TheGameCreators Forum Closing - The End of an Era

February 27, 2025

 

TheGameCreators Forum Closing - The End of an Era

For nearly 25 years, The Game Creators (TGC) forums have been a cornerstone of indie game development, housing an incredible archive of knowledge, creativity, and shared passion. Spanning classic tools like Dark BASIC, Dark BASIC Pro, FPS Creator, and The 3D Game Maker through to App Game Kit, these forums were more than just a support hub—they were a thriving community where developers learned, collaborated, and pushed the boundaries of what was possible.

Now, that era is coming to an end. TGC has announced that their forums will no longer be active, encouraging users to transition to Discord instead. While an archive may be preserved, access has already been difficult for years, with slow load times and frequent timeouts discouraging participation. Many longtime members, including Richard Davey—the original developer of the forum software—have struggled to even post a final farewell.

The forums weren't just about technical support; they were a place where ideas evolved, projects grew, and programmers of all skill levels found inspiration. Countless threads documented experimental game mechanics, problem-solving discussions, and groundbreaking techniques—knowledge that is now at risk of being buried forever.

With the closure looming, we're left reminiscing about the golden days of the forum: the excitement of seeing new projects emerge, the cycle of experimentation and improvement, and the camaraderie of a passionate coding community. While modern development has moved toward different platforms, something unique is being lost—a shared history of game development that spanned generations.

As we say goodbye to this chapter, we can only hope the archives remain accessible so that future developers can look back and learn from the past.

TheGameCreators - Forum Banner Animation

A Nostalgic Tribute to The Game Creators Forums

For longtime members of The Game Creators forums, this video is a trip down memory lane. As TGC prepares to retire the forums, we take a moment to celebrate the creativity of the community with a showcase of user-made forum banners—each one a piece of history from an era of game development discussion, shared knowledge, and camaraderie.

This animation was generated using PlayBASIC, bringing the banners to life as they zoom and fade in with a gentle wave effect, alongside a scrolling background. It’s a simple yet fitting tribute to the community that made TGC forums such a special place.

Let us know in the comments—what are your favorite memories from the TGC forums?

TheGameCreators - Building Local Forum Search - TGC Forum Archive

Preserving DarkBASIC & AppGameKit Forum Archives

With the shutdown of the DarkBASIC, FPS Creator, and AppGameKit forums, preserving decades of game development knowledge has become a priority. This project builds a local web-based archive using PHP and a local server (e.g., Laragon) to store captured forum threads and discussions.

How It Works

  • Users can browse captured forum data, identifying which DarkBASIC Classic and DarkBASIC Professional threads are locally saved.
  • A local search system indexes thread titles and post content, allowing queries for keywords like "sprite collision" or "AI programming."
  • Threads are ranked based on post count and keyword relevance, with results sorted from most recent to oldest.
  • A JSON based database stores messages, preserving user posts, message IDs, and forum structures.

    • Key Features

  • Local Archive of DarkBASIC & AppGameKit Forums
  • Search by Thread Title, Content, or User Contributions
  • Keyword-Based Ranking for Game Development Topics
  • Standalone Storage with No External Dependencies

    • This tool ensures that critical game programming discussions, tutorials, and community knowledge from DarkBASIC, DarkBASIC Pro, FPS Creator, PlayBASIC, and AppGameKit forums remain accessible, even after the forums shut down.

    Round-Up

    The Game Creators forums contain nearly 25 years of indie game development conversations. Ranging from their classic development languages for indie game coders such as Dark BASIC and Dark BASIC Professional (DBPro) through to modern App Game Kit (AGK, AGK2, AGK Studio) development tools. Not only that, but there's also a range of game creation tools from 3D Game Maker, FPS Creator, through to Game GURU.

    Visit The Game Creators

  • The Game Creators Website
  • Dark BASIC Source Codes

    • 🔗

    Timer-Based Movement - Frame Rate Independent Motion Example

    September 26, 2024

     

    Timer-Based Movement - Frame Rate Independent Motion Example

    When developing video games, one of the key challenges is ensuring smooth and consistent movement across different devices and frame rates. A game running on a high-end computer might process frames much faster than one on an older machine. If movement is tied directly to the frame rate, objects will move faster on some systems and slower on others, leading to inconsistent gameplay. To avoid this, we use timer-based movement, also known as frame rate independent motion.

    This PlayBASIC code snippet shows how to make moving objects (balls) in a game move independently of the frame rate. This means the movement remains smooth and consistent regardless of how fast or slow the game runs. This is achieved by using timers to calculate the position of each ball based on elapsed time rather than relying on the game’s frame rate.

    How It Works

    1. Setting Frame Rate Goals

    The program sets a target frame rate of 50 frames per second (FPS) and calculates how many milliseconds each frame should last:

    1000 / 50 = 20ms per frame

    This helps standardize movement calculations.

