DirectX game development and sample walkthroughs
[This article is for Windows 8.x and Windows Phone 8.x developers writing Windows Runtime apps. If you’re developing for Windows 10, see the latest documentation]
Learn the basics of desktop game development using DirectX with the Windows Runtime. We also show you how to develop games as a Windows Store app using C++, C#, or Visual Basic and XAML.
Creating a DirectX game
For games that involve complex 2D graphics or 3D graphics, you can use the DirectX graphics libraries: Direct2D and Direct3D. You develop DirectX games using native C/C++, and if you never developed in these languages, you will find this a difficult place to get started, especially if you have never developed for Windows before.
In this section
| Topic | Description |
|---|---|
Learn the basics for getting started with DirectX game development. |
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Walkthrough: create a simple Windows Store game with DirectX |
In this set of tutorials, you learn how to create a basic Windows Store game with DirectX and C++. We cover all the major parts of a game, including the processes for loading assets such as arts and meshes, creating a main game loop, implementing a simple rendering pipeline, and adding sound and controls. |
Developing Marble Maze, a Windows Store game in C++ and DirectX |
This section of the documentation describes how to use DirectX and Visual C++ to create a 3-D Windows Store game. With Windows Store apps, Windows 8 introduces an app personality that embraces consumer trends such as touch, motion and proximity sensors, mobility, and other app experiences. This documentation shows how to create a 3-D game named Marble Maze that embraces new form factors such as tablets and also works on traditional desktop and laptop PCs. |
Learn how to create scaled swap chains for faster rendering on mobile devices, and use overlay swap chains (when available) to increase visual quality. |
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Use DXGI 1.3 to reduce effective frame latency by waiting for the swap chain to signal the appropriate time to begin rendering a new frame. |
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Learn how to use multisampling in Windows Runtime apps built with Direct3D. |
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This topic explains how to recreate the Direct3D and DXGI device interface chain when the graphics adapter is removed or reinitialized. |
Note Windows 8 uses DirectX 11.1. Therefore, Windows Store apps written for Windows 8 must use DirectX 11.1 APIs. Windows Store apps written for Windows 8.1 should use DirectX 11.2 APIs.
Creating a Store XAML game
Windows 8 provides a Windows Runtime app development model for managed code (C#, Visual Basic, and C++) developers creating an interface-driven application with XAML. XAML is an XML schema that defines tags used by the Windows Runtime Windows.UI.Xaml libraries to determine the layout and rendering of user interface elements and containers for desktop apps.
If you know the Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) libraries, Silverlight, or Silverlight for Windows Phone, developing a Windows Runtime app will feel familiar. Although there are no managed DirectX libraries, the Windows Runtime libraries provide a core set of XAML-based graphics APIs that you can use to build 2D games and simpler 3D games.
For more info about creating a Windows Runtime app with XAML, see Create your first Windows Runtime app using C# or Visual Basic.
Related topics
Developing the Windows Store C++ Marble Maze game with DirectX