Writing BASIC Adventure Programs for the TRS-80

written by Matthew Reed

Title	Writing BASIC Adventure Programs for the TRS-80
Author	Frank DaCosta
Publisher	TAB Books Inc.
Publication Date	1982
Pages	222
ISBN	0-8306-1422

Adventure games were among the first popular computer games. Frank DaCosta’s book is a comprehensive guide to programming such games on the TRS-80 using BASIC.

The main part guides through building a classic text adventure called Basements and Beasties, showcasing programming principles, structured design, debugging, and optimization techniques.

The book presents incremental code listings that allow the reader to build the program chapter-by-chapter, encouraging learning by doing.

Later chapters cover a graphical adventure named Mazies and Crazies with different gameplay style.

DaCosta emphasizes three programming concepts: structured design, anticipating user input versatility, and code optimization—principles relevant beyond just adventure games.

For those interested, an online walkthrough of Basements and Beasties can be found here.