First, we must download and install various Silverlight development tools.
We need to install Visual C# 2008 (.NET Framework 3.5) with Service Pack 1 or greater (Visual C# 2010) in order to successfully complete the installations provided here. Installing Silverlight 3 Tools will uninstall the previous Silverlight versions. We will not be able to create Silverlight 2 applications using Visual C# 2008 with Silverlight 3 Tools installed in our system. Visual C# 2010 does not have this restriction because it allows us to choose the desired Silverlight version target.
Note
You can use the free Visual Web Developer 2008 Express Edition or greater (http://www.microsoft.com/express/vwd/). However, you have to read the documentation and consider its limitations carefully.
The following are steps for preparing the development environment:
1. Download the following files:
Application name
Download link
File name
Description
Expression Design
http://www.microsoft.com/expression/products/Overview.aspx?key=design
Design_Trial_en.exeIt is a commercial tool, but the trial offers a free fully functional version for 30 days. This tool will enable us to transform vector assets to the appropriate format for use in Silverlight 3.
Inkscape
Inkscape-0.46.win32.exeIt is a very complete free, open source, vector drawing program. This tool will enable us to import many vector assets in different, popular file formats and export them to a format recognized by Expression Design.
Silverlight 3 Tools for Visual Studio
Silverlight3_Tools.exeWe must install it to create Silverlight 3 applications in Visual Studio IDE using XAML and C#. This will uninstall previous Silverlight SDKs (Software Development Kits).
Silverlight 3 Offline Documentation (in a CHM format)
Silverlight_3_Docs.zipWe must download and decompress this file, as we will be needing access to the Silverlight 3 official documentation.
Expression Blend 3 + SketchFlow
http://www.microsoft.com/expression/try-it/Default.aspx#PageTop
Blend_Trial_en.exeThis tool will enable us to create content and prototypes that target Silverlight 3. It will be really helpful to use Expression Blend 3 to create rapid prototypes for some game scenes.
.NET RIA Services
RiaServices.msiThis framework allows the creation of business applications that are capable of talking to our games. In the same link, there is a PDF file available for download with interesting documentation about this framework.
Silverlight Toolkit (updated for Silverlight 3 compatibility)
Silverlight 3 Toolkit July 2009.msiIt is convenient to download the latest stable release. This toolkit provides a nice collection of Silverlight controls, components, and utilities made available outside the normal Silverlight release cycle. It will be really helpful to use these controls to provide many game statistics. Besides, it includes more Silverlight themes.
2. Run the installers in the same order in which they appear in the previous list, and follow the steps to complete the installation wizards. Take into account that to install Silverlight 3 Tools for Visual Studio, you will need an Internet connection for a small download when the wizard begins. One of the items enumerated under the Products affected by the software update: list is Download Preparation, as shown in the following screenshot:
3. Once the installations have successfully finished, run Visual Studio 2008 or Visual Web Developer 2008 (or later). You will see the Microsoft Silverlight Projects label displayed on the splash screen, as shown in the following picture:
4. If the splash screen disappears too quickly, you will not be able to check Silverlight's availability. However, you can check it once Visual Studio 2008 or Visual Web Developer 2008 (or later) is running. Select Help | About Microsoft Visual Studio. A dialog box will appear and you will see Microsoft Silverlight Projects 2008 displayed under the Installed products list. Select this item and check whether Product details shows number 3 after the second dot (.). For example, 9.0.30730.126 indicates that Silverlight 3 is installed, as shown in the following picture:
