Microsoft XNA Game Studio 3.0 Unleashed [Paperback]

I have the author's first book that covered XNA Game Studio 1.0 Refresh. This book was not a simple name change - it has actual coverage of the new 3.0 topics as well as great coverage of the 2.0 topics that other books just gloss over.

There are a total of 9 new chapters in this book. These 9 chapters are worth the price of the book in and of themselves. There seems to be some changes to the original content, but just in order to make it work effectively with the latest version of the framework.

Out of the 9 new chapters, 2 are on Zune development. Once done with those chapters I had my own visualizer and ported over the 2D game I created. I tend to stick with 3D, but having a neat handheld device to create games on is pretty cool so I will probably create another game - especially if Microsoft opens up the Zune Marketplace for us to sell games on like that did on the Xbox LIVE Marketplace. In fact, 2 of the 9 new chapters discuss best practices for developing games for the Xbox LIVE Marketplace and discusses what is needed to actually submit XNA Community games.

The other 5 chapters are all about networking. It amazes me how much detail the author put into these chapters. If you are even thinking about creating a multiplayer game for Windows or the Xbox 360 or the Zune then you have to get this book just for those chapters. The first chapter is excellent information to help with understanding networks and the physical speed limitations of sending data across the internet. The next chapter moves past the theory and shows how to create a bare-bones, "just the facts", multiplayer demos for Windows, the Xbox 360 and the Zune. The third chapter of the five takes time to build a skeleton (which can be easily turned into template in Visual Studio) complete with a game lobby and session lists. All of the menu functionality is built using knowledge from the game state chapter earlier in the book. The fourth and fifth chapters actually create a turned based card game and a real-time chase/evade game. The multiplayer chapters are excellent. I wish the other 2.0 books that came out last year had spent time going through the details the author spelled out here.

I'll repeat what I said about his first book:
I really enjoyed his perspective on performance. It helped me in my day job as well ... can you say Garbage Collector? The physics chapter is great. I also enjoyed the chapter on Artificial Intelligence. Both are short, but to the point and helped me know where I need to look for more information. The particle system is excellent. I liked the force field created by particles ... cool. The chapter on the content pipeline was excellent. I enjoyed the advanced topics he has as well like Render Targets, Parallax and Relief Mapping.

So in summary, if there is only one XNA book you can buy ... get this one. You won't regret it!

The book is labeled Intermediate to Advanced for a reason.

If you look at the different reviews on the site, you can pretty easily tell which people decided - hey I want to program games even though I have very little experience in programming and those that understand topics such as polymorphism, inheritence and design patterns.

The other item I see in these reviews is complaining about the order of items. The author very plainly states why he chose to order it the way he did. Personally, this helped me a lot. I am making a 3D game currently and hope to have it up on Xbox LIVE in the Indies channel before too long.

An excerpt from "How This Book Is Organized" section of the Introduction (Good thing Amazon has a preview option available for this book):
... With a book that is designed to be read from front to back, the main drawback is a larger time commitment. However, there is usually deeper understanding by the time the task is complete versus the same amount of time spent looking at particular topics on the subject from online tutorials and blog posts. Both are very important, ...
... I do believe this book's order is important, and I did not change it from the first edition. ... The next chapter jumps right into talking about the Xbox 360. Even though there are people who do not have anXbox 360, it is important to put this chapter up front so you can be aware of certain things when creating games using XNA. It is always important to know what you are up against before you start. It is for this same reason that the very next chapter is on performance. ...
... The first real game code that is present in the book is written for 3D. Many people are shocked that 2D is not discussed until Chapter 9, "2D Basics." The reason for putting 3D before 2D in this book is because picking up 3D is not any harder than learning 2D. ... Granted, there are some complex topics surrounding 3D, and those are covered later in the book. However, by getting started by drawing models and responding to input, you'll see there is not a huge difference in the knowledge need to write 3D games versus 2D games.

If a person does not actually read the book in order as it is intended, then it can definitely appear to jump around. However, if you spend time on each chapter making sure you understand the concepts being presented, the following chapters make a lot of sense. This book gets 5 stars from me.

Also, on the authors website XNA Essentials he is active in answering questions on the forums.

I have 3 other XNA 3.0 books besides this one:
Learning XNA 3.0: XNA 3.0 Game Development for the PC, Xbox 360, and Zune
Beginning XNA 3.0 Game Programming: From Novice to Professional (Beginning from Novice to Professional)
XNA 3.0 Game Programming Recipes: A Problem-Solution Approach (Expert's Voice in XNA)

If you are new to programming - get a C# book first. Perhaps, Mile's book Microsoft® XNA® Game Studio 3.0: Learn Programming Now! (Pro - Developer) would be helpful as it assumes you know very little. I've not actually looked at that book, but since it has "Learn Programming Now" in it's title, my guess is it would be a good place to start.

The recipe book is good once you are really familiar with XNA. It would be a good book once you are done with this one - or once you are comfortable with the content of this one.

The other two books are probably decent for those in between. I learned something from all the books, but I learned the most (by far) from this Unleashed book. I like the title Unleashed, because it covers ALL of the features of XNA Game Studio.

Speaking of XNA Framework features, If you are even considering adding multiplayer functionality into your game, you need to buy this book.

Just remember, you will not learn everything about any subject just by reading one book. Like I said, I have several of them and I have learned something from all of them. If you are serious about this, then you will need more than a single resource. For free resources check out Ziggyware and of course the XNA Creators Club website. There is a ton of free stuff available. But if you are like me, you would rather spend your time reading instead of searching.

My dream has been to make games for a long time. With XNA it is now possible. This book jump started my journey and I am now creating my own 3D game (and yes, it has local co-op and LIVE co-op!) thanks to Chad.

I have both the older, 1.0 Refresh edition, and this newer XNA Game Studio 3.0 edition. I must say I was both relieved and happy to see the author's level of commitment in maintaining the quality of the book.

Chad has taken painstaking care to bring in all the corrections and requests his readers have put in through the forums for the 1st edition, and expanded the book to include new topics introduced from the 2.0 to 3.0 release of XNA Game Studio. New topics include multiplayer games, networking, Zune game programming and one of the most neglected areas, but probably one of the most important, best practices for developing a game for the Xbox LIVE Indie channel (was Xbox LIVE Community Games).

One of the best things I liked about the book is that it's kept alive and current by the author's frequent updates and replies to reader queries, via a dedicated website, [...]. Got a question on a possible typo or topic you're not too sure of? Ask, or check and it's most likely answered or will be answered in a day or 2. (And I live on the opposite side of the globe to the author.)

I'm using this as a compulsory text for a module I am teaching to Diploma students, and it brings them quickly up to speed on programming with XNA. My students have agreed that this is the most comprehensive and yet readable book on XNA and an introduction to HLSL.

There are lots of useful code samples and components that you can drop into your own game, using them out of the box. I'm making a mash-up now with code from both Creator's Club and this book.

Readers who complain that the writer moves too quickly should keep in mind that the book is categorized by the publisher as "Intermediate-Advanced" and accurately so.

You should get this if you have programmed in DirectX and/or C++; you'll find it a breeze and be amazed by how many things have been taken care / made much easier by the XNA framework and using a managed language such as C#. If you've programming in Java before, the syntax of C# will look familiar.

Thanks again Chad, for keeping to the promise of excellent and quality work. I look forward to future editions of this book.