To accompany the video project for the Content Project/pipeline tool, this blog post will also show you all the features of the MGCB tool, along with a few tips and tricks.

The video for this post can be found here if you prefer video:

Content projects with XNA –> MonoGame

In the XNA days, to manage content we had a separate project type (The Content Project) which allowed us to store the assets for our project in one place.  It also gave us access to the Content Pipeline, an arguably very powerful framework for managing the importing and consumptions of those assets:

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The content project, referenced in the XNA game solution using a Content reference.

Now MonoGame also has the same setup, you can create Content Projects using the MonoGame Content Project tool and reference them in the same way as XNA did:

image

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The MonoGame Content reference which links to the MonoGame Content Pipeline

The only main difference between the two methods is that MonoGame uses a separate tool rather than an embedded project, so that the tool cam be multi-platform and managed / updates separately. Apart from that nothing has changed, how you load your content before works the same today.

Getting started with the Content Project / Pipeline tool (MGCB)

As with everything MonoGame (and most open source projects in general) you have the choice for how to use the Content Tool, you can:

Whichever path you chose with your MonoGame Content projects, you can manage them in the same way.

1: Create a Project

Either use the one new MonoGame Projects or create your own. Just open the MonoGame Content Project tool and do file / new:

NewContentProject

When creating a new project, it is best to:

2: Add Content

When adding content, you can either:

AddingContent

When selecting existing files, you can opt to either copy the files in to the Content Projects folder, or leave them in place and simply reference them.  I would always recommend copying so that you keep all your games actual content in one place. Makes it easier to transport or publish to a source code repository as well.

3: Build and test

One of the great features of the MonoGame Content Project tool is that you can build the content in the tool and see the debug output of that process. This helps you identify any content issues early on, especially if you are going down the advanced route and building your own content importers / processors (more on that later)

BuildContent

4: Add to your game project

Once you have your project built and ready, you can add it to your MonoGame solution. The process is the same whether you use Visual Studio or MonoDevelop.

AddingReference

A few tips when adding the content reference manually to your project:

5: Load Content and Draw

Now this is no different to XNA, you simply Load your content and then Draw it to the screen.  There is a lot more you can do with this, but simply using:

protected override void LoadContent()
{
    // Create a new SpriteBatch, which can be used to draw textures.
    spriteBatch = new SpriteBatch(GraphicsDevice);

    // TODO: use this.Content to load your game content here
    myKnight = Content.Load<Texture2D>(@"Attack (1)");
}

protected override void Update(GameTime gameTime)
{
    if (GamePad.GetState(PlayerIndex.One).Buttons.Back == ButtonState.Pressed || Keyboard.GetState().IsKeyDown(Keys.Escape))
        Exit();

    // TODO: Add your update logic here
    spriteBatch.Begin();
    spriteBatch.Draw(myKnight,Vector2.One);
    spriteBatch.End();

    base.Update(gameTime);
}

Will take your content and draw it to the screen. Simples…

Next Steps

Well, you now have you content, it is nicely packaged and ready for use in your game projects, what could be better?

Well one thing that is absolutely awesome is that you can use the same Content Project for ALL your platforms, in fact the only time you may want to use more than one content project is if you are supporting vastly different resolutions (and need higher quality art). In general though, only one is needed.

Well, I say one, you can have as many Content Projects as you like, there is no limitation. Some games package assets per level, some have the types of art in different projects, just because it’s easier to manage that way, the choice is up to you.

Going Advanced

Now I mentioned earlier about creating your own Content Importers and Processors, these are what are known as Content Pipeline Extensions.

It’s a bit much to go in to fully here but Andy Dunn and Tom Spilman recorded a session with Microsoft to cover this which can be found here:

In the future I’ll do a follow up session just to break down the essentials.

On with the Show

Right, I’m done with basic use of the Content Project.  If you have any specific requests for subjects to follow this then please leave a comment below or on my MonoGame YouTube channel
(http://bit.ly/darksideofmonogame)