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[Andrew Russell]

Hello all. I'm Andrew Russell, and I'm here to promote and to discuss a project of mine called ExEn.

ExEn is an implementation of a subset of the XNA API that currently runs on Silverlight and iOS (via MonoTouch). It started out as a combination of SilverSprite and XnaTouch - but I found that they were too slow and buggy to use in production. So I replaced large sections of them to improve performance, fix bugs, and make everything seamlessly compatible between platforms.

Afterwards, I realised that I'd built something that other people would find very useful. And I decided that crowd-funding an open-source release would be an ideal way to release the project to the community.

All the details of the crowd funding can be found on the ExEn project page on RocketHub. There's also linked blog posts and videos about the project. The funding target for ExEn is $10000.

The project is divided into stages: Currently it is in the funding stage, with 48 days remaining and $6862 raised (at time of writing). The next stage is a 3-month development period, where people who have contributed $100 or more will get live source repository access as I work on it. And after that I will be releasing ExEn as an open-source project.

Here's what I'll be working on during the development period:

• Right now ExEn is really awesome. But there are a few holes in the API for features that I simply haven't needed yet in my own games. So my goal is to fill in those holes so that anyone can use ExEn with their 2D game without being "surprised". I will be seeking feedback from ExEn contributors to ensure that I get this right.
  
  (Note that only 2D is being supported for now. I'd like to add 3D support eventually - perhaps using crowd-funding again so I can allocate a chunk of full-time work to it.)
  
  
• I'll be doing a port of ExEn to Android (via MonoDroid).
  
  
  
• If funding reaches $12000 I will also be porting ExEn to Mac.
  
  

ExEn will make it possible to make a game using C# and XNA and deploy it on: PC, Xbox 360, Windows Phone, iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch, Android, the web (via Silverlight), and (with sufficient funding) Mac.

So if you think ExEn is something you'd like to use in your projects, please make a contribution.

If you have any questions about ExEn, I'll be happy to answer them

[Twitch]

I'd just like to say, Thank You for your work, and I'd love to contribute if I weren't broke. I'll definitely be keeping an eye on your project; XNA and C# are a pleasure to work with, and about the only downside is their lack of platform agnosticism.

Wouldn't porting it to Silverlight mean that it already works on OS X, since silverlight XAP's can be run as a standalone desktop application?
Another thought, have you considered porting to linux? That's the only other major platform which isn't covered, and I have a hunch that if XNA had parity across the three major desktop and mobile platforms, it'd see a significant surge in popularity.

[deathtotheweird]

lol

[Balrog]

I donated tonight. My next few games aren't really suited for phones so I'm basically interested in the web port and the (eventual) Mac port. Good luck on getting the project funded!

[Andrew Russell]

Wouldn't porting it to Silverlight mean that it already works on OS X, since silverlight XAP's can be run as a standalone desktop application?

It should do, yes. Although I haven't actually tested it.

But a native implementation would be preferable. ExEn at the moment pushes the limits of the current version of Silverlight. A Mac port (from the iOS version) would start with more features and still have plenty of room for improvement.

Another thought, have you considered porting to linux? That's the only other major platform which isn't covered, and I have a hunch that if XNA had parity across the three major desktop and mobile platforms, it'd see a significant surge in popularity.

A Linux port is certainly possible. But I don't think I will do one myself. It has been a long time since I have used Linux or tried developing for it. Obviously the market is smaller. And going from iOS to Mac is considerably easier than from Mac to Linux.

But if anyone came forward wanting to add a Linux port to ExEn once it goes open source, I'd absolutely be supportive. As you say - that would make XNA a truly comprehensive platform.

I donated tonight.

Thank you

[Andrew Russell]

Check it out: I got interviewed on .NET Rocks!

[moi]

How long do you estimate before it's done?

[Andrew Russell]

After the funding period (36 days remaining) it will be another 90 days before the open source version is available. People who contribute $100 or more will get it it as soon as the funding period finishes.

In between those two times is when I will be working on it, adding features and responding to feedback. There are some details of what those features will be in this blog post.