Windows Dev Center: Updates to the game portal
Greetings. I’m John Osborne; I work on content for the Windows Dev Center. Today I’m happy to announce a new series of posts here on the Microsoft Press blog. Each time guidance in the Windows Dev Center is updated or added, we’ll blog about it here so that you know what’s new. And, going forward, you can use the “Windows Dev Center” tag to see only these posts and find our updates more easily.
In our first post in this series, we’d like to alert you to significant updates we’ve made to the game portal in the Windows Dev Center. You can get tips on how to port a game from another platform or program a new game for Windows 8 using our free tools. Then, distribute the game through the Windows Store and start making money. (In case you’re unfamiliar with it, the Windows Dev Center can help you through the whole process of making games or apps, from start to finish, including UX design, app development, and selling.)
Doc updates
Our game portal has a new look and lots of new information that we showcased in time for GDC 2013 in March. If you haven’t seen the docs recently, you’ll be happy to find new coverage in these areas:
Porting Look for information on how to port to the Windows Store platform from other platforms:
- Port from DirectX 9 to the Windows Store : for developers who are familiar with game programming for PC, learn how to useDirect3D 11.1, the unified shader models, Windows Store APIs, XAudio2, touch input, C++/CX and more.
- Port from OpenGL ES 2.0 to Direct3D 11.1 : for Android and iOS game developers, we help you plan your port strategy and the API changes required to move your graphics processing to Direct3D.
DirectX If you’re new to DirectX, the high-performance technology at the core of most Windows Store games, we’ve got new information to get you started:
- DirectX basics: Learn the basics of DirectX in “Get started with DirectX game development.”
- Tutorials for using DirectX with C++: See a set of tutorials for creating a basic Windows Store game with DirectX and C++ in “Walkthrough: create a simple Windows Store game with DirectX.”
- Full walkthrough: See how we developed a sample game, Marble Maze, from start to finish and made it ready for the Windows Store, in the article on “Developing Marble Maze, a Windows Store game in C++ and DirectX.”
Improved APIs We cover newly added APIs for Windows 8 that support games:
- Working with audio in your DirectX game : new APIs for audio and sound mixing with XAudio2.
- DirectXMath Programming Guide : new APIs for simplified math functions and types.
By the way, you might have noticed “build dates” on the pages we linked to above. As you probably guessed, a build date does indeed indicate the date on which the page was last updated.
Have fun making games, and watch this space for more updates as the Windows Dev Center’s guidance evolves.