It looks like Microsoft's trying to increase the must-have factor for the pricey Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 suite, because the XNA Team has just come up with a VS 2008-only rendition of XNA Game Studio - upgraded to version 3.0 But there's a lot of catches, and they aren't pretty for the average, budget-conscious, and possibly still studying,  indie dev. Prepare to be blown away (the wrong way, probably) at the full story.

If you're an MMORPG player, you've probably found at least a couple of things that could've been done better as far as your favorite MMORPG is concerned.

Now, Microsoft is offering players a chance to create the kinds of online multiplayer games they want with XNA Game Studio 2.0 game development software for Xbox Live or Games for Windows. More game creation goodness after the jump!

For budding video game developers and designers who are fond of using the application framework XNA either for the Xbox 360 or the PC, Microsoft is sending out word that version 2.0 Beta of XNA Game Studio has just been released.

When this was first revealed, reports mentioned that the second build will be compatible with Visual Studio 2005 and that it will be packed with a networking API for the Xbox Live. More details and the link for the downloads after the jump!

 

Through XNA boss Chris Satchell, Microsoft has revealed that it indeed has plans to someday create a community where games can be played or watched YouTube-style.

Satchell said in a recent interview with Develop that it has always been part of their goals to allow independent developers to show other users what they've got and the best way to allow the creativity to flow is by setting up the right channels where communities can converge.

"We use a music analogy – you know, it’s like we’ve given the instruments so they can go and play music now, but what’s the radio station where they can reach everyone?" asks Satchell. "It’s cool that they can invite people around and play in front of them, which is sort of the Creators Club, but hey, they want to play to the world."

One of the factors currently limiting the flexibility of the XNA community is the annual subscription fee and the rule that only Creators Club members can share software. Under the "YouTube XNA" vision, everyone can get a crack at playing user-made games for free.

Satchell said that opening up the Xbox 360 independent games scene is a major step towards attaining this goal and now a stage must be set where raw talents could be shown off.

"Now we need to provide people a stage to play on, a distribution medium so that they can show off their creativity to everyone," he says. "That’s always been our vision and remains our vision."

And fresh from the press wire, Microsoft has officially announced the winners of the Dream-Build-Play game development contest at this year's Game Technology Conference of Microsoft, dubbed GameFest 2007. And out of more than 4,500 budding XNA Game Studio minds and craftsmen from 100 countries worldwide, a shining 20 individuals have stepped gracefully into Microsoft's favor.

 

And two of them were tied for first place. David Flook of Ontario (Blazing Birds) and James Silva of New York (The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai) bagged the top prize - namely publishing contracts with Xbox LIVE Arcade, US$ 10,000 in cold cash each, and a slew of other unmentioned prizes.

Runner up positions were claimed by Steve Olofsson of Sweden (Gravitron Ultra) and Daniel McGuire of the UK (Yo Ho Kablammo!). The two were also invited to publish their games on Xbox LIVE Arcade, while being offered US$ 5,000 each in cash prize money and other unmentioned prizes. 16 others were recognized with the top four, although particulars were not revealed.

The results, it appears, has taken Microsoft by surprise. "The games we received in the Dream-Build-Play competition are truly inspiring. Created in just four short months using XNA Game Studio, these games demonstrate an incredible range of innovation, fun gameplay and technical achievement." said XNA general manager Chris Satchell.

The participation of many fledging game developers - together with their varied creativity, technical know-how and fusion of fun and concept in a short time span - has put the independent game development segment back into focus. "It’s aspiring, independent developers like these who are really driving our industry," said content director Bryan Tussel of Microsoft Casual Games, and we're inclined to agree.

 

If you're an aspiring game designer or developer living in the UK with adequate experience using Microsoft's XNA software, now is the chance to prove yourself while winning some prizes along the way. XNA UKUG, a wide group of coders, artists and game designers, is holding the "XNA UK User Group Competition" for those who can get their way around Microsoft's homebrew suite.

Contestants can compete for GB£ 5,000 (US$ 9,903.44) in different categories:

• Artwork: Create concept art with accompanying scene-setting document that gives info about your artwork.
• Soundtrack: Compose either a 3-minute title screen music, or three 1-minute music pieces indicating different moods. Other sub-category requires you to create game sound effects and a 20-second clip incorporating them all.
• Gameplay: This is the real deal. Create a playable game using materials from the other categories in only two days. Team up with up to four people or enter as an individual.
  

