Archimedes Gamemakers Manual

The example programs

You can download a RISC OS format zip file with copies
of all the programs mentioned in this book here.

For the purposes of formatting some longer lines in the BASIC programs have been split into several lines in this document. Where a line starts with a space it forms part of the line above. The original BASIC programs have not had any of their lines split.

Contents

• Preface
  • Personal Comment
  • Preface to this edition

• Chapter 1 - Introduction
  • 1.1 About the Archimedes
  • 1.2 The Environment
  • 1.3 Programming Techniques
  • 1.4 Making Notes

• Chapter 2 - Early Planning
  • 2.1 Finding Ideas
  • 2.2 Targeting
  • 2.3 Types of Game
  • 2.4 Originality
  • 2.5 Addictiveness
  • 2.6 Desktop Games
  • 2.7 Teamwork
  • 2.8 Some Do's
  • 2.9 Some Don'ts

• Chapter 3 - More Planning
  • 3.1 Identifying Major Stages
  • 3.2 Data Structures
  • 3.3 Layouts
    • 3.3.1 Positioning
    • 3.3.2 Proportions
    • 3.3.3 Novelties
  • 3.4 Preliminary Testing
  • 3.5 Time and Memory
    • 3.5.1 Improving loops
    • 3.5.2 Subroutines
    • 3.5.3 Faster Printing
    • 3.5.4 Arithmetic Variations
    • 3.5.5 Decision Ordering
    • 3.5.6 Data
    • 3.5.7 Look-Up Tables
    • 3.5.8 Screen Handling
    • 3.5.9 A Last Twiddle
  • 3.6 Alternative Strategies
    • 3.6.1 Flags
    • 3.6.2 Simplifying
    • 3.6.3 Advance Calculations
    • 3.6.3 Interleaving
  • 3.7 Time Sharing

• Chapter 4 - Static Graphics
  • 4.1 Drawn Pictures
  • 4.2 Sprites
    • 4.2.1 User Sprites
    • 4.2.2 Sprite Masking
    • 4.2.3 Sprite Control
    • 4.2.4 A Sprite Example
  • 4.3 User Defined Characters
  • 4.4 ECF Patterns
  • 4.5 Backgrounds
  • 4.6 Banked Screens
  • 4.7 Clearing Screen Areas
  • 4.8 Smartening Up
  • 4.9 Fancy Fonts
• Chapter 5 - Making it Move
  • 5.1 Objects
  • 5.2 Movement
  • 5.3 Animation
    • 5.3.1 Colour Changing
    • 5.3.2 Animating Sprites
  • 5.4 Collisions
    • 5.4.1 Coordinate Collisions
    • 5.4.2 Pixel Collisions
    • 5.4.3 Cell Collisions
    • 5.4.4 Pointer Collisions
    • 5.4.5 Look Ahead
  • 5.5 Scrolling
    • 5.5.1 Hardware Scrolling
    • 5.5.2 Scrolling in Software
    • 5.5.3 ARM Code Scrolling

• Chapter 6 - More Dimensions
  • 6.1 3D
    • 6.1.1 Cartoon Styles
    • 6.1.2 Scaling
    • 6.1.3 Perspective
    • 6.1.4 Wire Frame Drawings
    • 6.1.5 Hidden Lines
    • 6.1.6 Rotation
    • 6.1.7 Matrices
    • 6.1.8 Universal Movement and Rotation
  • 6.2 Sound
    • 6.2.1 Music
    • 6.2.2 More Voices
    • 6.2.3 Voice Generator Utility

• Chapter 7 - Arcade Games
  • 7.1 Alien Zapping
    • 7.1.1 Movement Tables
    • 7.1.2 Formations
    • 7.1.3 Flocking
  • 7.2 Rebounds
    • 7.2.1 Bounce Patterns
    • 7.2.2 Baby Breakout
    • 7.2.3 Spin
    • 7.2.4 Gravity
  • 7.3 Platforms
  • 7.4 Map Compression
  • 7.5 Score Tables

• Chapter 8 - Role Play
  • 8.1 RPGs
  • 8.2 Adventures
    • 8.2.1 Rooms
    • 8.2.2 Locating objects
    • 8.2.3 Understanding Instructions
    • 8.2.4 Finding Nouns
    • 8.2.5 Puzzles
  • 8.3 Combat
  • 8.4 Simulators
    • 8.4.1 Real World Situation
    • 8.4.2 Scaling and Balance
    • 8.4.3 External influences
    • 8.4.4 Graphical Simulations
    • 8.4.5 Terrain Mapping
  • 8.5 Status Saving and Reloading

• Chapter 9 - Strategy
  • 9.1 Algorithms and Rules
    • 9.1.1 Regional variations
    • 9.1.2 Symmetrical Patterns
  • 9.2 Recursive Computer Moves
    • 9.2.2 Minimaxing
    • 9.2.3 Limiting Recursion
    • 9.2.3 Pruning
    • 9.2.4 Fuzzy Thinking
  • 9.3 Weighting Schemes
    • 9.3.1 Key Moves
    • 9.3.2 Randomising
  • 9.4 Introducing Othello
  • 9.5 Card Games
    • 9.5.1 Displaying a Hand
    • 9.5.2 Patience Layout
    • 9.5.3 Implementing Patience
    • 9.5.4 Shuffling
  • 9.6 Tile Based Games
  • 9.7 Word Games
    • 9.7.1 Binary Searching
    • 9.7.2 Text Compression
    • 9.7.3 User Dictionaries
  • 9.8 Strategy in 3D

• Chapter 10 - ARM Code
  • 10.1 Reasons
  • 10.2 Fast Object Tables
  • 10.3 Direct Screen Manipulation
  • 10.4 ARM Sprites
  • 10.4.1 Simple Sprites
  • 10.4.2 Masking
  • 10.4.3 ARM Collisions
  • 10.5 Reflected Images
  • 10.6 ARM Scrolling
  • 10.7 Some Final Points
  • 10.7.1 Random Numbers
  • 10.7.2 Square Roots
  • 10.7.3 Fast Circles
  • 10.7.4 Clipping

• Appendix
  • Appendix A - Some useful sprite calls
    • Intialise sprite area
    • Load sprite file
    • Save sprite file
    • Get sprite from graphics coordinates
    • Create empty sprite
    • Get sprite from user coordinates
    • Create mask with all pixels set (solid)
    • Put sprite to current graphics cursor
    • Put sprite at user coordinates
    • Read pixel from sprite
    • Write pixel to sprite
    • Read mask pixels
    • Write mask pixels
    • Put scaled sprite
    • Switch output to sprite
    • Switch output to mask
  • Appendix B - Screen Modes for standard monitors
  • Appendix C - VDU variables (sub-set)
  • Appendix D - VDU commands
  • Appendix E - Plot Codes
  • Appendix F - Negative inkey vaues