Customer Reviews
You have to pay to play 
2006-11-12
This book is ok if you are not serious about game programming. My biggest issue is that you cannot run the programs from the book on another computer. If you want to do that, you have to log on to their web site and pay a lot of money for it. The fact is that I can get a semi-professional IDE from Microsoft's web page for free. This will compile and create EXEs that I can run on any computer. I can also program in C++ which is the language that almost all video games are programmed in. Microsoft's IDE also has an excellent debugger. If you are serious about game programming, or programming in general, I recommend learning and practicing on the real thing.
A great starting point 
2006-05-03
Perspective
Short: I am writing this review from the perspective of a high school student who started with Blitz, went on to a more advanced language, and is now revisiting Blitz again.
Long: When I first picked up the book, I was a high school student with no prior programming experience. I had written code before, but it was HTML so I didn't actually write programs.
I abandoned Blitz for a while when I finally got the chance to take a programming class(C++) in school and have recently returned and thus revisited the book to brush up. I took this oppertunity to write a review here.
C++ is a more advanced, powerful, and widely used language but I still use Blitz to make simple games because it's hard to get good graphics in a C++ compiler without costly graphics pacakges to go with it.
Opinion
Short: The book is very intuitive and well written. The author does a very good job at explaining things and the book is very well paced. When going to a more advanced language I was helped significantly by the concepts I learned when using Blitz. I would highly recommend this book.
Long: When I first got this book, I thought programming would be a daunting task. This book goes through it very well and has a nice pace that keeps you from getting overwhelmed. The author writes very clearly and is very good at explaining concepts. This is a great book to get started with programming.
When I dropped this because I started programming in C++, I found transfering languages easier than I had hoped. I learned a lot of basic concepts in Blitz and was able to take many of them over into C++.
For a short time, the only real changes that I experienced were different syntax between the two languages and some other basic priciples (such as library functions) not used in Blitz. By the time I got to a point where most of the material I was learning had no equivalent in BLitz, I had been using C++ long enough not have any problems.
Conclusion
Short: It's a great, well written introductory book for those looking to program for fun or those who want to go further but need a good starting point.
Long: When I got this book, my purpose was to get something to introduce me into programming in a simple, easy to understand manner. I am happy to say that it works very well for this purpose. The Blitz language will not carry you especially far but if you are in it for fun or are just looking for a starting point, this will work very well. I still program with it myself a bit even after learning a more advanced language.
Great Book 2005-11-28
This is a great book for any beginner. Within one week, i had made my first arcade game! This is a great beginners book for anyone who wants to learn to make their own game. This book expects you to come on with ABSOLUTELY NO EXPERIENCE AT ALL!
This book presents you with a complete game within the first 10 pages, and shows you over the course of the book how everything works.
It shows you every function and every line of code step by step.
Awesome book!
Awesome Book! 2005-09-29
When I read this book I learned a lot about game programming and I'm planning to buy more books on it. It teaches you a lot about the Blitz BASIC language. I was able to create my own game within three days after I had finished reading this book! If you're interested in the world of game programming, this is the book that'll get you started!
A+ book for total beginners 2005-09-10
Great book for beginner programmers who want to learn how to game progrom with blitz basic.
Ausome Product 2005-08-18
If you?re interested in jumping into the exciting world of game programming, then you?ve found the perfect book! "Game Programming for Teens" doesn?t expect you to have any experience with programming. You?ll learn everything you need to know along the way. You?ll use Blitz Basic, an easy-to-learn programming language that the author will teach you. As you work your way through the book, you?ll learn everything you need to know to create a complete game. Graphics, animation, sound and music, and artificial intelligence are all covered. By the end of the book, you will have created your very first computer game! Game programming doesn?t have to be difficult. With a copy of this book and your own curiosity, you?re off to the perfect start.
Game programming in BASIC 2005-06-30
Maneesh has done an excellent job of introducing readers to the fundamentals of game programming using BASIC. What I liked best was that the programming language he used is BlitzBasic which is geared to game programming. A version of BlitzBasic comes on the book's CD and is easy to install and use. If you want to learn the fundamentals of game programming with a minimum of effort, this is the book for you.
4 out of 5 Stars!, BUT... 
2005-05-06
Rating 4 of 5, BUT...
Whether this book is right for you or not depends upon what you are looking to get out of it. If you are serious and you think that it might provide you with a way to easy into the concepts of game programming, you are half-right. Although you will learn good concepts such as using sprites and collision detection, the coding is done in Blitz BASIC.
If you are serious about learning game design for either personal or professional reasons, and you want to learn it right, check out - SAMS: Teach Yourself Game Programming in 24 Hours, by Michael Harrison, or read the "bible" Tricks of the Windows® Game Programming Gurus, Second Edition, by Andre LaMothe.
Their examples and game designs are based on C/C++, which today is still the de facto game programming language, even with other languages such as C# or Java. A good part of game programming is tweaking the most performance out of a computer and therefore will eventually require you to become more familiar with the programming language itself.
While Blitz BASIC allows you to easily setup some traditional games, you will quickly exhaust its capabilities. Furthermore, a good portion of game design is a well developed game engine and programming structure. Programs written in Blitz BASIC can quickly turn into spaghetti code. It is better to start in C/C++ and learn how to use their language constructs to create well design, readable, and manageable code.
It is great to see that the author is/was a high school student. The book is well written and clear. I hope that the author has acquired some valuable knowledge during the writing and publishing process. The book does have an audience and it is exactly as the title says "For Teens." If you are just getting you feet wet and want to learn a simple programming language, while writing a few games at the same time, this is your book.
But if you have more than just a curiosity, then hit the two books mentioned above. On that note, the SAMS book is a good gentle introduction. While it will not help you write the next Halo/Doom-like game, it instills a solid understanding of game programming, game engines, and enough info so that you can write a great 2D game. It lacks any involvement with DirectX, intentionally. Remember you have to crawl, before walking, before running.
If you are an experienced programmer and want to explore the game programming side of the equation, go directly to Andre LaMothe's book. His writing style is unique and he will inundate you with as many facts and examples as you can take in.
Extreme Help 2005-03-01
If you want to learn to program games, from space shooters to spies, this book is for you. Other books are just to complex, and the languages they teach are total crap for beginners. I tried a book on C++. What the heck? It takes like 10 lines to print "hello world" on the screen. Here, Meneesh teaches you the easy Blitz Basic, simple and, duh, basic. This book is for the learner that actually wants to learn and not spend a week figuring out one line in a program. EASY!!!!! This is probably the number one book that's ever taught me anything. I learned a TON!! This isn't just for teens to. I'm not a teen. In two years I will be. But heck!! A six year old will understand this!!
This is also really fun. Space shooters, block games, pongs.
Dude!! I could make an RPG!! Scratch that. An MMORPG!! This book helped me chose my carreer!! I'm gonna be an Computer Engineer when I grow up!!
This book is probably the best beginner programming book on the market!! If you want to learn, and have fun, get
Game Programming for Teens by Meneesh Sethi. This ROCKS!!!
Nate W.
Very Helpful 2005-03-01
I thought that this book was EXTREMELY helpful to learning how to program games and other useful programs (I used it to make a program that finds areas of regular polygons to help me with math homework for example :) ) This book will help you learn the basics of programming which should be helpful for learning more complex languages. It may be difficult learning stuff like Loops or Arrays but the author helps you tremendously in those areas so they become quite easy. I really enjoyed this book and the game at the end of it, and I'd rate it a 6/5 if I was able to.
