To Answer All of Your Questions

Since the The Dishwasher trial went live, I’ve been getting a lot of emails from people. At first I did my best to answer them, but now I’ve been so inundated, and I’ve got so many deadlines coming up, that I figure it would be easier to just identify the common thread of questioning and answer that here!

Here are the big ones:

1. How do I make games?
   I’d definitely recommend taking any classes if they’re available, whether you’re in high school or college. Though XNA is all C#, learning C, C++, or Java will still help to familiarize you with the basics of programming.

   Also, my advice to everyone is always this: start small! Not to sound arrogant, but The Dishwasher is basically the culmination of 6 years of hobbyist game development experience; if you’ve only got a week of experience you’re not exactly going to be able to match the caliber of The Dishwasher. And forget 3D altogether if you’re just starting. Basically, if you set out to make something that would’ve been considered cool in the 80’s, you’ve got a fighting chance.

2. Is The Dishwasher coming out for Windows?
   There aren’t any plans currently, for a few reasons. The biggest reason, of course, is because Microsoft is publishing it as an XBLA title, so I’m going to focus on that. Also, the game plays like rubbish with a keyboard, and adding support for multiple gamepads is always ugly in my opinion. The Dishwasher is made for the Xbox360 controller (though I could see the DualShock working). I also think PC piracy is a really, really, really big problem.
3. When is The Dishwasher coming out?
   When it’s done! The XNA team and I are both breaking new ground by adding all sorts of new functionality, and there certainly is a lot to do. I’m 99.9% certain it’ll be out in 2008, but beyond that, I can’t really say anything, because it would amount to nothing more than a politician’s promise.

So there you have it!  I’m always happy to answer questions, so keep ’em coming!