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What websites/books should a beginner start with?

Last post 12/15/2008 2:59 PM by TheAdventMaster. 5 replies.
  • 12/15/2008 2:39 AM

    What websites/books should a beginner start with?

    I have coded before (Game Maker), so I understand the basics of programming pretty well.  Although I want to learn C# so I can use XNA, what websites/books should I start with?
    -DadGun-
    Hobbyist Programmer
  • 12/15/2008 3:47 AM In reply to

    Re: What websites/books should a beginner start with?

    One of the best places to start is with the "Help! I'm new!" FAQ we have. It will get you pointed in the right direction based on what skills you currently have. Just give it a read through and follow it's advice. Also, the tutorials on this site are great, so I would recommend those as well. Make sure to take the time to explore the Help files installed when you installed the XNA framework. They also have great stepy by step guides and will cover a lot of what you'll need to know to make your first game.

    Welcome to the forums and the XNA community. If you have any questions as you continue learning to develop games using the XNA framework, you're in the right place!
  • 12/15/2008 5:04 AM In reply to

    Re: What websites/books should a beginner start with?

    One site I can, without a doubt, recommend would be GameDev.net - it's helped a lot of my friends who want to begin game programming. I use that site as a resource all the time, too. You should check out the beginners' sections, and start from there.
  • 12/15/2008 11:37 AM In reply to

    Re: What websites/books should a beginner start with?

    I recently bought learning xna 3.0 from o'reilly. Well..I think it's quite good for the bloody beginning, but nothing for any experienced developer/coder. Unfortunatly it's more about the basics of spritehandling and stuff, wich you can get at any xna-tutorial. But I get's you to your own game with sprites, 3d and xact audio..so take an eye on it.
  • 12/15/2008 1:31 PM In reply to

    Re: What websites/books should a beginner start with?

    Thanks for the advice and links.
    -DadGun-
    Hobbyist Programmer
  • 12/15/2008 2:59 PM In reply to

    Re: What websites/books should a beginner start with?

    The education section and the XNA Forums are probably the best I've ever seen, so you should be good hanging around here and digging for resources :)

    All programming languages share common features/concepts.  Since the .NET platform is an evolution and friend to language like C, C++ and Java, you might want to study a few different languages at once.  I can't say that GameDev's been the best resource.  It's too generalized, in my opinion.  When you want to get into the specifics and theory of certain techniques, you want to look elsewhere - Online tutorials and code snippets usually get the job done.

    One thing you really want to do as a programmer is face conquer challenges you couldn't before.  One thing I did that vastly expanded my programming knowledge was hang around forums just like these and look for posts I didn't understand.  Whenever there was a topic that confused me, I researched it until I so good I could provide advice to others.  In game development, we often see programming as an artistic canvas, and since there's so many different ways to paint the same picture, sometimes we don't do the type of research we should...
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