ok. I am reading books and reading online tutorials and some is sinking in and some isn't. Windows programming is hard.

Ok. I am trying to write a Falling objects game but don't want to just plagiarize it because where is the learning in that. I have all of my bitmaps drawn. I have the background bitmap and all of my objects drawn with PSP. I need to put them on the screen. Right now, I have my background drawn on a full screen. I want to get some animation going, though. I have a 40 x 40 pixel one block and would like just for learning purposes to animate that down the middle of the screen. Can someone help me do that ? It would greatly improve my learning curve. Right now I am moving like molasses.

Here is the code that I have so far:

Code:
//  My Falling objects game

// INCLUDES ///////////////////////////////////////////////
#define WIN32_LEAN_AND_MEAN  
#define INITGUID

#include <windows.h>   // include important windows stuff
#include <windowsx.h> 
#include <mmsystem.h>
#include <iostream.h> // include important C/C++ stuff
#include <conio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <malloc.h>
#include <memory.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <stdarg.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <math.h>
#include <io.h>
#include <fcntl.h>

#include <ddraw.h>  // directX includes

// DEFINES ////////////////////////////////////////////////

// defines for windows 
#define WINDOW_CLASS_NAME "WINXCLASS"  // class name

#define WINDOW_WIDTH  640         // size of window
#define WINDOW_HEIGHT 480
#define SCREEN_WIDTH  640         // size of screen
#define SCREEN_HEIGHT 480
#define SCREEN_BPP    16          // bits per pixel

#define BITMAP_ID     0x4D42      // universal id for a bitmap

// MACROS /////////////////////////////////////////////////

// these read the keyboard asynchronously
#define KEY_DOWN(vk_code) ((GetAsyncKeyState(vk_code) & 0x8000) ? 1 : 0)
#define KEY_UP(vk_code)   ((GetAsyncKeyState(vk_code) & 0x8000) ? 0 : 1)

// this builds a 16 bit color value in 5.5.5 format (1-bit alpha mode)
#define _RGB16BIT555(r,g,b) ((b & 31) + ((g & 31) << 5) + ((r & 31) << 10))

// this builds a 16 bit color value in 5.6.5 format (green dominate mode)
#define _RGB16BIT565(r,g,b) ((b & 31) + ((g & 63) << 5) + ((r & 31) << 11))


// TYPES //////////////////////////////////////////////////

typedef unsigned short USHORT;
typedef unsigned short WORD;
typedef unsigned char  UCHAR;
typedef unsigned char  BYTE;

// container structure for bitmaps .BMP file
typedef struct BITMAP_FILE_TAG
        {
        BITMAPFILEHEADER bitmapfileheader;  // this contains the bitmapfile header
        BITMAPINFOHEADER bitmapinfoheader;  // this is all the info including the palette
        PALETTEENTRY     palette[256];      // we will store the palette here
        UCHAR            *buffer;           // this is a pointer to the data

        } BITMAP_FILE, *BITMAP_FILE_PTR;

// PROTOTYPES /////////////////////////////////////////////

int Game_Init(void *parms=NULL);
int Game_Shutdown(void *parms=NULL);
int Game_Main(void *parms=NULL);

int Load_Bitmap_File(BITMAP_FILE_PTR bitmap, char *filename);
int Unload_Bitmap_File(BITMAP_FILE_PTR bitmap);
int Flip_Bitmap(UCHAR *image, int bytes_per_line, int height);

// GLOBALS ////////////////////////////////////////////////

HWND main_window_handle = NULL; // save the window handle
HINSTANCE main_instance = NULL; // save the instance
char buffer[80];                // used to print text

