Meet Blitz

What this is

Blitz turns your BASIC source into an Amiga program before running it. In Meet Blitz, you start with that edit-compile-run loop, then use small programs to explore numbers, decisions, movement and the Amiga’s graphics. The setup guide and first lesson use AmiBlitz 3.13.0b and its PED editor, a descendant of Blitz BASIC 2.

You’ll choose how numeric values are stored and distinguish two ways of using the machine: cooperating with AmigaOS, or using Blitz mode’s display commands. Compiling supplies machine instructions ahead of execution; how quickly a particular program runs also depends on its work, libraries and target machine.

Who it’s for

You’ve met variables, loops, conditionals and procedures somewhere — the Foundations modules, our BASIC courses, Meet AMOS, or any language. New to programming entirely? Start with The Basics first, then come back.

You don’t need to have done Meet AMOS — Blitz stands on its own. If you have, you’ll feel the contrast straight away: the AMOS editor runs your program through its interpreter, while AmiBlitz compiles a program first. Both provide graphics commands and both have numeric types with limits. These are different working tools; a speed comparison needs the same task on a named machine.

The shape

• Compile and run — the PED editor, the edit-compile-run loop, Blitz’s two modes, and its machine-flavoured typed variables.
• Decisions and movement — conditions, loops and a frame loop that updates moving objects.
• Blitz graphics — Slices to build a display, Shapes to draw, and the Blitter to move pixels in bulk.
• Make it a game — move a shape every frame, read the joystick, and detect collisions.
• Toward the metal — smooth hardware scrolling, reaching into the Amiga’s chips, hardware sprites, and a look back at the Blitz way and how it compares with AMOS.

You won’t have built a whole game yet — that’s the point. You’ll have practised the tools and decisions that a Blitz game is built from.