“This material represents thousands of man-hours of work, and was presented during last month’s Gamefest 2006 conference (when we announced XNA Game Studio Express).

Good news: These content files represent a colossal amount of up-to-date knowledge, delivered right to your computer. Your brain might explode from the information overload, but you’ll die happy. (FYI: Most of the content is PPT slide decks and audio recordings. You’ll have to page the deck yourself as you listen. There are also a few movie demos and a couple of white papers)

Bad news: These are big honking files. Some exceeding 500Mb. Don’t say I didn’t warn ya.”

Gamefest 2006: Graphics Track

• Introduction to Direct3D 10: Coming to a PC Near You
• Using Direct3D 10: Getting the Most from Your Direct3D 10 Engine
• Effects 10: Driving the New Effects System
• Exploiting Direct3D 10: Advanced Techniques Using Direct3D 10
• Advanced Lighting and More from Microsoft Research
• Xbox 360 Direct3D and GPU Performance Update
• HLSL Shader Compiler Update for Xbox 360 and Windows
• Under the Hood: Revving Up Shader Performance
• Seven Ways to Skin a Mesh: Character Skinning Revisited for Modern GPUs
• HDR the Bungie Way
• Cross-Platform Graphics Engine Development

Gamefest 2006: Windows and Xbox 360 System Programming Track

• Designing Multi-Core Games: How to Walk and Chew Bubblegum at the Same Time
• Multi-Core Memory Coherence: The Hidden Perils of Sharing Data
• Sublime C++ for Games
• Games as Malware: Why Security is Your Problem Too
• Hardening the Box: The Xbox 360 and Windows Vista Security Models
• Supercharging I/O: Hard Disk, DVD, and Memory Unit
• Memory Management Internals: Allocation Strategies for High Performance
• Power Debugging: Nasty Bugs and How to Find Them
• Taming the CLR: How To Write Really Fast Managed Code
• Windows Performance Topics for Games
• Xbox 360 CPU Performance Update
• Developing Games for Windows and Xbox 360: Stories from the Trenches

Gamefest 2006: Developer Tools: XNA and Visual Studio Track

• Working Smarter and Building Faster with Visual C++ 2005
• Managing Content Builds with XNA Build
• An Introduction to Agile Development
• Creating Games with the XNA Framework
• A Closer Look at the XNA Framework Content Pipeline
• Managing Content Builds with XNA Build

Gamefest 2006: Visual Arts Track

• Dynamic Animation in Next-Generation Games
• Exporting SOFTIMAGE|FACE ROBOT into a Real-Time Engine
• Procedural Texturing Using ProFX: 2K Textures in 2KB
• How’d They Do That? Graphics Samples Explained
• Creating Captivating Visual Content for DirectX 10
• Shaders and Shader Tools for Artists
• Pushing the Pipeline: Creating a Next-Generation Art Pipeline in Less Than Six Months
• Photorealistic Lighting Solutions for Next- Generation Games using Turtle 3
• Strategies for Coping with the Demand of High Def Art

Gamefest 2006: Cross-Platform Xbox Live Track

• Live Anywhere: Bringing the Live Experience to Windows
• Session Enhancements: Host Migration, Improved TrueSkill™ and More
• The New Xbox Live Server Platform: Opening up the Network
• Community Extensions: Further Options to Customize Your Game’s User Experience
• Achievements and Stats: Adding to the “Just Five More Minutes” Factor

Gamefest 2006: Casual Games Track

• Developing Games for Xbox Live Arcade
• Developing Web-Based Games for MSN Games
• Preparing Casual Games for Windows Vista
• Developing Casual Games for MSN Messenger
• Future Platforms and Opportunities for Casual Games

Gamefest 2006: Audio Track

• Full Service Audio: A Comprehensive Guide to Tools, Libraries, and Services for Audio on Xbox 360 and Windows Vista
• The Fundamentals of Audio Rendering on Xbox 360 and Windows Vista
• XMA Implementation and Aesthetics (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Compression)
• Using the Top Rear Left-of-Center Low Frequency Speaker: How Multi-channel Audio Works on Xbox 360 and Windows Vista
• Distributed Composing: Managing Audio Collaboration and Cross-Platform Deployment for XACT Projects
• An Analytical Study of Audio Implementations for Existing Windows and Xbox 360 Titles

Gamefest 2006: Game Middleware Track

• Adding Camera-Based Gesture and Face Tracking to Games
• Making Your Game Sound More Cinematic
• Extensible .NET Tools for Game Development – Guidelines and Lessons Learned
• An Overview of Voice Recognition Implementation
• Meshing AGEIA and Granny
• Combining Different Middleware Solutions to Create a Customized Platform
• The Convergence of AI, Physics and Animation
• The Dos and Absolutely-Do-Nots of XLSP: A Middleware Perspective
• Advanced Tools and Techniques for Shipping Your Game On-Time
• Creating a DirectX 10 Shader Authoring Sandbox Using SOFTIMAGE|XSI
• The State of the (Audio) Nation: A Conversation with Leading Audio Content Middleware Solutions

Gamefest 2006: Producer and Business Development Track

• Games for Windows Vista: Nail the Essentials, Showcase the Innovations
• Marketplace: Future of Digital Distribution
• Making your Windows Titles Come ALIVE Anywhere!
• Expanding Your Audience Through Accessibility
• Rise Above: Improving Your Game’s Chances for Success by Focusing on What Players Want

Gamefest 2006: Quality Assurance and Certification Track

• Introduction to Windows Error Reporting as a Service
• Games for Windows Vista Compatibility: The Essentials
• Microsoft Games Testing Organization: Testing Evolved

Source 1: http://www.microsoftgamefest.com/
Source 2: http://letskilldave.com/archive/2006/09/11/Gamefes…