Does anyone here MAKE games?

[Lorfarius]

Having bought a BBC Master Im now going to invest in a BASIC book. Yes Im going to dabble in programming and see what I come up with.

[daverage]

Where many a programmer started.
Think I started on BBC basic or it may have been on my dads amstrad pcw8512 with Amstrad Basic, then moved on to c64

[RocketRanger]

I used to write Amstrad games. Got some in Amstrad Computer User and Amstrad Action as type-in listings. They're all online here now:
http://www.sean.co.uk/books/amstrad/index.shtm
.

I'm sure I may have spent a few hours recreating your lines of code on my CPC back in the day (using a ruler on the page to carefully ensure I didn't loose where I was when I went to get a cup of tea).

I remember when AA's art editor would lovingly print the black & white instructions from some airfix model behind each type-in. This was highly annoying as it made the code impossible to read due to some plastic dinosaur head printed behind it.

[MikeHive]

I've been trying to teach myself C++ lately, but it seems a long slog...

Does everyone else here program in BASIC? I'm hearing that a lot.

[GarryG]

I cut my programming teeth writing games in basic on my VIC20, Spectrum, and then Atari 800XL (with disk drive!!). Alas, they all seem to be lost in time now…

I think I still have a copy of the fractal-generating program that I wrote on the PC (using Pascal of all things) for my final years PostDip project. You could zoom in and out and stuff, it was ok, got me a better than average pass mark

I learned some assembly language as well, I’ve dabbled with this on the spectrum and VIC (oh, and a bubble-sort routean on the BBC), but the most I’ve ever done was for the Vectrex, I managed to get a ship flying about the screen over background objects, but didn’t get as far as putting any enemys in. I would recommend the Vectrex as a MC platform as there are a lot of very good ROM routines in this machine.

I did muck about with Dark Basic a few years ago. I ‘re-made’ the VCS version of Smurfs, well kind off. I think the basic game engine was finished, but I didn’t bother putting in all the level data. I might be able to find the code if you are remotely interested…

I’m doing applications programming using visual basic .net for a living just now, and it’s very boring. Bring on the VIC basic…

I've been trying to teach myself C++ lately, but it seems a long slog...

C, in it’s various forms is probably the most used language today. I wouldn’t say it was the easiest to lern, but it isn’t the hardest ether.

Does everyone else here program in BASIC? I'm hearing that a lot.

I think it depends on what you mean by basic, there are things like ‘Dark Basic’ that offer a huge range of games programming related features, you should be able to get good results a lot more quickly from this type of package.
Some people still program using the original versions of the basic language supplied with the old home micro systems. These versions of basic vary wildly in the choice of commands given. Some have very powerful basic commands and some only have the ‘standard’ command set. BBC basic would be a good one to start with as it has quite powerful commands, and you can incorporate machine code directly into your basic program.


What type of programming do you intend to do?

[TMR]

Does everyone else here program in BASIC? I'm hearing that a lot.

Not here, 6502 (and variants) assembler.

[MikeHive]

Well I picked C++ simply because I'm already fluent in PHP for web scripting and I heard they were kinda similar...

I wasn't thinking of developing for old consoles and the like, I'm just more interested in PC game development... I've been using premade 'game maker' tools for years, but it'd be nice to one day aspire to put together my own codes.

[Mozart]

Well I picked C++ simply because I'm already fluent in PHP for web scripting and I heard they were kinda similar...

[Lorfarius]

Well I picked C++ simply because I'm already fluent in PHP for web scripting and I heard they were kinda similar...

Double

[GarryG]

I too have done a fair bit of ‘web stuff’ (PHP, ASP, Perl, VB, & JAVA)

Err, I assume you mean, you’ve heard the ‘structure’ is fairly similar…

…. I’ve heard that as well…

…. I’ve also heard that Elvis lives in a Double Decker Bus on Mars.


C isn’t really all that difficult to learn. Especially if you’ve used Pascal or Perl or something structured like that.


I don’t particularly like the ‘new’ type of ‘visual’ languages like VB and JAVA etc…

[MikeHive]

I've been trying to teach myself C++ lately, but it seems a long slog...

Well, this is because C++ is turning out to be increasingly less like PHP the more I do

[Mozart]

Err, I assume you mean, you’ve heard the ‘structure’ is fairly similar…

…. I’ve heard that as well…

…. I’ve also heard that Elvis lives in a Double Decker Bus on Mars.

I don’t particularly like the ‘new’ type of ‘visual’ languages like VB and JAVA etc…

I'm not a big VB fan, but I like the elegance of Java a lot (also a huge fan of modern IDE's, what with there code completion )

[MikeHive]

I did some VB a few years ago when I was taking computer classes, does that have any game-making applications? Or should I press on with the C++?

Edit: Argh! Reading back over all my posts in this thread, I'm revealing myself to be a collossal n00b, aren't I?

[Lorfarius]

I did some VB a few years ago when I was taking computer classes, does that have any game-making applications? Or should I press on with the C++?

Edit: Argh! Reading back over all my posts in this thread, I'm revealing myself to be a collossal n00b, aren't I?

Back in my college days (when VB 5 was flavour of the day)I managed to create a database type game with a VB front end and Access running underneath. It was a standard text adventure (with pictures) affair involving a light hearted fantasy travelling throughout a castle and solving numerous puzzles. However there was a huge bug right towards the end whereby if you walked into a certain wall you would pass right through into the game complete screen.

Project deadline was approaching so I had to do my best and hide it away. Got me a Merit that did in my HND.

[Mozart]

I did some VB a few years ago when I was taking computer classes, does that have any game-making applications? Or should I press on with the C++?

Edit: Argh! Reading back over all my posts in this thread, I'm revealing myself to be a collossal n00b, aren't I?

VB (6) may not be the best programming language for games as it's pretty slow, but I'm sure it's possible to knock up a reasonable game given some effort, and I think VB had support for at least one version of DirectX.

There are other forms of Basic for the PC that might be better suited and or easier to learn. Someone mentioned DarkBasic earlier (I've never used it, but have heard good things about it), and another I've heard of is GLBasic.

If you go with DarkBasic, let us know how you get on - then you can teach us the ins and outs and we can be the n00bs