Deadline for everything except the gameplay category is June 12, while the coding contest for said category will be held on June 15-17. For more details, check the XNA UK site on the Read link below.

 

Here's a nice little idea which demonstrated how XNA development tools can work in conjunction with a Wiimote to create cute results in a PC. The Wiimote is able to control a flock of graphical butterflies by getting Windows Vista to talk with the controller.

M.B. Burke of MSDN says it's fairly simple on the programming part. What held him up for a while was the fact that the Windows Vista stack doesn't recognize the Wiimote signal. He had to look for four days for one that has a stack that's compatible and he found that in Toshiba. With a EPoX BT-DG05A Bluetooth USB Dongle, all was set.

Sadly, though, the Wiimote-controlled butterfly application doesn't work if you try to run it on the Xbox 360. Still, the idea is a nice demonstration of possibilities. And if we know tech-heads like we do, it's a given that they'll come up with a really crazy brew one of these days. To know how exactly everything was done, follow the read URL.

This is presuming you're one of those playing around with XNA Studio Homebrew for the PC or Xbox 360 - you will be interested to know that Microsoft has made an incremental update to Game Studio Express.  And the incremental doesn't even hit the version number: the update is known as "XNA Game Studio Express 1.0 Refresh."

Refresh adds Vista compatibility, and the XNA Packager, which allows users to share binary files for both Xbox 360 and PC homebrew games. Speaking of which, the 360 still needs the Creators' Club membership, no change there. Other changes include bitmap-based fonts and game packaging. Hit the Read link to Refresh your XNA Game Studio Express.

 

They say with the right tools, dreams really can take flight. The Wright brothers needed their bike shop in Dayton, a strip of sand in North Carolina, and a little time, and today we have A380s and F-35s zipping across the sky. Who is to say that Microsoft's XNA Games Studio Express can't spark the dreams of the homebound game coder in a similar way? At the least, homebrew coders can indulge in their hobby, create some great-looking and playing stuff to showcase their talents; when we get lovely games coded TLC by "one of us" - it's quite the fair trade.

QJ took the opportunity to talk to Josh Butterworth and Maher Al-Samkari, two of the guys behind Triology Productions, creators of the XNA project (for the PC, but as it's XNA, the 360's just a stone's throw away, in a manner of speaking) "Last Alarm: The A.R.G.U.S. Complex". We get to talking about the game, and about working with XNA.

Along the lines of a traditional vert scroller, Last Alarm evokes many of the classic arcade scrolling shooters the mature gamers of today have grown up with, polished with a high-quality sheen and hand-crafted from the comfort of home... or at least by hobbyists and homebrewers who do this for the love of the game. Ah, and as we're rolling on to Valentines Day soon enough, it is the perfect time to talk about love. Let's take it away, then:

   

More amazing images and game details right after the jump!

Matthew Randall, EviLDeD posted a homebrew game for XNA. We write about this because the process and background of this game is worth writing about. He first did a concept document, then got feedback, fleshed it out, and took it through the development phases. The game is quite fun and when you play it you feel that there's a real goal to it, and that's probably because game objectives and levels were set very early on:

• Concept: In this 2D puzzle/action/plat-former you are Dirty Ed Filthy, or Dirty Eddy to his friends. As Dirty Ed Filthy you are charged with the responsibility of gathering the right musical talent from around town, creating and teaching the band the song line up, and getting them of course to the gig and play their set! Set in the little known fictional town of "Rock'n'Roll Nevada," it is your job as Dirty Eddy to get the music to the people! As Eddy gathers the musicians for his band, gets them ready for the big gig he will be passed through a number of mini-games that will give Dirty Eddy the workout of a lifetime. Take Dirty Eddy through the ups, downs, and loop holes some call the music industry, win it big with the big record companies and make a bundle of money!

He even outlined the minigames:

• The Making of a Band! (Stage 1) The record company needs talent and it is up to Dirty Eddy to find the right talent before time runs out. It is Dirty Eddy’s goal for this stage to remember where in the town each musician is of a certain musical persuasion and seek them out to build the most awesome band! Be careful that you choose the right musicians or you could be FIRED from the record company! Eddy can earn skill and attribute bonuses for getting the right band together before the timer runs out as well as power bonuses for getting special musical talent to play in your band..

If you want to try it out, you'll need XNA GameStudioExpress v1.0. The source code will be released as soon as EviLDeD manages to tweak the code to satisfaction. Here's a video of one of the minigames in action:

Check out the rest of the minigames at the Full Article!

Download: [MusicMogul (initial release)]