Silverlight + Azure + XNA + Windows Phone 7 = Thousands of ideas…

Coding4Fun - WP7 Level Editor!

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David Rousset created a 4 part write up on explaining a demo built around Silverlight 4, Windows Azure and XNA on Windows Phone 7:

• Showing the final result in action as well as the SL4 application to play with
  Silverlight 4 XNA Platformer Level Editor for Windows Phone 7: overview (1/4)
• Details on the SL4 app and the source code of the SL app to download
  SL4 XNA Platformer Level Editor for WP7: details on the Silverlight App (2/4)
• Details on the Windows Azure storage
  SL4 XNA Platformer Level Editor for WP7: Azure storage (3/4)
• How I’ve modified the XNA Platformer game and the source code of the game to download
  SL4 XNA Platformer Level Editor for WP7: the XNA game (4/4)

For those interested in creating a level based game, this could be a great starting point.

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It’s seeing stuff like this that has me excited about the future of Windows Phone 7 development. Sure out the gate it’s way behind other smart phone OS’s, but the juggernaut that is Microsoft with it’s huge portfolio of services, platforms, applications, experience and level of developer support could mean that when the WP7 balling starts rolling it will snowball.

Or it could mean that Microsoft gets in its own way and its own size is the downfall of WP7. (Oh no!!! It’s Micro’zilla!… :P  )

 

Now what I’s like to see is the new XNA4 works on XBox. i.e. can this be done there? Have my XBox talk to Azure/WP7?

Here’s my WP7/Xbox/Windows game idea.  I want the shared/public game to run on the Xbox  and all the players have “private” terminals/views on their WP7 and/or Windows 7 notebooks.

Think Poker.

The XBox (i.e. big, shared screen) shows the table and all the stuff that’s visible to all.

Everyone’s WP7/Windows7 screen shows their hole cards and only their cards, and is their interface to the game. When it’s their turn they bet with it, etc. Think turning their WP7 into a touch game controller…

And now add in a third, “Wide World of Poker” view for people not playing, say in Silverlight on the Web, that shows BOTH the Shared/Table view and then the Private/Hole card view as it’s each person’s turn.

Assuming that XBox with XNA4 could talk to Azure/web services, this scenario might actually be do’able…? hum…

 

I’m up for a new phone & contract in just a couple months. If Verizon gets reasonable WP7 hardware in October then I’m going to bet on WP7 with my wallet. (Reasonable hardware in my mind is at least as much local, DRM supported storage as my 32gb Zune HD + Droid 2’ish like hardware spec’s… Can you guess at what phone I’m going to get if I don’t get a WP7? ;)