LPDIRECTDRAW7        lpdd         = NULL;  // dd object
LPDIRECTDRAWSURFACE7 lpddsprimary = NULL;  // dd primary surface
LPDIRECTDRAWSURFACE7 lpddsback    = NULL;  // dd back surface
LPDIRECTDRAWPALETTE  lpddpal      = NULL;  // a pointer to the created dd palette
DDSURFACEDESC2       ddsd;                 // a direct draw surface description struct
DDSCAPS2             ddscaps;              // a direct draw surface capabilities struct
HRESULT              ddrval;               // result back from dd calls
UCHAR                *primary_buffer = NULL; // primary video buffer
BITMAP_FILE          bitmap16bit;            // a 16 bit bitmap file

// FUNCTIONS //////////////////////////////////////////////

LRESULT CALLBACK WindowProc(HWND hwnd, 
						    UINT msg, 
                            WPARAM wparam, 
                            LPARAM lparam)
{
// this is the main message handler of the system
PAINTSTRUCT	ps;		   // used in WM_PAINT
HDC			hdc;	   // handle to a device context

// what is the message 
switch(msg)
	{	
	case WM_CREATE: 
        {
		// do initialization stuff here
		return(0);
		} break;

    case WM_PAINT:
         {
         // start painting
         hdc = BeginPaint(hwnd,&ps);

         // end painting
         EndPaint(hwnd,&ps);
         return(0);
        } break;

	case WM_DESTROY: 
		{
		// kill the application			
		PostQuitMessage(0);
		return(0);
		} break;

	default:break;

    } // end switch

// process any messages that we didn't take care of 
return (DefWindowProc(hwnd, msg, wparam, lparam));

} // end WinProc

// WINMAIN ////////////////////////////////////////////////

int WINAPI WinMain(	HINSTANCE hinstance,
					HINSTANCE hprevinstance,
					LPSTR lpcmdline,
					int ncmdshow)
{

WNDCLASS winclass;	// this will hold the class we create
HWND	 hwnd;		// generic window handle
MSG		 msg;		// generic message
HDC      hdc;       // generic dc
PAINTSTRUCT ps;     // generic paintstruct

// first fill in the window class stucture
winclass.style			= CS_DBLCLKS | CS_OWNDC | 
                          CS_HREDRAW | CS_VREDRAW;
winclass.lpfnWndProc	= WindowProc;
winclass.cbClsExtra		= 0;
winclass.cbWndExtra		= 0;
winclass.hInstance		= hinstance;
winclass.hIcon			= LoadIcon(NULL, IDI_APPLICATION);
winclass.hCursor		= LoadCursor(NULL, IDC_ARROW);
winclass.hbrBackground	= (HBRUSH)GetStockObject(BLACK_BRUSH);
winclass.lpszMenuName	= NULL; 
winclass.lpszClassName	= WINDOW_CLASS_NAME;

// register the window class
if (!RegisterClass(&winclass))
	return(0);

// create the window, note the use of WS_POPUP
if (!(hwnd = CreateWindow(WINDOW_CLASS_NAME, // class
						  "WinX Game Console",	 // title
						  WS_POPUP | WS_VISIBLE,
					 	  0,0,	   // x,y
						  WINDOW_WIDTH,  // width
                          WINDOW_HEIGHT, // height
						  NULL,	   // handle to parent 
						  NULL,	   // handle to menu
						  hinstance,// instance
						  NULL)))	// creation parms
return(0);

// hide the mouse
ShowCursor(FALSE);

// save the window handle and instance in a global
main_window_handle = hwnd;
main_instance      = hinstance;

// perform all game console specific initialization
Game_Init();

// enter main event loop
while(1)
	{
	if (PeekMessage(&msg,NULL,0,0,PM_REMOVE))
		{ 
		// test if this is a quit
        if (msg.message == WM_QUIT)
           break;
	
		// translate any accelerator keys
		TranslateMessage(&msg);

		// send the message to the window proc
		DispatchMessage(&msg);
		} // end if
    
    // main game processing goes here
    Game_Main();

	} // end while

// shutdown game and release all resources
Game_Shutdown();

// return to Windows like this
return(msg.wParam);

