XNA Game Studio Express: Installation and Setup

Running XNA Framwork programs on a PC: XNA framework 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 framework programs on your PC, you need a:

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

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 the XNACS1Lib library and to convince you to work with the XNA Games-themed programming Assignments ( XGAs ) and XNA Game-Themed CS1 ( XGC1 ) materials in your CS1/2 classes. The XGAs and XGC1 are designed to teach introductory programming concepts based on game-themed assignments and examples. All these materials are developed based on the XNACS1Base class where the XNACS1Base class is a very simple (and restrictive) class/library developed on top of the XNA framework. Based on the handful functions/classes in the XNACS1Base 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. At this point (Dec 2008), XNACS1Lib does not run on the Zune device.

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/ for details of required installations. To summarize, you will need to install:

1. IDE: either Microsoft C# Express 2008 or Visual Studio 2008.
2. XNA Framework: Microsoft XNA SDK.

1. The wired XBOX 360 controller ; and


2. Download/Install the driver from here . The following are information for the download procedure:
   • 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 .

1. The XBOX 360 gaming console ; and


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


3. Follow the steps detailed here to connect your PC to the XBOX 360 console. 


4. 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.

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


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


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


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


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

	This work is supported in part by a grant from Microsoft Research under the Computer Gaming Curriculum in Computer Science RFP, Award Number 15871 and 16531.
2/8/2010