Making Your Own Video Game

the beta version of XNA Game Studio Express, a framework for creating games. With very little knowledge of programming, you can create games for Windows (and, in later versions, for the Xbox 360).

Included in Game Studio is an updated 3D Spacewar game, along with its source code. Right away, you can pull apart the code to see how it works. Then, you can start modding the game. One of the first changes I made was to add triple shot to the ship; the ship can now send a wave of bullets toward the enemy. Having a full game right out of the gate allows you to see the results of your programming quickly.

Image courtesy of Dean Johnson

After you play around with Spacewar, you might want to start creating your own games. I suggest starting with some of the classics. One of the first ALMOST ANYONE WHO’S EVER PICKED games I ever wrote was a clone of Pong. Creating up a joystick or controller to play a video a full game such as Pong will allow you to learn all game has thought about creating a game. of the aspects of programming necessary to create

When I was very young, I drew out levels for Super games, including graphics, input, sound, collision, Mario Brothers with crayons and construction and AI. After Pong, try creating other classics, such paper. As I progressed through school, I taught as Arkanoid/Breakout, Asteroids, Space Invaders, myself a lot about programming. I knew I wanted to and Tetris. Once you’ve finished creating a few of create games. The problem was that I was a one- the classics, begin working on your dream game. man show. When video games first emerged around To get started with XNA Game Studio, visit 1961 (the year Steve Russell created Spacewar msdn.microsoft.com/xna and download your free while attending MIT), it was possible for a single copy. I also suggest signing up for the forums and programmer to create a simple yet engaging game. posting any questions you might have. You can view But now expectations are much higher. A professional some starter tutorials and samples at a community game development company must hire dozens of site I helped create: xnaspot.com. people in order to create a single console game.

Where does this leave students and hobbyist developers like me? Behind a mountain of barriers. But there’s good news: in late August, Microsoft released

Dean Johnson created his first game using BASIC on his parents’ PC. He now attends Full Sail in Orlando, Fla., studying game development.

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