Thoughts on Silverlight Game Development

Alright, by now I’m sure you’ve tried my latest version of Asteroids, coded in Silverlight, and you’re probably wondering, “What the hell was that like?”. Well pull up a seat and let’s have a little look. Some questions we’re going to answer are: What is it like to make a game in Silverlight? How does it compare to Actionscript? And will I do it again?

What is Silverlight like?

Well, the short answer is it’s a great deal like programming web sites using ASP.net. So, if like me you do that daily then you’re probably going to find it very easy to pick up.

To compare it to Flash, without going into great detail, I would say that it’s similar enough that you can map most core concepts over just fine. One big difference is that you no longer deal with Movieclips. Instead you work with UserControls, at least in my experience, which have some of the same properties but lack others. For example, UserControls are missing positional properties meaning you have to find some other way to move them on screen.

How does it compare to Actionscript?

My main motivation for exploring Silverlight was to be able to code in C#, a very pleasant language to work in, and still target the web. Actionscript is an OK language but the tool support is awful. Even the compiler is very slow. So I’d be happy to be able to switch to something else. Bottom line, Actionscript and the development story around it is a compelling reason to leave Flash development.

Would I make a second game in Silverlight?

To be honest I haven’t answered this question yet. However my initial feelings are, no, I would not work on a serious game — on the scale of say Adlib — in Silverlight. The reasons for this are actually not technical, as you may have guessed. In short form I believe it’s important to stick with Flash because:

• Many more people have Flash installed
• There are thousands of Flash portals, I could only find one Silverlight portal
• Judging from said portal, there are many fewer people playing Silverlight games
• There are many fewer developers working in Silverlight meaning many fewer libraries, communities, etc

So there you have it. That’s my take on Silverlight as it stands. I think in a few years it will be worth revisiting the topic in earnest as the environment may change substantially. Today, though, I don’t think it would be a wise move to pursue Silverlight for a commercial game.

Related posts:

1. XNA on Silverlight at Last
2. Silverlight Game Source Code
3. Asteroids Again: This Time in Silverlight
4. Quick Thoughts on GDC
5. Flash Game Development on the Wii?