XNA Studio Express Beta 2 ready for gamemakers

You want to get into games, but don’t know where to begin? You started learning about programming, but now you’re lost in the wilderness of computing? Well, Microsoft has good news for you, XNA Game Studio Express has reached Beta 2 status and is now up for download!

For those who haven’t heard of it, think of the software as a company-made homebrew machine for people who want to see where their knowledge of gaming, programming, design can take them without having to start completely from scratch. You can also grab the XNA framework for Beta 2, which lets you test the games you’ve made on XNA through Windows. Beta 2 is the next-to-final version of both the game making software and the framework, and the final version will allow people to move their XNA games onto the XBox 360 for both play and trade, so long as you also pay for XNA Creators Club Membership.

In addition to XNA, a closed beta of additional tools created by Garage Games will also be online. Known as TorqueX, the suite adds additional functionality to the XNA system, allowing programming newbies like myself to use a drag-and-drop interface instead.

Just so you guys know, whoever made Ponies and Kittens for the PSP better be making an XNA version of the thing, or I’m going to be very sad!

You want to get into games, but don’t know where to begin? You started learning about programming, but now you’re lost in the wilderness of computing? Well, Microsoft has good news for you, XNA Game Studio Express has reached Beta 2 status and is now up for download!

For those who haven’t heard of it, think of the software as a company-made homebrew machine for people who want to see where their knowledge of gaming, programming, design can take them without having to start completely from scratch. You can also grab the XNA framework for Beta 2, which lets you test the games you’ve made on XNA through Windows. Beta 2 is the next-to-final version of both the game making software and the framework, and the final version will allow people to move their XNA games onto the XBox 360 for both play and trade, so long as you also pay for XNA Creators Club Membership.

In addition to XNA, a closed beta of additional tools created by Garage Games will also be online. Known as TorqueX, the suite adds additional functionality to the XNA system, allowing programming newbies like myself to use a drag-and-drop interface instead.

Just so you guys know, whoever made Ponies and Kittens for the PSP better be making an XNA version of the thing, or I’m going to be very sad!