TIP: AUTOFORMATTING MULTIPLE LINES OF TEXT

Rhysingsun has posted a code snippet for autoformatting multiple lines of text when using the new XNA's fonts system.

From the post: "... I've been putting off my GUI because I didn't want to redesign once the XNA team's font support came out, here's the first trick I created, to help myself with my GUI: autoformatting multiple lines of text. If you look into the documentation it says that the new text functionality will go the a new line with the text if the '\n' character is found. However, this makes for some static game design. What if I want the text block to be wider? ...".

Watch this space!

ALL SAY HELLO TO "SPRITEFONT" ...

By this time, we're all aware that with the just-released update for the XNA Framework a lot of goodies were given away, like a built-in implementation to handle fonts rendering.

Shawn tell us what the font system is capable of for bitmap fonts, plus unveils a handy tool that helps you create a bitmap-font base which you can then enhace with your favorite graphic tool, like Photoshop, Gimp and such.

From the post: "... TrueType fonts are convenient, but you may sometimes find yourself wanting a more distinctive look for your text. You can create custom typefaces by arranging a set of character images into a single bitmap, separating the areas between each letter with a pure magenta marker color ...".

Read on!

2007 INTEL® GAME DEMO CONTEST

Do you believe in second chances? What could you do if your game didn't make it in the Dream.Build.Play contest? Maybe (1) you decide to hold to your more-than-8-hour daytime job -plus you quit your dreams of cash, more cash and glory- or (2) the "Intel® Game Demo Contest 2007" could be your next solution.

However, you'll have to consider that the contest calls for entries elegible for the following two categories:

1. Best Threaded Game: for the demo that best shows off the computational power of a multi-core processor, and
2. Best Game on the Go: for the demo that best shows advances in laptop gaming.

Life is not that easy, isn't it? Well, before say "naaahh, it's not for me ...", check the prizes and the official rules.

From the rules: "... Contest begins March 5th, 2007. Registration Forms must be received by July 1st, 3:00pm PST 2007. Community judging to determine finalists will begin July 1st, 3:00pm PST 2007 and run until August 1st, 3:00pm PST 2007. Executables of finalists must be received by August 15th, 3:00pm PST 2007. Winners will be announced at Austin Game Developer Conference on September 5th, 2007, and published on the contest website the same day ...".

Let's code!