I've been trying out the new XNA framework (used to make both Windows and Xbox games) and it is pretty much a hoot. There has been a lot of talk of who will 'win' the console wars this generation, not sure myself, but I do know one thing. If it comes down to small developers making little games, Xbox is a shoe in. The sony devkit of course cost a lot (link anyone?), nintendo apparently is around $2000 but here are your hoops, get ready to jump. The Xbox seems a bit more inviting, especially since the games you make can also be played on a regular windows machine (aka Wbox). That is a free 'devkit' download, and do as you will with it btw. Sweet. If you have ever eaten sugar, you will recognize the taste immediately.

In any case, here is our first 'game in progress', it is based on this Flash animation from a series Sandy is doing. The game comes down to trying not to get hit by cars while running across the street (frogger-esque). I actually had a friend who used to do this kind of thing when we were four. He'd wait between parked cars as long as he could, and then dash. I remember him saying he liked to hear the tires squeal. Robert Girard was way ahead of his time, and I take my hat off to him now.

Here is the game download, but you won't be able to run it unless you have (the free) xna and C# express installed. I'll make an real-deal installer once the game is actually done, so you might want to hold off. My god, not sure how you can wait though, that game is so damn good. Errm.

Sandy and I plan to put most of the crap we do up at http://debreuil.com/xna/, I assure you that link wasn't stale when I wrote this. And if you want one of those "games-as-advertisements-that-doesn't-make-you-want-to-puke", be sure to let us know : ).