🔍 Is XOR Decryption in PlayBASIC as Fast as Assembly?

Every now and then, a forum question pops up that really catches my attention — and this one did just that. A PlayBASIC user recently asked:

> "Is using XOR decryption when loading media from memory in PlayBASIC as fast as doing it in assembly?"

At first, I was a little puzzled. Why? Because the function in question is written in assembly — it's already doing exactly what the user thought might be a separate optimization path. So, let's unpack what's really going on behind the scenes when you XOR encrypted media in memory using PlayBASIC.

🔐 XOR Media Loading: A Quick Recap

Years ago, PlayBASIC added support for loading media directly from memory. Earlier versions relied on external packer tools to encrypt and wrap media, but these days, you can load and decode encrypted content entirely from within your program.

The basic workflow is:

1. 1. Load your file into memory.
2. 2. Call the `XORMemory` function with a key.
3. 3. The content is decrypted and ready to use.

You can use any XOR key you like. While XOR encryption is relatively simple and easily reversible, it’s still useful for basic protection against casual asset ripping.

🧠 What Happens Internally?

When you call `XORMemory`, PlayBASIC doesn’t interpret the data — it pushes the work down to the engine’s internal rendering system. Specifically, it uses the XOR ink mode inside the `Box` drawing function.

This function writes color data onto a surface by XOR’ing it with the existing pixels. Here’s what makes it cool: that surface isn’t necessarily a visible screen — it's just treated as raw memory.

To decrypt, the engine:

🎮 Game Dev and the Rockstar Illusion

At some point, many aspiring game developers ask the same question:

"Should I pursue game development as a career?"

It’s a fair question — and one I’ve heard dozens of times over the years. My usual answer goes something like this:

 Game development, for many of us, is the modern-day rockstar path. The huge potential upsides suspend people’s disbelief. Sheer optimism draws people into making life-changing career decisions on flimsy grounds.

And I still stand by that.

The Seductive Myth

There’s a dream attached to game development that’s hard to shake.

Make a hit indie game. Build a loyal community. Quit your day job. Maybe even go viral and rake in millions. We've all seen it happen. Stardew Valley. Undertale. Minecraft. Those stories are real — and they’re incredibly inspiring.

But here’s the thing: they’re not the rule. They’re the outliers. The exceptions. The lottery wins.

The Reality Check

Making software is difficult.

Making successful software? Even harder.

Now try making a successful game in one of the most oversaturated creative markets on the planet.

It’s not just about writing code or drawing sprites. It’s game design, storytelling, marketing, community building, testing, patching, supporting — usually with limited time, resources, or income. Even with passion and dedication, a great game can vanish in the noise of the marketplace.

This isn’t meant to scare you off — but it is meant to snap the illusion. Because game development isn’t a shortcut to fame or fortune. It’s work. Deep, complex, and often unpredictable work.

Why Do It Then?

Because you love it. Because it fascinates you. Because making something interactive — something playable — is uniquely satisfying.

For many of us, that’s reason enough. But the key is understanding that passion alone isn’t a business model. The most sustainable developers I know treat game dev like a long game. They build skills slowly. They wear many hats. They take breaks. They fail, adapt, and keep going.

Career vs. Calling

You can make a career in game development — but go in with your eyes open.

Ask yourself:

1. BASIC Isn't Dead. It Just Grew Up.

If you learned to program in the 80s or 90s, chances are your first line of code looked something like this:

PRINT "Hello, World!"

To many, BASIC feels like a relic of computing’s early days—an outdated teaching tool overshadowed by modern languages like Python or JavaScript. But that assumption couldn't be more wrong. BASIC never disappeared. It diversified. It evolved. And today, it lives on in a wide range of powerful, practical dialects still being used to build games, web tools, business systems, and more.

2. What Made BASIC Great Then Still Matters Today

BASIC was designed to be accessible. Its name stands for Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code, and its creators wanted students to focus on learning to solve problems, not memorizing syntax. That simplicity, that clarity, is what makes BASIC surprisingly relevant even now.

Today's developers value code that is readable, quick to write, and easy to maintain. Sound familiar? That’s the same philosophy behind modern favorites like Python, Lua, and even aspects of Swift. BASIC got there decades earlier.

3. Visual Basic: The Face Everyone Recognizes

No conversation about BASIC is complete without mentioning Visual Basic (VB). Introduced by Microsoft in the early 90s, VB turned BASIC into a powerhouse for Windows development. Its visual form designer and event-driven model made it the go-to language for building business applications and internal tools.

Even today, VB.NET is still supported in Visual Studio, and VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) remains deeply embedded in Microsoft Office, driving automation and macros across the business world.

But here’s the key point: Visual Basic is just one dialect. BASIC’s legacy didn’t stop with VB—it blossomed into a wide ecosystem of modern tools, many of which continue to be actively developed.

4. Beyond VB: The Modern BASIC Landscape

🎮 Game Development

REM BASIC
PRINT "Hello, World!"

# Python
print("Hello, World!")