What do you recommend Direct2D GDI+ DirectDraw?

[Fabian_Russ]

Which should I be using? Direct2D, GDI+ or DirectDraw?

 

I want to make a 2D platformer game and this is bothering me, I know little about the 3, for all I know, they are the same thing! Please help me understand. :confused:

[snarfblam]

DirectDraw could work, but it is discouraged because it is considered obsolete. GDI+ is too slow for smooth animation or scrolling. I have no experience with Direct2D, but from what I can see it might do the trick.

 

For a platformer I might recommend looking into XNA. It seems to be the simplest game development platform, but deployment can become difficult. The end user needs to have the right versions for DirectX, DotNet, and XNA. I couldn't tell you what's involved in deployment of a Direct2D app, but it does not appear to support Windows Xp.

 

It's really a matter of what your specific needs are.