Microsoft XNA Unleashed provides comprehensive coverage and solid instruction on how to leverage the XNA Framework to create high quality games for Windows and the Xbox 360. The author shows you how to take full advantage of the many features the XNA Framework provides; you will learn the intricacies of important tasks such as adding sound and music to games, as well as creating, loading, and texturing 3D objects. In addition to providing coverage of 2D programming, the author shows you how to create sophisticated 3D games. All the important topics such as physics, artificial intelligence, and special effects are covered in detail. Chad Carter is the CTO at Robertson Marketing Group. Many Fortune 500 companies use the ecommerce system he architected and developed from the ground up for the promotional business sector. He has been creating DirectX applications since 1996 and has developed games using Managed DirectX. Chad created a 3D locomotive simulator for Norfolk Southern that is used to teach children to obey railroad crossings signals. Chad's website devoted to the XNA Framework can be found at www.xnaessentials.com. - Learn how to install and use XNA Game Studio Express- Discover how to build, deploy, and debug games for the Xbox 360 and Windows- Examine the XNA Framework in depth: 2D, 3D, sound, input, and HLSL- Learn how to create game components and game services- Delve into performance tuning techniques- Discover how to extend the Content Pipeline- Learn how to use the Microsoft Cross-Platform Audio Creation Tool (XACT) to add sound and music to games- Create a full 2D parallax side-scroller game- Discover how to use sprite batches- Learn to make the most of sprite fonts- Create 2D components such as splash screens and progress bars- Examine the different sprite batch blending modes- Discover 2D cel animation- Examine the High Level Shader Language (HLSL) in detail covering basic HLSL as well as vertex deformations and post-processing effects- Create a full 3D game that includes a 2D radar in the Heads Up Display (HUD), and much, much more"