Build SwinGame on Windows without an IDE

buildswin.bat

set PATH=%PATH%;C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v4.0.30319.
msbuild MyGameWin.csproj
bin\Debug\MyGame.exe

Usage Instructions

This does require .Net Framework 4.0 by default, this can easily be changed by changing the set path line to the directory of any other valid .Net framework.
Keep this batch file in your games top directory with the .csproj files and .sln files and such.
This doesn't allow you to debug the code with breakpoints and such but is very handy for someone who'd prefer to use the lightweight nature of a text editor.

Recommended Text Editor

If you want to keep the powerful code completion and such from Visual Studio/Xamarin Studio but in a lightweight text editor I recommend using OmniSharp. This is perfect for use with Visual Studio Code but does work with Atom and Sublime if you prefer that.

What about command line projects?

Try .Net Core. This is the future of .Net with Microsoft and runs on Windows, Mac and Linux. It basically allows you to easily create C# projects from command line without the need for a text editor and heavily works with Omnisharp and VS Code. All the code is the same C# code that is required for these projects and it supports a large amount of the base .net framework and even extensions of the framework like ASP.Net MVC and LINQ

Disclaimer : I don't mean for this to look like a questioning of the lecturers and tutors ways of teaching if anything just offering options for people who mightn't be always able to use heavier IDEs like VS and Xamarin Studio