Easy-to-use programming language that drove Apple, IBM, and Commodore PCs debuted in 1964.
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The BASIC programming language turns 60
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I learned BASIC when I was about 6 years old. I programmed on the Atari800 (XL or XE maybe) and on some old IBM compatibles back when we used to call them that.
I made simple games with jumping smiley faces
<- that yellow guy became the main character of anything I made. Little platformers, and other things. I remember having to learn on my own how to program the basic jump and fall mechanics using variables (T would be 0 if neither falling nor jumping, 1 for jumping, 3 for falling, and I'd have J increase until it reached 5, which would then trigger the change from jump to fall). I had the screen refresh every frame of animation instead of simply redrawing only the changes because I didn't know how to design otherwise.
Later, as my dad's computer got faster and faster, I needed a way to adjust speed, so I added a slowdown feature that could be adjusted with keys.
On the Atari, I created a joystick tester to test all our old joysticks to see which worked in what ways (oftentimes, a single direction, like up-right, would break), and my older brother was impressed with the fact that I conceived of such a thing and made it when I was ~7.
Well, those are my BASIC memories. It introduced me to the basics of how coding worked as a concept, and what kind of effort goes into game development. I lost interest in programming as I got older, but I'm glad I was introduced to it when I was in kindergarten or first grade (I forget which, but I was an autistic kid who could read at an early age).
I made simple games with jumping smiley faces
<- that yellow guy became the main character of anything I made. Little platformers, and other things. I remember having to learn on my own how to program the basic jump and fall mechanics using variables (T would be 0 if neither falling nor jumping, 1 for jumping, 3 for falling, and I'd have J increase until it reached 5, which would then trigger the change from jump to fall). I had the screen refresh every frame of animation instead of simply redrawing only the changes because I didn't know how to design otherwise.Later, as my dad's computer got faster and faster, I needed a way to adjust speed, so I added a slowdown feature that could be adjusted with keys.
On the Atari, I created a joystick tester to test all our old joysticks to see which worked in what ways (oftentimes, a single direction, like up-right, would break), and my older brother was impressed with the fact that I conceived of such a thing and made it when I was ~7.
Well, those are my BASIC memories. It introduced me to the basics of how coding worked as a concept, and what kind of effort goes into game development. I lost interest in programming as I got older, but I'm glad I was introduced to it when I was in kindergarten or first grade (I forget which, but I was an autistic kid who could read at an early age).
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