Think in BASIC.
Work with variables, strings, input, decisions, loops and subroutines. Learn how numbered statements become a program.
CHAPTERS 3–6A BOOK BY NATHAN D. BAUGHMAN
NES BASICCOMPLETE
PROGRAMMING GUIDE
BRING YOUR RETRO
PROGRAMMING IDEAS TO LIFE
Start with a few lines of BASIC. Discover graphics, sprites, controllers and sound. Then build a complete falling-block game, one idea at a time.
Your curiosity. A classic machine. A place to begin.
READ. CREATE. REPEAT.01 / THE GUIDE
FROM YOUR FIRST PRINT TO BLOCKDROP
01 ABOUT THE BOOK
A small language.
A whole world
of possibilities.
For the curious beginner.
The returning BASIC fan.
The person who wants to know how it works.
There’s something special about making a machine do something you imagined.
The NES BASIC Complete Programming Guide takes that feeling seriously. Learn NDB Software’s own BASIC language, explore the Nintendo Entertainment System’s creative side, and put your knowledge to work in complete programs.
Begin with messages on the screen. Build up to sprites, game loops and collision detection. Then follow the Blockdrop project from an empty playfield to a complete game.
02 WHAT YOU’LL LEARN
Learn the pieces.
Build something yours.
Real language features. Practical programs.
Each idea gives you the next piece.
Make your mark.
Explore the graphics canvas, draw with pixels and lines, and understand the relationship between patterns and tiles.
CHAPTERS 7–8Bring sprites to life.
Create custom sprite artwork. Position it, move it and explore animation on the NES.
CHAPTERS 9–10Make it interactive.
Read keyboard and controller input. Add sound and music, and learn how timing connects your program to the player.
CHAPTERS 11–12Give your game a brain.
Build game loops, check collisions, organize board data with arrays, and learn to debug and measure performance.
CHAPTERS 13–17Build Blockdrop.
Turn the lessons into a complete falling-block puzzle game, from planning and piece geometry to scoring and game states.
MEET YOUR NEXT PROJECT03 THE BLOCKDROP PROJECT
CODE IT. UNDERSTAND IT. MAKE IT YOURS.From BASIC code
From BASIC code
to playable games.
A falling piece is just the beginning.
Follow Blockdrop across ten chapters. Create the playfield and seven piece shapes. Add movement, rotation, collision and locking. Clear rows, keep score, and bring the game together with sound, pause and game-over logic.
- 01 Build the board and pieces
- 02 Connect movement and collision
- 03 Add scoring, sound and game states
Blockdrop is a learning project in interpreted BASIC. The book explains its slower pace, timing limits and the path toward faster NES programs.
ACTUAL NES BASIC OUTPUT 256 × 240
The complete project: a falling piece, board state and score display.
04 YOUR NEXT LINE STARTS HERE
Don’t just read it.
Run it.
Open the free browser playground and try NES BASIC for yourself. It runs the actual NES BASIC ROM, right in your browser. No account required.
Prefer an app? NES BASIC is also available within 8-Bit Impostor . Visit the product site for app details.
EXPLORE THE NES BASIC WEBSITECH03-HELLO.BASFROM THE BOOK
10 PRINT "HELLO FROM NES BASIC"
20 PRINT "I WROTE THIS PROGRAM"
30 ENDYOUR FIRST LITTLE MOMENT OF MAGIC.
HELLO FROM NES BASIC
I WROTE THIS PROGRAM
READY.
REAL CODE. REAL BASIC.
PLANNED PRODUCT / FUTURE HARDWARENES BASIC is heading
NES BASIC is heading
to real NES hardware.
A standalone physical NES BASIC cartridge with onboard program storage is planned. Follow the main website for development updates and final specifications.
FOLLOW THE CARTRIDGE PROJECTNo release date, price or preorder has been announced.
YOUR NEXT CHAPTER IS WAITING.
Ready to start
programming?
Meet the language. Explore the machine.
Build something you can call your own.