XNA Game Studio Express: Download and Installation Guide

XNA Game Studio Express: Installation and Setup

(for XNA 2.0)

Running XNA-based programs on a PC: XNA-based program code can be compiled to run on Windows-based PCs or on the XBOX 360 consoles. Sometimes it is convenient to test a program locally on a PC before testing it off the network on a XBOX 360 console. In order to run XNA-based programs on your PC, you need a:

Direct3D 9.0 capable video card that supports at least Shader Model 1.1

Check your graphics card manufacturer's website for more information about your specific graphics card.

All software and APIs described in this document are free of charge.

This document describes how to install and setup development/run-time environments to work with the NXA framework. Our ultimate goals are to guide you to work with our XnaAssignmentBase and to convince you to use the XNA Games-themed programming Assignments (XGAs) in your CS1/2 classes. The XGAs are XBOX 360 console games designed to teach programming concepts. All XGAs are developed based on the XnaAssignmentBase class; where the XnaAssignmentBase class is a very simple (and restrictive) class/library developed on top of the XNA framework. Based on the handful functions in the XnaAssignmentBase class, one can develop simple 2D XBOX 360 games without any knowledge of the XNA framework. In fact, besides simple gamepad input, you do not need to be aware of the existence of the XNA framework.

However, you do need to install the XNA SDK and related IDE in order to work with the XGAs. Please refer to http://creators.xna.com/Education/GettingStarted.aspx for details of required installations. If you are not interested in finding out all the details, here are the simple procedures you can follow:

Microsoft C# Express: this is a free software you can download from here.

Notice that you must also down and install the service pack 1 component.
The Microsoft C# Express looks and feels very similar to Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 (VS2005) Integrated Development Environment (IDE). This is the IDE you will use to work with the provided assignments.

Microsoft XNA Game Studio 2.0: this is a free software you can download from here.

Notice that you do not need to download XNA SDK separately. The Game Studio 2.0 installation include the XNA SDK.

It is possible to develop XNA projects using the VS2005 IDE. We have chosen the C# Express IDE because it is freely available.

There are two sets of build files provided for each XGA. For example, for the BurstABubble assignment, there are the BurstABubble_PC.sln and the BurstABubble_XBOX.sln build files. The corresponding build files allow you to compile the assignment to run on either the PC, or on the XBOX 360 gaming console.

For the PC, if you don’t have access to a XBOX 360 controller you can use keyboard to control the games. Here is the keyboard to controller mapping. If you want to work with a XBOX 360 controller you will need:

The wired XBOX 360 controller; and

Download/Install the driver from here. The following are information for the download prcedure:
- Type of Product: controller.
- Your product: Xbox 360 Controller for Windows.
- Your operating system: select the appropriate one.
- Your operating system language: select your language.

With the wired XBOX 360 controller and the appropriate driver installed, you can now double click on the PC.sln version of the build file, compile and run the assignments.

For the XBOX 360 gaming console you will need:

The XBOX 360 gaming console; and

Subscribe to the XNA Creators Club. A brief explanation on how to join the creators club can be found here.

Follow the steps detailed here to connect your PC to the XBOX 360 console. If you have the default PC firewall activated, then:
- Windows XP Firewall setting:
- Control Panel->Windows Firewall: Exceptions Tab.
- Scroll down to find "XNA Game Studio Transport", enable this exception.

At this point, you have all the required settings and you should be able to test your XNA games! You should be able to double click on the XBOX.sln version of the build file, compile, deploy, and run the assignment on the XBOX 360 console.

Microsoft XNA framework is a collection of Application Programming Interface (API) libraries. Applications developed based on the XNA framework can be compiled to run in the Microsoft Windows environment or on the XBOX 360 gaming console. For more information on XNA please refer to:

General information: http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/xna/default.aspx.

Frequently asked questions: http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/xna/aa937793.aspx.

Discussion forum: http://forums.xna.com/.

Documentation: http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb203940.aspx.

Other on going XNA-specific develop projects: http://www.codeplex.com/xnadevru/.

This document and the related materials are developed with support from Microsoft Research Computer Gaming Initiative under the Computer Gaming Curriculum in Computer Science RFP, Award Number 15871.