Well, XML is a little too hefty for my needs, I have a few settings to save, nothing substantial and certainly nothing which would benefit from XML.

I'd be more in favour of an INI file format, with at the most a Section header and a setting name.

[Player]
Name=Jason
[Display]
Fullscreen=True
[Sound]
MusicVolume=50
SoundVolume=70
[Controls]
Left=A
Right=D
Up=W
Down=S
Fire=Space

I agree that we should leave the registry well alone. A normal user has no place looking in the registry, it's too dangerous. A settings file is easier to edit with minimal tools. The registry is for O/S stuff in my book, no applications should store anything in there.

An ini file should be easier to make cross platform too.

Keep it simple