Academic - X06: GameCamp (Toronto)
OK, so this may not be the typical post aimed at the corporate developer, but I often get asked before and after customer meetings about how parents might help their kids get some experience in starting to write games, since it keeps them interested in programming and is also a super-cool career goal!
Well. I can now answer with XNA Studio Express as a starting point, and the X06:GameCamp, being held in Toronto!
This is awesome!
If you have kids who want to learn this stuff, or if YOU want to learn this stuff :), check out the event. Link below (after the event abstract)...
If building games for the Xbox 360 or Windows gets you excited then you have to be at this event. For the first time, Microsoft will take you through the details of our (soon to be released) XNA Studio Express. If you didn’t already know, anyone can now build interactive, high performance games for Windows or Xbox 360. We’ll take you through an introduction to XNA and XNA Studio Express. Then we’ll equip you with the skills to start building games ranging from simple 2-D to stunning interactive 3-D.
The day starts at 9am so be there. Game On!
Session 1: XNA Overview
Session 2: Developing Arcade Games
Session 3: Anatomy of a Commercial Game
Session 4: Real-world Development Process
Session 5: Graphics Design Deep Dive