The Help I'm New FAQ has plenty to help you out

I think this book is a good one for the total beginner http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft%C2%AE-XNA%C2%99-Game-Studio-2-0/dp/0735625220

Hello.

Some people need to apply the things they are reading to help them sink in. So you could start making yourself some programs.

(A calculator, a database of films you want to watch, a program that will convert a colour picture into a black and white.)

Anything really, so long as it catches your imagination (to keep you motivated).

J.

Hi, I felt the same, was reading the book, understanding what they were saying and trying to get across, was typing in the code from the book but it wasn't sticking.
I would go to do my own project and just didn't know where to start. I've enrolled in a C# course so I can get to grips with the underlying language, structure and syntax and I've only done 4 weeks, and it has really helped.
Its worth looking at doing a course at college.

Books ussually (but not always) go into more detail than online tutorials and tend to have a fuller progression. If you're brand new to this, I think that is a good way to start.

A better idea than simply typing in their code is often to try and write it yourself. If you get stuck, look at theirs to guide you. You'll learn a lot more if you actually have to think through what you're doing rather than thinking about what you need to be typing. Me personally, I learn almost nothing from retyping their code other than how to increase my typing speed.

Once you get a solid grasp, start writing your own game (start simple, something like Pong is a good place to start but Halo is not). Take it piece by piece... if something stumps you, see if you can find an online tutorial or an example from your book(s). If you still  can't get by, ask here. Lots of people here are willing to help.

Hi : )

Now that 3.0 is out, what 3.0 book do you recommend?
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_b?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=xna+3.0&x=0&y=0


I took a look at the book FAQ but it did not help much for the 3.0 stuff:
http://forums.xna.com/forums/p/1628/8135.aspx#8135

Also, how different is 3.0 from 2.0?

Thanks :)

The 2.0 books will all work with 3.0. The only major stuff added for 3.0 was the media stuff and the Zune stuff and a few APIs to help with the Community Games stuff.

Personally I like Chad's book - there's a 3.0 version out but I've not seen it yet. Aarons book is pretty good too. I've not seen Dan's Zune book at all but obviously is very Zune specific - i.e all 2d which might be just what you want. Reimers book is also updated to 3.0 but is not really a learning book - its a solid book for learning specific things but its not a step by step approach. Alexandre/Jose etc is my least fave of the bunch but again I've not seen the 3.0 version maybe its better.

this book got me started with c# and i only had a minimal understanding of computer languages in general.

http://www.cs.iupui.edu/~aharris/490/outline.html

i still havent finished that book, but i made some games. also i went through the asteroids game tutorial in xna docs, is that the one youre using?

Thanks for the suggestions, folks.  I was also wondering where on Earth to even start with this.  Unlike the O.P., I have ZERO experience with any programming whatsoever.