ll be using, you can consult the Visual C# Center on MSDN.

To get started, it's an easy three-step process.

1. Install the Tools
2. Pick your Platform
3. Download the Shooter Project

Install the Tools

For Windows 7 / Windows Vista users:

If you’re using Windows 7 or Windows Vista, there’s only one step you need to take:

• Simply Install the Windows Phone Developer Tools.

That’s all you need to get started! XNA Game Studio is included in the tools, and will work for Windows, Xbox 360, and Windows Phone 7.

(Optional) If you want to apply the latest updates, see the Xbox LIVE Indie Games Getting Started page and follow the directions under the “Download the Free Tools” heading.

For Windows XP users:

If you’re using Windows XP, you will only be able to develop your games for Windows and Xbox 360. You will need to perform the following steps:

1. Install Visual C# 2010 Express.
2. Install XNA Game Studio 4.0 for Windows XP

Pick Your Platform

XNA Game Studio gives you the power to make games on Windows, Xbox 360, or Windows Phone 7. Depending on the platform you choose, there may be some additional requirements.

Develop your Game on Windows

No extra requirements – you’re ready to download the project!

Develop your Game on Xbox 360

If you want to develop on Xbox 360:

• You’ll need an Xbox 360 console with a hard drive, a Silver or Gold subscription to Xbox LIVE
• You will need to sign up for an Xbox LIVE Indie Games membership. Get details about the Xbox LIVE Indie Games Membership.
• Once you have a membership, follow this guide to Connecting your Xbox 360 with XNA Game Studio.
• Once you’re connected, you are ready to download the project!

Download the Project

To jump right into coding, just download the pre-made project with content already linked in below, for the platform of your choice.

Once the download is complete, unzip it to a folder you choose and open the enclosed .sln file with Visual Studio 2010.

Project and Content - Windows	Project and Content - for Xbox 360

Now that you have the project downloaded and the tools installed, double-click the Shooter.sln file that you unzipped from the project, and then move onto the next step where we'll show you some hints on game design, then dive into making Shooter from scratch.

Move on to the next step: Designing the Game