Were do you start?? WOW BIG question, when your new
There is no real easy way to start, no real quick fix or quick programing solution. Bark Basic is a "Simple" to understand programing language compaired to alot of tohers like C++ etc, but you still need to actuall Learn how to program.
First off, its not going to happen over night, so ask yourself are you prepaired to spen alot of hours learning the actual language and then learning how to applie this knowlage to makeing some kind of game or application. Altho Dark Basic is easy to pick up, it still takes time.
IF you are willing to take the time out to learn then follow a few pointers
OK first off a little about what you will be actually trying to ACHIVE when PROGRAMMING.
Computers are Dumb, they are compleatly stupid, brainless. that cant do a single thing without someon telling it how to do it. And this is what you need to grap when makeing any program.
lets say your going to make a simple space invaders game.
First off you would drawn the game screen, the background picture, the aliens the little gun at the bottom. You will need to make some drawings (Sprites) up of these objecst and useing certain program commnds place then on the screen were you want them.
Then you will need to tell the computer to move the gun left when the left key is pressed, move it right when the right key is pressed, whilst slowly moveing all the alien along the screen then down 1 row, then across the other direction then down again etc. When you press a fire button, you need to draw a laser sprite above the gun and move it up 1 line at a time untill it either hits an alien or goes off the screen at the top.
IF it hits an alien you need to replace that alien sprite with an explosion sprite, place a sound file that makes a BANG sound remove the explosion sprite, remove the laser sprite and add 1 to the total score.
So you see how you have to do EVERYTHING in a game, tell the PC how to do EVERYTHING.
Now for a little explination of some code
This is not real code just a example of how it works.
Lets take the gun sprite in the game, you will type a command like...
A = 30
b = 15
Do
Print at a,b; "Gun Sprite"
IF left key pressed then b = b + 1
IF right key pressed then b = b - 1
Loop
Above we first give the variables A and B some values, these are actuall goign to be the X and Y co ordinates on the screen of were we want to place the gun sprite
We then start what is called a LOOP, in programming there are TONS of loops that get used, but there is ushally a MAIN loop that ushally contains the main bulk of the program or game.
Loops start at the DO then executes all the comands withing it and when it reaches the command LOOP it goes back to the DO and dose the same thing all over again. hence, it is called a loop.
Next it places the gun sprite at the screen co ordinates A, B which is at this point 30,15
Then it check s to see if the left or right keys are being pressed, it they are it either adds 1 to the valuie of B or takes 1 away from the value of B, then it loops back to the DO part again to start all over again.
But this time if the Right key had been pressed on the first time aronud the loop, 1 would have been added to the value of B makeing it now 16, instead of 15. Thus when it puts the gun sprite on the screen again instead of being 15 colums along the screen its 16 colums along the screen, hence it has just moved 1 space to the right, which is what you wanted it to do.
IF you hold the right key down, each loop (which is VERY FAST) it add 1 to the B variable thus moveing the gun to the right each loop. The same works with the left key except it takes 1 away from the value of B thus the gun sprite gets printed 1 colum more to the left each time.
OK that was alot but you see how you would go about doing someing as simple as moveing a gun left and right on the screen. So you can see how a very complex game would requier alot of commands.
When i first started programming WAAAYYYY back in 1983, i had a Computer magazine called Sinclair Programs. It was a mag FULL of code for various little games. I would type the code in (Not haveing a damn clue what it all ment) run the program at the end and play the game.
Wel after a while of typeing in program after program, and then playing with the end result, i could start to see HOW each command was working. i would be playing the game and think "AHH i remeber typeing in this bit, Ohh cool so that is what those few lines of code did."
First i started picking up the easy stuff like the graphics and things, then i started looking at the code and actually seeing how the various calculations were being used in game.
So my suggestion to you, if you are a TOTAL NOOBIE, is forget about trying to make your own program for a while, if you do try , more than likely you will fail.
Take some of the DEMOS withing DB and print out the code, get code for anywere you can, on the forums dont just try full games get a few of the code snipits that you can find on here, print it out, type it in and run it see what your commands are doing.
AND WHEN I SAY TYPE IT OUT AND THEN RE ENTER THE WHOLE THING IN BY HAND AGAIN, THATS EXACTLY WHAT I MEAN!!
As pointless as it seems to re type and entire program, when its allready been done for you. The point is the learn by doing. It wont sink it just glanceing over it or copy and pasting. Dont be lazy, type the WHOLE thing in.
Do this alot, program after program, and after a while you will be able to make little changes in these prograsm of your own as you become aware of what is going on. and even start to make little prograsm or your own up.
Wont be long before you are makeing your own first little game. Lame, rubbish, and problerly not much fun to play, but thast how you start. And if your still working at it this time next year. You will be proberly making your first GOOD game.
You will only get out what you put in, there is no magic "MAKE GAME" command, nor anything anyone can tell you that will make you insta programmer. just practice, preactice preactice, study study study.
So go away and start printing out as many games, code sni[pets etc that you can, type then all in by hand, run them, play with then see what your commands are doing, rince and repeat MANY MANY times.
GOOD luck and welcome to the world of PC programming.
Ohh and if you ahve any probs with somhting not working, just post the code in here with an explination of the fault, lots of chaps here will help.
