How to get started with game programming on the Zune

Question

My zune just updated to 3.0 (didn't even realize they were releasing something new!) and the update came with two games, but the Zune marketplace does not have games.

Where do I go to get started, and what are the capabilities of the Zune in terms of games/apps?

Answer 1

Well, first, you must download the Microsoft XNA 3.0 CTP. Read the documentation, which will explain the capabilities. But, from memory:

• No hardware accelerated 3d (obviously, you can create a software 3d engine and then render the result to a 2d sprite, but... Don't expect much in terms of performance ;))
• No XACT, you must use a new sound API

Answer 2

I was hoping someone here would have better resources, but as this seems to be a new area of development, here's one resource that appears to give all the steps for a newbie to get started (too many assume you already have Visual studio, etc).

I'm really interested in a better in-depth overview of the capabilities as well, though.

Answer 3

Just an update but note that XNA 3.0 has been released. It requires some flavor of Visual Studio 2008.

I downloaded it and coded & deployed "hello world" to my Zune in no time at all. Very easy.

Answer 4

You should check out the blog of Rob Miles. He has a few chapters of his book on his site. Great place to start.