XNA Notes 012

This week was a busy one for the XNA Community and one that had a series of ups and downs. You might have noticed by now (or maybe you haven’t and I shouldn’t be pointing this out..) that I tend to only point out the ups. That’s very much on purpose and something I thought long and hard about before I started doing XNA Notes.

It’s too easy to let the bad stuff spread like a virus and seem overwhelming (something to do with human nature and there’s probably a science and psychology behind it). When the bad spreads like that, we tend to forget all the good things that are going on. So since the lows are being covered so well by everyone else, I just record our highs. This is the best of what’s going on in the XNA community. It might be a biased view, but we’ve got to start learning to put our best face forward. I don’t do this to cover it up, but more because I don’t want the good being overshadowed or forgotten. So I’m not fair and un-biased here, this is definitely only one side of the coin and hopefully that works for everyone.

The new dashboard list by Kotaku is an example of a FANTASTIC and positive sign for Xbox LIVE Indie Games. Kotaku is a huge site and the list they chose looks like they put some serious thought into it. I’m really looking forward to the next update of that list and can’t wait to see what they pick next. Also going to be interesting to see what traffic that drives in for people on the list.

Also don’t forget, if you feel I’m missing something really cool going on in this community or if you have suggestions for how I should be doing this differently, let me know either via the comments, twitter or email! My email is posted at the bottom of every page on my tutorial site, so I’m pretty easy to contact!

So here it is, here’s the spotlight on what awesome things are happening in this community.

Time Critical XNA News:

Eric Cosky has put up a poll - Does your XNA work pay the bills for you? Don’t forget to head over and share your answer!
- http://blog.boundingboxgames.com/2011/03/poll-does-your-xna-work-pay-bills-for.html
Wifey (that’s my wife!) is trying to raise $900 for the March of Dimes and is over 1/3 of the way there. Help out with any little bit you can and help save future Xbox LIVE Indie Game developers and gamers! (see how I tied that in to XNA news!)
- http://www.marchforbabies.org/personal_page.asp?pp=3416418&ct=4&w=4610100&u=shawnaleaclingerman
- http://twitter.com/ShawnaC/statuses/51290164563156993

XNA Team:

Pete Isensee (a name the XNA Community should learn, say hi and welcome him guys!), Principle Program Manager in Xbox Advanced Technology Group talks Dream Build Play, XNA and XBLIGs with GameZone
- http://xbox.gamezone.com/editorials/item/pete_isensee_of_dream.build.play/
XNA Team Blog announces Kotaku’s Favorites on Xbox LIVE Indie Games
Nick Gravelyn posts about some of the MediaPlayer changes in XNA Game Studio 4.0 for Windows Phone 7
- http://blogs.msdn.com/b/nicgrave/archive/2011/03/18/mediaplayer-changes-in-xna-game-studio-4-0-for-windows-phone.aspx

XNA MVPs:

Chris Williams shares how to use the Advertising SDK with XNA on WP7
- http://geekswithblogs.net/cwilliams/archive/2011/03/20/144452.aspx
Charles Humphreys posts a video showing 1,000,000 particles in XNA
- http://xna-uk.net/blogs/randomchaos/archive/2011/03/19/1-000-000-particles-in-xna.aspx

XNA Developers:

JohnK (@bobthecbuilder) posts a dev journal about the new tech being worked on for SunBurn
- http://www.synapsegaming.com/blogs/johnk/archive/2011/03/20/sunburn-dev-journal-workflow-enhancements.aspx
Mike McLaughlin posts about Sprite Padding using Guides in GIMP
- http://geekswithblogs.net/mikebmcl/archive/2011/03/24/sprite-padding-using-guides-in-gimp.aspx
Aaron T. Foley (@slyprid) continues to improve and enhance Transmute and shares some teaser pics for the upcoming beta release
- http://twitter.com/#!/slyprid/status/49552657802739712
Xalterax asks for and then provides a solution for a non-DXT compress SpriteFont
- http://forums.create.msdn.com/forums/p/78550/475924.aspx#475924
Philippe Da Silva posts on IGF v0.4, the new Sprite System
- http://indiefreaks.com/2011/03/21/playing-with-sprites/

