Game Studio Express: Visual Basic for Xbox
Developing computer games is too hard. There are too few titles with too little variety. This is about to end.
With the announcement this week of XNA Game Studio Express, Microsoft executes another step in its tried-and-true playbook. No one is better at supporting software developers of all skill levels than Microsoft -- as long as you develop for their platforms.
The strategy is simple: get as many people developing for your platform as possible. People then want your platform to run what the developers create. The developers become more and more invested in your platform Those developers are also the techies mere mortals turn to for technology advice, and their knowledge of your platform makes them more likely to recommend it to others.
This has worked wonders for Windows and Office, and no one supports developers better than Microsoft. Their formula has three parts: inexpensive, robust, easy-to-use, well supported development tools; lots of excellent documentation; frictionless distribution.
Visual Basic was Microsoft's first major step on this path for Windows. VB made thousands of programmers who had never worked on a GUI into successful Windows developers nearly overnight. It was revolutionary. VB begat Visual Studio, the platinum standard for software development environments. The contribution of all this to the Windows monopoly cannot be overstated.
Game Studio Express is targeted at today's generation of techie gamers. It is intended to make developing games for Xbox and Windows at least as easy as VB made developing applications for Windows over a decade ago. Microsoft also announced that the big brother of Game Studio Express, XNA Game Studio, will be released next year. Game Studio will have more breadth and depth of features than Game Studio Express, and Microsoft acknowledges that it is the Visual Studio analog for game development. Both Game Studio and Game Studio Express are based on Visual Studio .Net technology. Expect these tools to be robust, well supported, easy to use and continuously improved, and expect great documentation.
As for frictionless distribution, Microsoft pioneered this with VBX controls (which begat ActiveX controls) and the VB runtime modules, royalty free to distribute and without licensing hassles. Similarly, Microsoft will make its Xbox Live Arcade a distribution center for developers to sell and share their creations, online and via CD.
Let the game development begin!
Copyright © 2006 Philip Bookman
Technorati: Xbox Microsoft
With the announcement this week of XNA Game Studio Express, Microsoft executes another step in its tried-and-true playbook. No one is better at supporting software developers of all skill levels than Microsoft -- as long as you develop for their platforms.
The strategy is simple: get as many people developing for your platform as possible. People then want your platform to run what the developers create. The developers become more and more invested in your platform Those developers are also the techies mere mortals turn to for technology advice, and their knowledge of your platform makes them more likely to recommend it to others.
This has worked wonders for Windows and Office, and no one supports developers better than Microsoft. Their formula has three parts: inexpensive, robust, easy-to-use, well supported development tools; lots of excellent documentation; frictionless distribution.
Visual Basic was Microsoft's first major step on this path for Windows. VB made thousands of programmers who had never worked on a GUI into successful Windows developers nearly overnight. It was revolutionary. VB begat Visual Studio, the platinum standard for software development environments. The contribution of all this to the Windows monopoly cannot be overstated.
Game Studio Express is targeted at today's generation of techie gamers. It is intended to make developing games for Xbox and Windows at least as easy as VB made developing applications for Windows over a decade ago. Microsoft also announced that the big brother of Game Studio Express, XNA Game Studio, will be released next year. Game Studio will have more breadth and depth of features than Game Studio Express, and Microsoft acknowledges that it is the Visual Studio analog for game development. Both Game Studio and Game Studio Express are based on Visual Studio .Net technology. Expect these tools to be robust, well supported, easy to use and continuously improved, and expect great documentation.
As for frictionless distribution, Microsoft pioneered this with VBX controls (which begat ActiveX controls) and the VB runtime modules, royalty free to distribute and without licensing hassles. Similarly, Microsoft will make its Xbox Live Arcade a distribution center for developers to sell and share their creations, online and via CD.
Let the game development begin!
Copyright © 2006 Philip Bookman
Technorati: Xbox Microsoft
Labels: software strategy
posted by Phil Bookman at 3:36 PM
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