} // end WinMain

// WINX GAME PROGRAMMING CONSOLE FUNCTIONS ////////////////

int Game_Init(void *parms)
{
// this function is where you do all the initialization 
// for your game

// create object and test for error
if (DirectDrawCreateEx(NULL, (void **)&lpdd, IID_IDirectDraw7, NULL)!=DD_OK)
   return(0);

// set cooperation level to windowed mode normal
if (lpdd->SetCooperativeLevel(main_window_handle,
           DDSCL_ALLOWMODEX | DDSCL_FULLSCREEN | 
           DDSCL_EXCLUSIVE | DDSCL_ALLOWREBOOT)!=DD_OK)
    return(0);

// set the display mode
if (lpdd->SetDisplayMode(SCREEN_WIDTH,SCREEN_HEIGHT,SCREEN_BPP,0,0)!=DD_OK)
   return(0);

// Create the primary surface
memset(&ddsd,0,sizeof(ddsd));
ddsd.dwSize         = sizeof(ddsd);
ddsd.dwFlags        = DDSD_CAPS;
ddsd.ddsCaps.dwCaps = DDSCAPS_PRIMARYSURFACE;

if (lpdd->CreateSurface(&ddsd,&lpddsprimary,NULL)!=DD_OK)
   return(0);

// now load the 16 bit color bitmap
Load_Bitmap_File(&bitmap16bit, "tetrisgood640x480.BMP");
Load_Bitmap_File(&bitmap16bit, "tetrisblockred.bmp");




// return success
return(1);

} // end Game_Init

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

int Game_Shutdown(void *parms)
{
// this function is where you shutdown your game and
// release all resources that you allocated

// first release the primary surface
if (lpddsprimary!=NULL)
   lpddsprimary->Release();
       
// release the directdraw object
if (lpdd!=NULL)
   lpdd->Release();

// delete the bitmap 
Unload_Bitmap_File(&bitmap16bit);

// return success
return(1);
} // end Game_Shutdown

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////


int Game_Main(void *parms)
{
// this is the workhorse of your game it will be called
// continuously in real-time this is like main() in C
// all the calls for you game go here!

// check of user is trying to exit
if (KEY_DOWN(VK_ESCAPE) || KEY_DOWN(VK_SPACE))
    PostMessage(main_window_handle, WM_DESTROY,0,0);

// set up the surface description to lock the surface
memset(&ddsd,0,sizeof(ddsd)); 
ddsd.dwSize = sizeof(ddsd);

// lock the primary surface, note in a real game you would
lpddsprimary->Lock(NULL,&ddsd, 
                   DDLOCK_SURFACEMEMORYPTR | DDLOCK_WAIT,NULL);

// get video pointer
primary_buffer = (UCHAR *)ddsd.lpSurface;

// copy each bitmap line into primary buffer 
// taking into consideration non-linear video 
// cards and the memory pitch lPitch
for (int y=0; y < SCREEN_HEIGHT; y++)
    {
    // copy the line
    memcpy(&primary_buffer[y*ddsd.lPitch], // dest address
           &bitmap16bit.buffer[y*SCREEN_WIDTH*2],   // src address
           SCREEN_WIDTH*2);                         // bytes to copy
    } // end for y

// unlock the surface
lpddsprimary->Unlock(NULL);

// return success
return(1);

} // end Game_Main

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

int Load_Bitmap_File(BITMAP_FILE_PTR bitmap, char *filename)
{
// this function opens a bitmap file and loads the data into bitmap

int file_handle,  // the file handle
    index;        // looping index

UCHAR *temp_buffer = NULL; // used to convert 24 bit images to 16 bit
OFSTRUCT file_data;        // the file data information

// open the file if it exists
if ((file_handle = OpenFile(filename,&file_data,OF_READ))==-1)
   return(0);

// now load the bitmap file header
_lread(file_handle, &bitmap->bitmapfileheader,sizeof(BITMAPFILEHEADER));

