PROGRAMMING GAMES WITH MICROSOFT SMALL BASIC teaches Small Basic programming concepts while providing detailed step-by-step instructions for building many fun games. The tutorial is appropriate for kids, teens and adults. The games built are non-violent and teach logical thinking skills. To grasp the concepts presented in PROGRAMMING GAMES WITH MICROSOFT SMALL BASIC, you should possess a working knowledge of Windows and have had some exposure to Small Basic programming (or some other programming language). We offer a beginning programming tutorial (BEGINNING MICROSOFT SMALL BASIC) that would help you gain this needed exposure.
PROGRAMMING GAMES WITH MICROSOFT SMALL BASIC explains (in simple, easy-to-follow terms) how to build a Small Basic game program. Users learn about program design, using Small Basic objects (including button controls), many elements of the Small Basic language, and how to debug and share finished programs. Game skills learned include handling multiple players, scoring, graphics, animation, and sounds. The game programs built include, in increasing complexity:
* Safecracker - Decipher a secret combination using clues from the computer.
* Tic Tac Toe - The classic game.
* Match Game - Find matching pairs of hidden photos - use your own photos!
* Pizza Delivery - A business simulation where you manage a small pizza shop for a night.
* Moon Landing - Land a lunar module on the surface of the moon.
* Leap Frog - A fun arcade game where you get a frog through traffic and across a raging river.
The book includes over 650 pages of FULL-COLOR self-study notes. The course requires either Windows 8, Windows 7, XP, or Vista, and the free Microsoft Small Basic 1.0 development environment. The Small Basic source code and all needed multimedia files are available for download from the publisher's website (KidwareSoftware.com) after you register this book.
Philip Conrod has authored, co-authored and edited over two dozen computer programming books and tutorials over the past 30 years. Philip started programming in 1977 on a Commodore PET computer at the very young age of 13. Philip holds a Certificate in Computer Programming for Business from WarrenTech, a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Information Systems and a Master's certificate in the Essentials of Business Development from Regis University. Philip has held Information Technology leadership roles in companies like Sundstrand Aerospace, Safeco Insurance, FamilyLife, Kenworth Truck Company, and PACCAR Inc. Today, Philip serves as the Chief Information Officer for large manufacturing company based in Seattle, Washington. In his spare time, Philip still enjoys writing and publishing computer programming books for students and he serves as the President of Kidware Software. Kidware Software LLC publishes computer programming books and tutorials under the trade names of KIDware, Kidware Software, BibleByte Books and ComputerScienceForKids.com.
Lou Tylee holds BS and MS degrees in Mechanical Engineering and a PhD in Electrical Engineering. Lou has been programming computers since 1969 when he took his first Fortran course in college. He has written software to control suspensions for high speed ground vehicles, monitor nuclear power plants, lower noise levels in commercial jetliners, compute takeoff speeds for jetliners, locate and identify air and ground traffic and to let kids count bunnies, learn how to spell and do math problems. He has written several on-line texts teaching Visual Basic, Visual C# and Java to thousands of people. He taught a beginning Visual Basic course for over 15 years at a major university. Currently, Lou works as an engineer at a major Seattle aerospace firm. Lou and his family live in Seattle, Washington.
