After giving a brief account of the proposed compatibility between Silverlight and the XNA Framework on Windows Phone 7 during MIX10, XNA community game platform manager Michael Klucher has revealed that integration between the two platforms isn't yet consummate.

Speaking on his blog, Klucher said there are currently some elements of the two frameworks that aren't fully integrated.

"We have a lot of integration in this release which means that most of the API set of the XNA Framework can be used from a Silverlight application," claims Klucher.

"For this release, applications cannot mix the use of Silverlight UIElements with the use of the XNA Framework GraphicsDevice.

"I know this is a hard choice for me, since I'd love to be able to leverage a great Silverlight interface from my XNA Framework Game, but you'll want to choose what technology works best for your scenario."

Making your choice

Klucher states that developers will have to decide which framework will best meet their ideals, claiming that studios should not overlook the strengths of Silverlight for their titles.

"Choosing one or the other really depends on the features of the platform you intend to use and how you approach game development, but it’s not always a clear path."

As such, Klucher has provided a check-list developers can study to help them choose which route to take.

Obviously XNA is required for more hardcore 3D experiences.



He concludes, "There's no perfect one size fits all answer to help you make the choice for what is best for your game, so you'll want to think about the tools you want to use, and the type of experience you want to enable when approaching developing your game."

[source: Michael Klucher]