 ͻ
  A BASIC course in game design 
   Using QBasic on the IBM PC   
 ͼ
    Written by Andre van Wyk

About the course
================
This is a short course in simple game design using QBasic.

No prior experience with QBasic is necessary, although I dont go into detail
on how to use the QBasic menu interface.

The principle aim of the course is to stimulate interest in game design.

Its divided in modules to keep you busy for two weeks, although nothing stops 
you from doing more than one module per day.

The program parts can be copied from the file and used directly.
This way you dont have to type anything!
  
The two example games can be tailored and expanded upon as an additional 
exercise.

I will use ASCII characters for graphics and only briefly discuss the 
implementation of bit-mapped graphics at the end of the course.

What to expect from the course
==============================
Its for "newbies" to game design.

You might experience this as a course in QBasic as well as games design.
Well, without a thorough understanding of the QBasic commands you wont be able
to write a game, now will you?

The course is not meant to teach you how to write DOOM, only to teach some 
basic game design skills.

Making things easier
====================
Use QBasic's built-in HELP function to get more information about a BASIC
command.

Author's apology
================
Why use QBasic to teach game design?
Here are the reasons:
1) QBasic is bundled with MSDOS 5 and higher so you dont have to fork out
   hundreds of dollars to get started.
2) Contrary to most beliefs it is possible to teach good programming principles
   with BASIC, especially in QBasic where line numbers and GOTO's aren't
   mandatory.
3) BASIC is easy enough to start with and once you've learned the ropes you
   can move on to a language more suited to professional game design.

My teaching methods are unorthodox,  but I aim to teach in a fun way.

What now?
=========
You should now proceed with the course material!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
