When comparing Microsoft XNA Game Studio vs Loom SDK, the Slant community recommends Loom SDK for most people. In the question“What are the best 2D game engines?” Loom SDK is ranked 45th while Microsoft XNA Game Studio is ranked 80th. The most important reason people chose Loom SDK is:
Loom can live update changes in realtime, allowing you to see them on multiple devices immediately.
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Easy assets
it is very easy to import your own 2 dimensional assets
Pro Very easy to use
relies largely on drag and drop elements and has been used to create notable high quality 2d games such as DLC Quest
Pro Live reload of code and assets across multiple platforms
Loom can live update changes in realtime, allowing you to see them on multiple devices immediately.
Pro Powerful command line workflow
Loom Turbo ($5/mo) gives access to powerful command line tools. For example, "loom new" to make a new project, "loom run" to run it. Packaging, deploy, and live reload are done automatically for you.
Pro Open source
The Loom runtime and LoomScript compiler are open source, with code available on GitHub, allowing you to have the freedom to fix the bugs and add the features your game needs.
Pro Examples
Loom includes over 30 examples ranging from complete sample games to demos of single features.
Pro Familiar and powerful scripting
Loom's scripting language is immediately familiar if you know JavaScript, ActionScript, TypeScript, C#, or Java. Internally, it uses a proven VM technology with over 10 years of heavy use in games.
Pro Good support
Loom devs are helpful.
Pro Cross-platform
Loom can deploy to Windows, OS X, Linux, iOS, Android (including Nook, Kindle Fire and Ouya). There are also custom port available for WP8, Blackberry and consoles.
Cons
Con It's dead
It is not getting updated and Microsoft does not recommend using it anymore.
Con Limited platform support
Only supports Xbox 360, Windows and Windows Phone
Con Documentation is lacking
Con No visual tools support
There's no level editor, asset viewer or any other visual tools in Loom SDK. Everything has to go through command line. I think it's fine if you really like typing.