Game Programming with Silverlight.

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Tomorrow, June 30th, is the release date for my book titled “Game Programming with Silverlight”. Writing this book was a great experience as it was the first book I have ever written. It was extremely time consuming mostly because it was a learning experience but I am glad I did it.

Also, I apologize for the lack of Silverlight tips these days! Finishing the book was my top priority but I am looking forward to getting back to adding Silverlight tips on a regular basis.

The book itself covers a lot of what I discuss here in this tips blog but with more detail. Here is a quick outline of what I covered in the book:

Chapter 1: Silverlight 101. I start the book off by giving a thorough introduction into Silverlight, XAML and Silverlight controls.

Chapter 2: Getting Started. This chapter covers using Visual Studio 2008 and 2010 for creating Silverlight projects.

Chapter 3: What’s new with Silverlight 3. I cover each and every new feature to Silverlight 3 that could pertain to game development.

Chapter 4: Silverlight Tips and Tricks. Mostly tips I covered here in my blog.

Chapter 5: Creating the World. Covers the map editor I created that allows you to create maps for your games. Also, I discuss resources where you can obtain game art from.

Chapter 6: Object Manager. I discuss how to use a web service to load objects from. Also, I cover the different types of objects you might have in a multi-player adventure type game.

Chapter 7: Animation. This chapter discusses the variety of ways to perform animation in Silverlight.

Chapter 8: The Client UI. I discuss the ways you can lay out your client UI in your game.

Chapter 9: Network Support: I discuss how to make your game multi-player using socket programming.

Chapter 10: Extras: In this final chapter I discuss a variety of topics such as how scrolling maps smoothly, player movement, chat boxes and reflections.

Let me know if you have any suggestions or ideas on what you would want to see in a future book (Game Programming with Silverlight 4 for example).

Thanks!
--Mike

Posted: Jun 29 2009, 09:50 AM by mike.snow | with 67 comment(s)

Filed under: Silverlight, visual studio 2008, game programming, resources, silverlight resources, Silverlight Tools, silverlight 3, mike snow

Comments

Microsoft Weblogs said:

Tomorrow, June 30th, is the release date for my book titled “ Game Programming with Silverlight ”. Writing

# June 29, 2009 1:08 PM

jt715 said:

I have been waiting for this book ever since I read about it on amazon a month or so ago. I have been wanting to make multi-player web-based games for a while now.

# June 29, 2009 4:49 PM

BenHayat said:

Mike, I like to get your view on how some of these "Game" techniques can also be used for LoB applications that want to introduce the RIA and animations into the app?

I think if your book can also help the none-game application, will have a broader audience. Looking forward to your answer.

..Ben

# June 29, 2009 11:35 PM

Community Blogs said:

In this Issue: Andrej Tozon ( 2 , 3 ), Jonathan van de Veen , Corey Schuman , and Al Pascual . Shoutouts

# June 30, 2009 1:29 AM

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# June 30, 2009 1:32 AM

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# June 30, 2009 8:02 AM

mike.snow said:

Hi Ben- I would agree that these techniques can be used for both game and other LoB type apps. The way I look at it the techniques in this book really just show you how to get things done using Silverlight. How you apply these techniques really depends upon what exactly you are building. If you have any specific examples or questions let me know.

Also, you can reach me directly at msnow @ microsoft.com

I will be OOF though on vacation 1 week starting today.

Thanks,

--Mike

# June 30, 2009 11:51 AM

Deepak Verma said:

Congratulations Mike, on having the book out!

# June 30, 2009 4:44 PM

BenHayat said:

Mike, thank you for your answer. I've always enjoyed your tips and I think the least I can do to return the favor, is to buy the book and support your cause and learn new things. Thanks and talk to you soon!

..Ben

# June 30, 2009 7:10 PM

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# July 1, 2009 6:18 AM

jt715 said:

I bought it yesterday, just waiting for Amazon to ship it.

# July 1, 2009 12:28 PM

tanmoy.r said:

Kool. I am also going to buy this book.

# July 2, 2009 12:22 AM

ADHDeveloper said:

I had this pre-ordered from amazon.ca for the past 2+ months....and now they are out of stock and my order is not shipped.

I guess you had a lot of Canadians pre-ordering it even before I did :)

# July 2, 2009 3:37 PM

Qbus said:

Hi Mike

I have just ordered your book (from Amazon.co.uk as I live in Europe). Looking forward to read it. It's my first Silverlight book actually.

# July 7, 2009 1:25 PM

mike.snow said:

Thanks everyone for your comments and book orders.

Nofootbird - Can you order it from Amazon.com? I'll check with my publisher to see when it'll be available at amazon.cn

Obus - I'll check with my publisher to see if they have a date on a new shipment.

Thanks!

# July 7, 2009 4:58 PM

jt715 said:

I just got an email from Amazon in the States saying they are shipping it today.

# July 10, 2009 12:03 PM

mobab said:

I ordered mine on the 10th. I'm really looking forward to this book, and while it's a book on software development, I really hope there will be little errors.

Do you plan on making updated editions or is this your only book?

If there are mistakes, where will you clarify them, if at all?

Thanks

# July 12, 2009 11:18 PM

KevinCoggins said:

Congrats on the book! I just ordered a copy - can't wait to check it out.

# July 13, 2009 5:27 PM

mike.snow said:

Thanks and yes, if there are any mistakes I will clarify them. Let me know if you find any yourself.

For what's next, I will be working on a lower-level book that walks people through making multiple games using Silverlight 4.

# July 13, 2009 5:57 PM

jt715 said:

Mike, that sounds awesome! I just got my copy from Amazon yesterday, and already into it. Totally loving it!

