So, just wanted to let you guys know about a game design and development competition if you are interested in game programming. Dream, Build, Play is a contest by Microsoft to showcase XNA. The deadline is less than 3 months away though, but the prizes are very nice.

If you plan to enter, you'll need XNA Game Studio Express which is available from Microsoft's website. You'll also need Visual C# 2005 Express. Sorry, but if you have Studio 2005, you'll still need C# Express for XNA.

Also, I recommend TorqueX for the game engine, as does the contest, from Garage Games. Unfortunately however, it only has 2D support, so any 3D you want to do, you'll need to do engine components yourself.

~Viz