With the introduction of the XNA framework, Microsoft has made video game development software on multiple platforms available to the average developer. In XNA 3.0, developers can create games for the Xbox 360, Microsoft Zune and the PC. Never before has there been such a great opportunity for hobbyist and independent game developers to showcase their work on next-gen consoles and top of the line handheld media devices. This session will serve as an introduction to XNA, what it is, and how to write games using the framework.

When stripped of their visual art, context, etc., games are simply a series of rules that players manipulate to achieve something. By studying a few successful, and unsuccessful, games, we see that what makes a game work (or not) is its rule structure.