# July 14, 2009 5:23 PM

mobab said:

I just received my book today, and I'm reading through it right now. There are some mistakes already, mostly nitpicky stuff (typos, clarity, etc), however, there is one that stands out.

I'm using SL3 with VS10. On page 65, calling BallSB.Start() does not work. BallSB.Begin() works for me.

The book is great so far =D

# July 16, 2009 8:59 PM

mike.snow said:

Thanks for the feedback everyone!

As I am a first itme offer this is a learning experience so I'm not suprised if there are some typos, etc. Feel free to shoot me an email though if want to report any of it so i can fix it up. msnow@microsoft.com.

For my Sl4 book I already feel confident it's going to be way better or more in depth.

Some things did change betweeen SL 3 beta and RTM. Mostly I wrote it during the beta period and was not able to get everything updated before it went to the press.

Also, I'd very much appreciate any positive feedback posted on amazon.com :)

Thanks again.

--Mike

# July 16, 2009 9:40 PM

Qbus said:

From Amazon.co.uk:

"We regret to inform you that the following items have been delayed as we are still awaiting stock from our suppliers :

Michael Snow "Game Programming with Silverlight"

Estimated arrival date: August 05 2009 - August 13 2009"

Damm, were hoping to have it so I could read it in my vacation. :)

# July 21, 2009 1:18 AM

jsrader said:

mike.snow said:

Also, I'd very much appreciate any positive feedback posted on amazon.com :)

Mike,

I would not mind giving some positive feedback but you need to fulfill your promises to your readers and provide the source code. Right now almost 1 month after buying the book I feel like I was ripped off, as you have not delivered the promised source code. The game editor does not work and the client and server have not even been posted. Why do you want praise you don't deserve? MAKE IT RIGHT!!!

# July 24, 2009 2:10 PM

mike.snow said:

Jsrader - Does being hospitalized and going through surgery count as a good excuse? :)

Well, either way I do sincerely apologize for the delay and any inconvenience. I am back to work today and am making updating the code to SL 3 RTM my top prioroty. Please give me a day or two to finish it and upload it.

Thank you.

# July 27, 2009 9:40 AM

mike.snow said:

Map Editor has been finally uploaded.

I changed the following:

1. Removed the dependency on ComponentArt controls.

2. Fixed bugs due to changes in SL3 RTM

3. Removed dependency on SQL server backend DB. Rather, I have a MDF file that I read from so you will need SQL Express 2008 installed.

I am actively working on this project going forward now that I am healthy again. Please send me feedback, feature requests, etc to msnow @ microsoft.com

# July 28, 2009 5:00 PM

pooran said:

We look forward to some cool behaviors that we can drag drop on to objects we create :)

Btw, love your silverlight tips :)

# August 6, 2009 12:28 AM

NewsPeeps said:

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# August 8, 2009 6:36 PM

jayres said:

I'm having trouble finding a download link. I've searched all over www.courseptr.com/ptr_downloads.cfm to no avail. Where can I download your latest changes?

# August 12, 2009 10:45 AM

mike.snow said:

You can find it at code.msdn.microsoft.com/silverlight.

Thanks!

# August 12, 2009 11:35 AM

jacle169 said:

HI,mike!

Can I find the a star algorithm use in silverlihgt 3?

# August 28, 2009 10:24 PM

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# September 14, 2009 10:00 PM

Grofit said:

Hey,

A few interesting sections in the book, but one thing that caught my eye was that you have got a few example effects listed, and one of them is a cel shading/stroke style effect... cant remember what page but you mention it and there is a picture of an isometric guy.

I couldnt however see any example code for how you did it, not even in your downloaded code (from the links in the book)

Could you possibly shoot me over any information on where you got that effect as ive been looking out for it for ages and cant find one anywhere...

# November 25, 2009 3:23 AM

sungoco2 said:

I want to get your book ,where can I buy?

# December 10, 2009 8:17 AM

mike.snow said:

www.amazon.com/.../ref=sr_1_1

# December 10, 2009 10:45 AM

Light Crystal said:

Hi Michael, thank you for this book!

Only one advice: the colors!

Please in the next version of this book use colors for code (and images if possible) A gam programming book must be colored :) .

A little up cost for colored code in "Visual Studio like mode" would be much appreciated and save a lot of time and mental energies.

Thanks!

# December 18, 2009 7:54 AM

sagar.net2008 said:

Book is available for silverlight 3.0?

# January 9, 2010 2:08 AM

mike.snow said:

Correct, Silverlight 3.0

As for colors, yes, that would have been nice :)

# January 9, 2010 1:01 PM

jalvarezca said:

Hi Mike.

I've just seen the code and I see that there are a lot of PNG images to show the avatar, one for every secuence of movement it has.

But what if I want to offer in the game, the option to change the way the avatar looks. Like the color of the skin. Or to provide a basic avatar and the user have to set up his uniform, weapons, shield stuff like that?

Do I have to create a PNG file for every option?

Thanks

# February 1, 2010 2:31 PM

mike.snow said:

Hi, there is no real good way I know of to do this with sprites. This is much easier to do with models you can skin.

You might consider overlaying images on top of other images (through transparency) but this also will get very complicated. I think this is probably what Ultima Online did.

I would highly recommend you proceed with a game that does not change the way the avatar looks. It's hard enough to get a good game up and running as it is. You can always pursue this feature if your game is popular.

# February 1, 2010 4:18 PM

spikeone said:

Just bought the book and I appreciate all the effort put into it. Was searching for the files as the URL in the back of the book doesn't work. Glad to have found the new URL for the files here :)

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