I’ve been a programmer for some time now and have always wanted to give game development a shot.  This game isn’t anything original, except maybe a time limit enforced vs. an unlimited amount of time.  I originally use the C++ code here and decided to switch over to C# and XNA because it would be easier to learn game dev with a language I’m familiar with vs. one I haven’t used in 7 years.

You can watch the video below for an overview of the game.  If you have the XNA Framework installed I encourage you to give it a shot.

What did I enjoy the most?

I enjoyed figuring out how to manage the update and drawing of what was on the screen.  Im familar with developing for http requests, however, developing for something that updates 60 times a second is something else.  The problems I encountered were managing the music and game event timing.  In the end I got lucky with the song I choose as not only is it a great song, but, the timing of it worked out perfectly.

What I would do differently?

For starters I would not be lazy with how it was programmed.  It’s as if I’m a farmer who knows very well how to grow apples and maintain an apple orchard, and then all of a sudden I’m thrown into a tropical environment naked and forced to grow avocados.  All good programming practices went out the window, especially ones specific to C#.  No worries, the next game wont be like that.

How to download/install?

You have a couple of options here.

Option 1: If you have the XNA Framework already installed (only likely if you have developed a game with it) then you can simply download the Visual Studio 2008 Source Code and hit F5.

Options 2: Otherwise, you will need to download all of the following and the .exe Installer as well.

• .NET Framerwork 3.5
• XNA Framework 3.0
• DirectX 9.0c
• XNA Quicks .exe Installer