The Dark Building

Night Patrol is a stealth game. You sneak through a building, avoiding guards who patrol the corridors. The title screen sets the tone: black screen, white text, and a low-pitched beep that sounds like something unlocking in the dark.

The Program

10 BORDER 0: PAPER 0: INK 7: CLS
20 INK 7
30 PRINT AT 5, 9; "NIGHT PATROL"
40 INK 5
50 PRINT AT 9, 3; "Sneak past the guards and"
60 PRINT AT 10, 3; "collect the objective."
70 PRINT AT 13, 3; "Controls:"
80 PRINT AT 14, 5; INK 5; "Q"; INK 7; " Up    "; INK 5; "A"; INK 7; " Down"
90 PRINT AT 15, 5; INK 5; "O"; INK 7; " Left   "; INK 5; "P"; INK 7; " Right"
100 PRINT AT 18, 3; "Avoid the guard sightlines!"
110 INK 3: PRINT AT 20, 5; "Press any key to start": INK 7
120 IF INKEY$ = "" THEN GO TO 120

How It Works

Line 10 sets everything to black. BORDER 0, PAPER 0, and INK 7 create a dark screen with white text. This is the visual identity of the game — you’re operating in darkness.

Lines 30-60 display the title and instructions. BRIGHT 1 makes “NIGHT PATROL” stand out. The instructions tell the player what to do: sneak past guards, collect the objective, reach the exit.

Lines 70-80 play two low beeps. Short, quiet, atmospheric — not a jingle, just a sound that says “something is happening in the dark.”

Line 90 waits for a keypress with PAUSE 0. The 0 means “wait forever” — the program stops until the player presses any key.

Setting the Mood

Games don’t start with the game. They start with a feeling. The black screen, the brief sound, the simple instructions — this is the player’s first impression. It tells them this isn’t a loud arcade game. It’s tense. It’s quiet. Something is watching.

Try This

Different sounds. Change the BEEP pitches. Higher values (like 20) sound like an alarm. Lower values (like -10) sound ominous. Which fits a stealth game better?

Colour choice. Try INK 6 (yellow) for the title instead of white. Or INK 4 (green) for a night-vision feel.