XNA Animation Library

XNAnimation is a skeletal animation library for XNA. The library allows developers to easily manipulate, playback, interpolate and blend animations. See the following video for a demonstration:

XNA Creators Club Tour

Checkout the following video for a quick introduction to Community Games Beta on Xbox Live. The video covers the following topics:

• How to join XNA Creators Club
• Creating and sharing games on Xbox Live

Dream. Build. Play. 2008

Microsoft is holding another "Dream. Build. Play." competition for aspiring game developers. The games must target the Xbox 360 platform. Prizes includes the following:

• First Prize $40,000 (USD)
• Second Prize $20,000 (USD)
• Third Prize $10,000 (USD)
• Fourth Prize $5,000 (USD)

This year all entrants will receive a free 12-month XNA Creators Club trial membership.

The entry deadline is September 23, 2008.

Dream. Build. Play. 2007

Microsoft is holding a competition called "Dream. Build. Play." for aspiring game developers. The theme is artificial intelligence. Prizes includes the following:

• Invitation to show your entry at GDC 2008
• $3,000 (USD) stipend per team
• One-year subscription to the XNA Creators Club for each team member
• Interview for an internship at Microsoft Research, Lionhead Studios or Rare Ltd in the UK for each team member

The deadline is January 27, 2008.

XNA Game Studio 2.0

For anyone who hasn't heard, Microsoft has released XNA Game Studio 2.0, which provides a game development framework for Windows and Xbox 360 (through the Creator's Club).

Some useful links:

• XNA Game Studio 2.0
• XNA Blog
• XNA Tutorials
• XNA Samples
• XNA Starter Kits