Going Beyond: XNA Game Studio Express in 3D

This multipart tutorial takes you through the first steps of creating your own 3D game using XNA Game Studio Express.

In XNA Game Studio Express, it's easier than ever to create games for Windows and for Xbox 360. This tutorial highlights how to load 3D and 2D resources into your game using the XNA Framework Content Pipeline, how to take user input from an Xbox 360 Controller, and how to use the Microsoft Cross-Platform Audio Creation Tool (XACT) to create audio for your game. Each step of the way, you'll have something to see or hear so you'll know you're making progress.

Note

The code displayed in each section will work on both Xbox 360 and Windows. To set up your Xbox 360 console to work with XNA Game Studio Express, see Connecting to Your Xbox 360 Console with XNA Game Studio Express.

In This Section

• Tutorial 1: Displaying a 3D Model on the Screen
  This article details how to use the XNA Framework Content Pipeline to load a 3D model and its associated textures, and it presents the code necessary to display the model on the screen.
• Tutorial 2: Making Your Model Move Using Input
  This article details how to use the XNA Framework Input API to take user input from an Xbox 360 Controller and apply it to the model displayed in Tutorial 1.
• Tutorial 3: Making Sounds with XNA Game Studio Express and XACT
  This article details how to use the Microsoft Cross-Platform Audio Creation Tool (XACT) to make sounds for an XNA Game Studio Express game, and how to use the XNA Framework Audio API to play them.