I wasn't sure where to start this thread, in the game programming section or XNA. If it is in the wrong area, feel free to move it, and my apologies.
I would like to add a trailing effect to a sword in a 2D game. I've seen this same effect done in quite a few games and I thought there would be information for it plastered all over the place, but I couldn't find much other than 3D examples and Texture2D effects.
The effect that I would like looks almost as if the area behind the sword is distorted and warping the general area around it.
Does anyone know of a tutorial, example, or book on how to approach this for a 2D sprite?
I am completely new to shaders, but I would love to have this effect in my game.