Mike Foley | University Advancement | 3 October 2006
Ivan Lumala, Academic Relations Manager for the Microsoft® Corporation in Hawaii and other parts of the western U.S., introduced a new gaming graphics software to BYU-Hawaii School of Computing students on October 3 that will enable end users to create their own game applications on personal computers — something that was previously done by major development teams and studios.
Before demonstrating the software, XNA, at the SOC's InForm Lecture in GCB 188, Lumala first asked the students how many of them play computer games on Microsoft's popular Xbox 360™ system, and many raised their hands. "XNA is the latest evolution of the Xbox graphics programming language, and we believe it's much better than all of its predecessors," he said.
He briefly traced the development of application programming, starting with assembly language, noting at that stage of the industry "the number of people who could actually create programs was very small. Then came C...which introduced a level of portability and broadened the number of people who could actually program an application."
As C++ followed, "more people were able to write more applications and reuse components from others," Lumala continued, pointing out that today "more people are writing desktop applications than graphics applications, but Microsoft XNA is changing that. Many routine tasks are now automated...[and] every application that is XNA-based, comes with a graphics application that you don't have to worry about."
"The biggest draw is now you can target the Windows™ platform when you create a graphics game, as well as the Xbox" — a robust machine that can interface with any USB device and wireless peripherals. "It's actually a very powerful computer," Lumala said. He added that at about $400 it's also much cheaper than a comparable computer video card which would cost about $600. "If you don't have one yet, consider getting one just for the graphics."
After reviewing the inner architecture components and hard drive capabilities of the Xbox with the SOC students, Lumala said that in the past game developers for the machine had to demonstrate that they were working on AAA titles and also pay a $10,000 fee. One reason for this, he added, was as a security against virus hackers.
Lumala also noted AAA developers sometimes spend $15-20 million to develop a blockbuster game, "so they're constrained by the money to the type of games they develop. XNA is going to make it possible for anybody who wants to write an Xbox game to sign up. The kind of games will be a lot more varied."
He said XNA Express, the version for student and hobbyists, is already available and includes "starter kits, that are full-fledged games that you can actually modify," as well as provisions for community components "that you can integrate into your game. You add your own code and content...to create a unique game that meets your specific needs." Typical of computer developers, there are online forums and blogs on XNA.
Lumala added that XNA Pro for casual and indie game developers is slated to come out in Spring 2007, and XNA Studio for game teams and studios is planned for fiscal year 2008.
"More people are creating things, and sharing them. This is the direction that our industry and Microsoft is headed," Lumala said, "and faculty and administrators actually recognize this as a great research tool."
Then, using XNA, he quickly created the beginning of a simple game by adding and then modifying a grid component. "Almost everyone who writes a graphics application uses a grid," to which he also added an object that responded to a hand-held controller. He next showed how a background could be inserted.
"We started out with a plain XNA window, which did absolutely nothing. We dragged in components... [and] then wrote a little bit of code to tie those things together. Once you get the concepts down, you won't have to spend a lot of time figuring out how to tie them together. Also, you can change the game by changing components."
"Different people contribute different components," Lumala said, "and at the end of the day you have something unique."