Customer Reviews:
 Fantastic for new coders or intermediates new to XNA September 6, 2008
M. Gemmell (Oxford, UK)
I bought this book, as I'd done odd bits of programming, but never on a Windows platform, or for games development - and I knew nothing about XNA. The book is superb. It guides you through the concepts with a friendly narrative, no patronisation, and with enough detail to understand the examples.
The fact it has no CD attached is not a problem. You'll need the internet to download XNA anyway, and if you have that, then you can easily access code examples from the author's website.
The book helps you build simple 2D games. It gives you a broad enough experience you can go and build any simple 2D game yourself. It doesn't set out to explain XNA - but to let you know enough of the basics to make basic games - and this is the best approach to start with. Even if you dream of larger, 3D games, if you don't know XNA or any C/C++/C# - start here, it is a very good foundation.
If you're already very competent with coding or game development, this is probably below you, or just a skim-through book.
 Highly Recommended Book. March 18, 2008
A Amin (London, England)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
"Learn Programming Now" is a great book which, not only introduces XNA, but also introduces programming and can be picked up by people who have no programming experience whatsoever. The downside to introducing programming concepts whilst explaining XNA is that more experienced readers may find certain parts too slow. However, these parts can easily be skipped and the reader can focus on the XNA and game development aspects. Although the book does not come with a CD, it does have a website where you can download the code samples. Personally, I didn't find the lack of CD a problem as the best way to learn what you read is by typing the code anyway, and with the clear explanations and code displayed in the book, it was a straightforward process. If you are new to programming, then I wouldn't rely on this book to teach you how to program and you are better off with a book dedicated to programming, but it's a very nice introduction.
As an XNA book, it has great analogies and explanations to give a good understanding as to how XNA works and how the developer can start making use of it. As an introductory book, advance concepts of XNA and game development are not discussed, which is by no means a bad thing as it ensures the author can focus on what the book sets out to do. If you are new to XNA or game development, this is a highly recommended book regardless of whether or not you have any programming experience.
Amazing XNA Book February 29, 2008
T. Hulton-harrop (UK)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
'Learn Programming Now' is a brilliant introductory book to programming, XNA and game development. It introduces many of the complex ideas and concepts in programming through game development, and teaches the XNA framework in an easy to understand manner, introducing themes gradually, expecting no previous knowledge of programming.
It is well presented, and as well as being interesting and informative, it is a humorous and entertaining read with many analogies and funny stories.
It also makes you aware of not just XNA, but programming in a broader sense, making you think about how to approach a problem, and work out a way to solve it.
It is the perfect book for anyone interested in making games, and learning about Programming. I own many, many books on programming, and four on XNA, and I definitely recommend this to anyone starting out in programming or game development
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