If you’re interested in knowing more about Zune Game Development using the XNA Game Studio platform, then make sure to check out the Zune Game Development FAQ over at XNA Creators Club Online. Here are some of the interesting tidbits gleamed from the FAQ:

• XNA Game Studio 3 integration includes “discoverability and access to user’s music allowing the user to customize background soundtracks or create real-time visualizations.”
• Multiple Zunes will be able to connect wirelessly in “ad-hoc gaming experience[s]”
• Will support Zune 4/8, 30, and 80
• Games will be deployed via PC connection using the XNA Game Studio 3.0 to deploy
• No XNA Creators Club subscription will be needed to deploy a game
• DRM licensed music can not be played
• Preview of the package will be coming out in Spring
• 240 x 320 display only and games must be designed for one-handed usage
• Supports 2D graphics only through XNA Framework SpriteBatch APIs, and Rendertargets. You can directly set pixel data to textures
• Limited to 16MB for code and content
• Zune will not support Xbox Live

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Technorati Tags: Zune Games, Game Development FAQ, XNA Game Studio 3

The folks at Pocket Gamer UK have published some hands-on information about Zune gaming over here on their website. Here are some interesting tidbits about game development on the Zune platform.

• Zune development kits will begin shipping to teams this spring with an emphasis on community developed games
• Microsoft is looking to make game development as easy as possible - providing unified tools for the Zune, the Xbox 360 and the PC platform (think common APIs etc)
• The kits will come with networking software and multiplayer games will support up to eight players although the exact number will be dictated by the games at hand

They also played around with the game Zauri which was being demoed by Microsoft on the Zune. According to Pocket Gamer:

Moving your spaceship to blast aliens with your laser is as easy as drawing your finger across the pad. Tap it and you drop a smart bomb. The huge screen made great sense for Zauri – not only did it look crisp and detailed, but it worked well for the top-down action. A simple game, sure, but nonetheless entertaining.

You can read more about this here on Pocket Gamer’s website.

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Technorati Tags: Zune Games, Zauri,

Some interesting news for Zune owners - we’re finally getting games for our favorite portable media player! That’s right - game developers can now develop and distribute games for the Zune platform thanks to the Microsoft XNA Studio platform which allows developers to create games for both the Xbox and Windows platforms. According to this article over at News.com, games on the Zune will have access to the wireless capabilities of the Zune (a.k.a. multiplayer capabilities) and will also have access to the music library on the Zune (think soundtracks). First generation Zunes will also have game support though some games might be incompatible with first gen Zunes (if they need the touch pad etc). Other notes from this Wired.com article on the Zune include:

• Games on Zune will be limited to 16MB for code and content
• Control pad/rocker will make a good joystick replacement interface

Engadget had an early hands-on look at a game demo (Zauri) and had this to say in addition:

• Game distribution not clear yet - whether through the Zune marketplace, Zune software, or individual installers
• Beta development tools will be coming out this Spring
• No plans for game sharing as of yet

You can see a gallery of pictures of a game running on the Zune over at Engadget.com

Technorati Tags: Zune, Gaming, Games, XNA Studio, Microsoft