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Microsoft Unlocks the Ability To Turn Xbox One Consoles Into 'Development Kits' (polygon.com)
Dave Knott writes: Today, Microsoft made good on a nearly three-year-old promise, unlocking the ability for all retail Xbox One consoles to become development kits. This mode will allow anyone to build, test and experiment with Universal Windows Program (UWP) development. Converting a console to Dev Mode requires no special equipment or fees, though to fully access the abilities, a user will need to create a Dev Center account. After setting up Dev Mode, a user simply pairs their Xbox One with Visual Studio, which sees the console as a Windows 10 machine to which it can deploy content directly through a wired connection. While this feature eases self-publishing on Xbox One, a developer will still have to go through Microsoft's concept approval, which usually takes about two weeks, before the game is eligible to be published on Xbox One. The big change here is that while traditionally Microsoft had to give a hopeful developer a dev kit, now a developer can just switch over their own retail console.
Microsoft knows is it dying.
What it doesn't know is it cannot be saved.
I've got the perfect video game in my head and would love to try to lay it out there.
Have you tried making it for a PC or mobile platform first? Those might be more inviting platforms to start out on, even after this announcement of an official softmod for development. You used to need a PC tech demo in order to score a devkit, and PC experience would probably still serve you well if you want to make the most of this softmod.
Is there any special media required to make disks - for those who want to use/offer physical installation media?
With all respect, if you have to ask about discs, you likely aren't quite ready to know. An indie startup's first commercial game isn't likely to exceed a few hundred MB at most. For comparison, N64 games maxed out at 32 MB with about two exceptions, and PS1 games that weren't sprawling RPGs largely fit on a 650 MB disc. You probably will not need physical installation media until it's several GB, so let's keep the proverbial cart behind the tractor until your tech demo is working.
Literally, I've no idea how modern consoles work. I've not been a gamer in years but being able to access one as a developer just might be enough to make me want to own one.
Do you know DirectX? There's a reason Microsoft calls it the "Xbox". Make a game for Windows 10 UWP and get it on the Windows Store, and there should be little problem building it for Xbox One.