Well, just saw this thread and like many others, there's just something missing. The starter kits are good,  but complex and difficult for newbs to understand how it all works together sometimes.. The basic template is just basic.. Something like what was being talked about would be awesome, and it sounds like Glen has done it, I just havent checked it out yet. There's a wealth of info out there on xna, but like it was said earlier, it jumps from moving 2d sprites on the screen to 3d .. I dont want to mess with 3d just yet, let me get comfortable in 2d.

Anyways, time to go check out glens game framework.. sounds like just what I am wanting.. Help showing me how to put it all together. I can do my menu's and states and all in c++, but OOP has always been an evil word in my vocabulary and trying to figure out how the classes all work and fit together to play nicely can be a challenge. =)

 

I do think a simple starter kit like pacman, frogger, tetris or something simple like that would be excellent.

A Starter Kit of a 2D/3D sidescroll games like Earth Worm Jim, Mario or Megaman. The Starter Kit can compose of simple platforms of that side scroll w/ one level or stage. It can really help games to map their stages and it can make a a good tutorial for array of tiles rather than a moving and a looping background.

how about an rpg, like dot hack or fable

I had started an RPG starter kit, but got sidetracked with other projects. I'm still hoping to get it out there some time.

Machaira:

I had started an RPG starter kit...

So, would that make it an RPG Starter Kit Starter Kit? ;)

 

I too would be very interested in an RPG starter kit, just because one would teach me so much. How to use tile sets, saving and loading functions, inventory management, etc etc.

On a related note, thank you to all the people nice enough to spend your time using your talents to help the community. Without all the tutorials and starter kits and such floating around, noobs like me wouldn't be able to learn anything. Or, we probably would, but it would be a much slower, much more painful process. :)

I'm also throwing my hat in for that "beginner template" everyone is talking about. I'm completely lost in XNA right now, even though it's an amazing framework and handles so much background code for us already. I'd also like to see tiny starter kits. Things like "Animation Starter Kit: Play a Sprite, and Control its Frames Per Second!" (I'm having trouble with this right now, heh.), or "Build an Inventory!", or "How to Save!" Really small things. Starter kits that preform only one simple function. The Starter Kits out now are great, but kind of (very) daunting to people who have absolutely no programming skills (like me). Really small, heavily commented Starter Kits would be amazing. If a starter kit came out that was 30% code and 70% comments on said code, I'd cry tears of joy. ;)

I think an RPG starter kit would be great, and appropriate. There have been lessons on picking, camera angles, but what I want to see a tutorial/sample on before that is generated terrain collision, that would make life SOO much easier. I have heard of the GJK and Simplex methods, but I'm not good at incorporating such things into my apps. An RPG starter kit would be a lifesaver, even if it's not something complex, maybe just picking and moving the picked character.

-chris

Jam:

I'd also like to see tiny starter kits. Things like "Animation Starter Kit: Play a Sprite, and Control its Frames Per Second!" (I'm having trouble with this right now, heh.), or "Build an Inventory!", or "How to Save!" Really small things. Starter kits that preform only one simple function. The Starter Kits out now are great, but kind of (very) daunting to people who have absolutely no programming skills (like me). Really small, heavily commented Starter Kits would be amazing. If a starter kit came out that was 30% code and 70% comments on said code, I'd cry tears of joy. ;)

It's probably nit-picking, but I believe starter kits are meant to be complete games, not just pieces. I think you're talking about samples. :)

Machaira:

It's probably nit-picking, but I believe starter kits are meant to be complete games, not just pieces. I think you're talking about samples. :)

Heh, you're probably right. In that case, I'd love to see more samples out there! As far as starter kits go, an RPG one would be helpful I think, as I already metioned, because it'd teach how to keep track of a complicated game world.

This is a great idea for a starter kit, I am anxiously awaiting it!

One thing I'd love to see is a simple animation demo. By animation, I mean loading a simple humanoid model and make it blink, smile, wave, or walk.

If it must be 2d and a full game, I'd like to put in my vote for a street-fighter style fighting game. It sounds like that type of game would cover a lot of ground on how-tos.

Aside from that, any tile based game would be great too.

Nonstick Monkey:

Aside from that, any tile based game would be great too.

Old style 2D isometric games have always been a  favourite of mine. Syndicate, what a totally amazing game for it's time!