solid instruction on how to leverage the XNA Framework to create high quality games for Windows and the Xbox 360. The author shows you how to take full advantage of the many features the XNA Framework provides; you will learn the intricacies of important tasks such as adding sound and music to games, as well as creating, loading, and texturing 3D objects. In addition to providing coverage of 2D programming, the author shows you how to create sophisticated 3D games. All the important topics such as physics, artificial intelligence, and special effects are covered in detail. Chad Carter is the CTO at Robertson Marketing Group. Many Fortune 500 companies use the ecommerce system he architected and developed from the ground up for the promotional business sector. He has been creating DirectX applications since 1996 and has developed games using Managed DirectX. Chad created a 3D locomotive simulator for Norfolk Southern that is used to teach children to obey railroad crossings signals. Chad’s website devoted to the XNA Framework can be found at www.xnaessentials.com.     Learn how to install and use XNA Game Studio Express   Discover how to build, deploy, and debug games for the Xbox 360 and Windows   Examine the XNA Framework in depth: 2D, 3D, sound, input, and HLSL   Learn how to create game components and game services   Delve into performance tuning techniques   Discover how to extend the Content Pipeline   Learn how to use the Microsoft Cross-Platform Audio Creation Tool (XACT) to add sound and music to games   Create a full 2D parallax side-scroller game   Discover how to use sprite batches   Learn to make the most of sprite fonts   Create 2D components such as splash screens and progress bars   Examine the different sprite batch blending modes   Discover 2D cel animation   Examine the High Level Shader Language (HLSL) in detail covering basic HLSL as well as vertex deformations and post-processing effects   Create a full 3D game that includes a 2D radar in the Heads Up Display (HUD), and much, much more   CD-ROM includes • All C# examples and source code presented in this book. • Explosion Generator tool for generating explosion animations.   Introduction                  Part I      Get Up and Running with XNA on Your PC and Xbox 360 1              Introducing XNA and XNA Game Studio Express                        2              XNA and the Xbox 360               3              Performance Considerations     Part II     Understanding XNA Basics 4              Creating 3D Objects                       5              Input Devices and Cameras      Part III    Content Pipeline 6              Loading and Texturing 3D Objects              7              Sound and Music      8              Extending the Content Pipeline                   Part IV   2D in XNA 9              2D Basics                        10           2D Effects                      11           Creating a 2D Game                Part V    High Level Shader Language 12           HLSL Basics           13           Advanced HLSL     Part VI   Physics and Artificial Intelligence 14           Physics Basics  15           Finite State Machines and Game State Management   16           AI Algorithms  Part VII  3D Effects 17           Advanced Texturing Techniques 18           Special Effects  19           Particle System Part VIII Putting It Into Practice 20           Creating a 3D Game  21           Improving the Game 22           Finishing Touches Index    

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