Xbox LIVE Indie Games (XBLIG):

GameMarx and @ViNull (Michael C. Neel) have been crazy busy as usual, they post so much stuff related to XNA and Xbox LIVE Indie Games you really should just be visiting their site daily
- http://www.gamemarx.com/
- and don’t forget the awesome XboxIndies site they run as well
  - http://www.xboxindies.com/
BitMob does a follow up article on the Indie Games Winter Uprising
- http://bitmob.com/articles/indie-games-winter-uprising-was-it-a-success
Duckocide shares his progress on CopernicusOne a Dream Build Play 2011 hopeful using the SunBurn Engine
- http://twitter.com/#!/Duckocide/status/49514150161944576
x35mm shares his XNA RPG progress with a video and a post about his design update
- http://twitter.com/#!/x35mm/status/49533279312945152
- http://chaoswilds.x35mm.com/?p=75
Deborah Debas releases a new Shield the Beat video, one of the few Xbox LIVE Indie Games I’ve heard about that got rights to play music from popular artists like Franz Ferdinand!
- http://www.shieldthebeat.com/
Milkstone Studios shows off their next game Infinity Danger
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqIXoIUczEA&feature=youtu.be
Derek S. has a new mini-review section at the VVGtv forums for Xbox LIVE Indie Game new releases
- http://twitter.com/#!/Mr_Deeke/status/50790433898500096
- http://vvgtv.forumotion.com/f8-deekes-indieknook
XboxHornet has been around for years now and is one that everyone in the XNA community should have bookmarked, tons of reviews, news and interviews there, make sure to keep supporting the sites that have made Xbox LIVE Indie Games great!
- http://www.xboxhornet.com/wordpress/
Kris Steele of FunInfused games shares a simple SoundBank class for Windows Phone 7
- http://www.krissteele.net/blogdetails.aspx?id=249
Armless Octopus continues to be a fantastic member of the XNA and Xbox LIVE Indie Game community. The site is just filled to the brim with all sorts of gaming news and announcements and Xbox LIVE Indie Games are featured prominently against AAA contenders. Bookmark it, visit it daily and show your appreciation by leaving comments and sending traffic their way.
- http://www.armlessoctopus.com/
Nate Andrews posts the Xbox LIVE Indie Dome where he does a weekly dive through Xbox LIVE Indie Games to find the best so you don’t have to
- http://www.crushfragdestroy.com/2011/03/20/xbox-live-indie-dome-january-10th-16th-2011/
FunInfused Games shares a sneak peek video of what potentially might be their next game
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwSElHT69uY&feature=youtu.be
- along with some screens of their upcoming Dream Build Play entry World of Chalk
  - http://www.funinfused.com/WorldOfChalk.aspx
8BitHorse has two new XBLIG articles come out soon so keep you eye on the site
- http://twitter.com/#!/8BitHorse/status/49977146562711552
- http://www.8bithorse.blogspot.com/
MasterBlud (of VVGtv Xbox Reviews) reminds Xbox LIVE Indie Game Developers that he does trailers and soundtracks if you’re interested, contact him!
- http://twitter.com/#!/MasterBlud/status/50221505686151168
- and if you’re not following him on Twitter, do so no, the poor guy just wants 500 followers!
  - http://twitter.com/#!/MasterBlud/status/51069117129699329
If you’re a podcast listener and want to hear more XNA or XBLIG news, contact Dave Voyles of Armless Octopus and let him know just what it is you’re interested in.
- http://twitter.com/#!/DaveVoyles/status/50327689705422848
Ska Studios readies for the Dishwasher Vampire Smile release on Xbox LIVE Arcade. If you want to know what to shoot for as an Xbox LIVE Indie Game Developer. This is it.
- http://www.ska-studios.com/2011/03/18/good-morning-gato-53/
IndieTrials is a new review site focusing on reviewing Xbox LIVE Indie Game trials. Defintiely something XBLIG developers need to be thinking about when making their games. Just how good IS your trial experience?
- http://indietrials.com/