    2. Ball Setup

    The balls are defined using a custom type (`tBALL`), which includes:

  • Position (`X`, `Y`) – The current coordinates of the ball.
  • Size – The radius of the ball.
  • Color – A randomly assigned color.
  • Speed – The movement speed of the ball.
  • Direction – The angle at which the ball moves.
  • Start Time – The timestamp when the ball was created.

    • 3. Adding Balls

    New balls are randomly generated within the display area. Every 50 milliseconds, multiple new balls are added with:

  • Random positions within the screen’s width and height.
  • Random sizes and colors for variety.
  • Random movement speeds and directions to create dynamic movement.

    • 4. Moving the Balls

    Each ball's movement is updated based on the elapsed time since its creation:

    1. 1. Calculate elapsed time – Determine how long the ball has existed.
    2. 2. Compute the distance traveled – Using the formula:
      3.    Distance = (Speed / Frame Rate Milliseconds) * Elapsed Time
    1. 3. Update position – The ball moves based on its speed, direction, and the elapsed time using trigonometric calculations:
      2. X = OriginX + cos(Direction) * Distance
Y = OriginY + sin(Direction) * Distance

    This movement is frame rate independent, meaning the speed is consistent even if the frame rate fluctuates.

    5. Rendering and Removal

  • Each ball is drawn at its updated position.
  • If a ball moves outside the screen, it is removed from the list.

    • 6. Display Information

    The program also provides real-time feedback by displaying:

  • Total number of active balls
  • Current frames per second (FPS)

    • Why Timer-Based Movement Matters

    Many games rely on frame-dependent movement, where objects move a fixed amount per frame. This can cause issues:

  • If the frame rate drops, movement appears slower.
  • If the frame rate increases, movement appears faster.

    • By using time-based calculations, the movement remains consistent, making the game perform smoothly across different hardware and performance conditions.

    This technique is essential for modern game development, ensuring a better player experience by maintaining consistent motion no matter the frame rate.



    Source Code Example:


    PB PlayBASIC Code: 
    // Set our users ideal frames per second rate
Frame_RATE# = 50

// Ticks per frame
Frame_RATE_MILLISECOND_PER_FRAME# = 1000.0/Frame_RATE#


Type tBALL
		X#
		Y#
		Size
		Colour
		Speed#
		Direction#
		StartTime
EndType

Dim Ball as TBall List

CurrentTime = timer() and $7fffffff


SurfaceWidth = GetSurfaceWidth()
SurfaceHeight = GetSurfaceHeight()

Do

	Cls

	CurrentTime= Timer() and $7fffffff

	//  Randomly Add more balls to the scene
	if Add_Balls < CurrentTime

		for lp =1 to rndrange(100,500)
			Ball        = new tBall
			Ball.x      = rndrange(100,SurfaceWidth-100)
			Ball.y      = rndrange(100,SurfaceHeight-100)
			Ball.size   = rndrange(10,20)
			Ball.Colour = rndrgb()
			Ball.Speed  = rndrange#(1, 5)
			Ball.Direction= rnd#(360)
			Ball.StartTime= CurrentTime
		next
		Add_Balls=CurrentTime+50
	endif

	//  Draw Balls
	lockbuffer
	For each Ball()

		// How long as this ball been alive
		// and move in this direction?
		ElapsedTime = CurrentTime-Ball.StartTime

		// compute how far this ball have
		//  moved since creation
		Dist# = (Ball.Speed /Frame_RATE_MILLISECOND_PER_FRAME#)
		Dist#*= ElapsedTime

		//  Compute the moved position from
		// it's origin point
		x#=Ball.x+cos(ball.direction)*Dist#
		y#=Ball.y+sin(ball.direction)*Dist#


		//  Get size of this ball
		Size=ball.size

		// check if the ball is on screen or not ?
		// if not; delete it from the list
		if x#<(-size) or x#>(SurfaceWidth+size)_
			or y#<(-ball.size) or y#>(SurfaceHeight+size)
				Ball=null
				continue
		endif

		// draw the ball since it's still visible
		circlec x#,Y#,size,true,ball.colour

	Next
	unlockbuffer

	text 10,10,"Balls #"+str$(GetListSize(Ball()))
	text 10,20,"  Fps #" +str$(fps())

	sync

Loop spacekey()





    By implementing these principles in your PlayBASIC projects, you'll create games that feel polished and professional, no matter the hardware they're running on!

    🔗

    AVA Hunting - Time Lapse - Featuring - Go! NEFFEX

    November 06, 2022

     

    My dog Ava (Kelpie Cross) loves the hustle at our local dog park.. Playing is for other dogs she'd rather hunt rats around her favourite pond.. It's become an endless game, rats often climb the trees at even the slightest sound of her coming.

    The time lapse video was shot by hand, making the frantic search come alive with the sound track GO by #neffex.



    Credits & Links


    Camera: Motorola Motog9 Plus

    Video:
    Kevin Picone ( https://UnderwareDesign.com ) - ( [https://PlayBASIC.com )

    Music:
    Go by #neffex


    🔗