This improved and updated edition of the bestseller will get you up and running quickly with building games for Xbox 360 and the Windows platform. Professional game developer and Microsoft MVP Benjamin Nitschke begins by explaining how to install the free XNA Game Studio 2.0 and then goes on to share essential advice for using it in a productive way. Before you know it, each successive chapter will have you developing small games that increase in difficulty. By using the chapters as building blocks, you'll evolve from 2D programming to 3D, and you'll ultimately create a full-blown graphics engine that can be used for more advanced game projects. Plus, you'll get an inside look at six fully functional games, including the popular Racing Game and the new Dungeon Quest. What you will learn from this book Tips for adding music and sound with XACT Techniques for creating unique visual effects through Shaders Ways to access keyboard, mouse, and Xbox controllers with XInput How to write your own XNA graphics engine and create a game engine How to manage content in XNA Myriad ways of fine-tuning, debugging, and troubleshooting How to make sure games run on the Xbox 360 Ways to generate landscapes and tracks How to take advantage of XNA's new networking APIs Who this book is for This book is for anyone who wants to create games on the Xbox 360 and Windows platforms. Experience with C# or a similar .NET language is necessary, but previous game programming is not required. Wrox Professional guides are planned and written by working programmers to meet the real-world needs of programmers, developers, and IT professionals. Focused and relevant, they address the issues technology professionals face every day. They provide examples, practical solutions, and expert education in new technologies, all designed to help programmers do a better job.