// test if this is a bitmap file
if (bitmap->bitmapfileheader.bfType!=BITMAP_ID)
   {
   // close the file
   _lclose(file_handle);

   // return error
   return(0);
   } // end if

// now we know this is a bitmap, so read in all the sections

// first the bitmap infoheader

// now load the bitmap file header
_lread(file_handle, &bitmap->bitmapinfoheader,sizeof(BITMAPINFOHEADER));

// now load the color palette if there is one
if (bitmap->bitmapinfoheader.biBitCount == 8)
   {
   _lread(file_handle, &bitmap->palette,256*sizeof(PALETTEENTRY));

   // now set all the flags in the palette correctly and fix the reversed 
   // BGR RGBQUAD data format
   for (index=0; index < 256; index++)
       {
       // reverse the red and green fields
       int temp_color = bitmap->palette[index].peRed;
       bitmap->palette[index].peRed  = bitmap->palette[index].peBlue;
       bitmap->palette[index].peBlue = temp_color;
       
       // always set the flags word to this
       bitmap->palette[index].peFlags = PC_NOCOLLAPSE;
       } // end for index

    } // end if

// finally the image data itself
_lseek(file_handle,-(int)(bitmap->bitmapinfoheader.biSizeImage),SEEK_END);

// now read in the image, if the image is 8 or 16 bit then simply read it
// but if its 24 bit then read it into a temporary area and then convert
// it to a 16 bit image

if (bitmap->bitmapinfoheader.biBitCount==8 || bitmap->bitmapinfoheader.biBitCount==16)
   {
   // allocate the memory for the image
   if (!(bitmap->buffer = (UCHAR *)malloc(bitmap->bitmapinfoheader.biSizeImage)))
      {
      // close the file
      _lclose(file_handle);

      // return error
      return(0);
      } // end if

   // now read it in
   _lread(file_handle,bitmap->buffer,bitmap->bitmapinfoheader.biSizeImage);

   } // end if
else
   {
   // this must be a 24 bit image, load it in and convert it to 16 bit
//   printf("\nconverting 24 bit image...");

   // allocate temporary buffer
   if (!(temp_buffer = (UCHAR *)malloc(bitmap->bitmapinfoheader.biSizeImage)))
      {
      // close the file
      _lclose(file_handle);

      // return error
      return(0);
      } // end if
   
   // allocate final 16 bit storage buffer
   if (!(bitmap->buffer=(UCHAR *)malloc(2*bitmap->bitmapinfoheader.biWidth*bitmap->bitmapinfoheader.biHeight)))
      {
      // close the file
      _lclose(file_handle);

      // release working buffer
      free(temp_buffer);

      // return error
      return(0);
      } // end if

   // now read it in
   _lread(file_handle,temp_buffer,bitmap->bitmapinfoheader.biSizeImage);

   // now convert each 24 bit RGB value into a 16 bit value
   for (index=0; index<bitmap->bitmapinfoheader.biWidth*bitmap->bitmapinfoheader.biHeight; index++)
       {
       // extract RGB components (note they are in memory BGR)
       // also, assume 5.6.5 format, so scale appropriately
       UCHAR red    = (temp_buffer[index*3 + 2] >> 3), // 5 bits
             green  = (temp_buffer[index*3 + 1] >> 2), // 6 bits, change to 3 for 5 bits
             blue   = (temp_buffer[index*3 + 0] >> 3); // 5 bits

       // build up 16 bit color word assume 5.6.5 format
       USHORT color = _RGB16BIT565(red,green,blue);

       // write color to buffer
       ((USHORT *)bitmap->buffer)[index] = color;

       } // end for index

   // finally write out the correct number of bits
   bitmap->bitmapinfoheader.biBitCount=16;

   } // end if

#if 0
// write the file info out 
printf("\nfilename:%s \nsize=%d \nwidth=%d \nheight=%d \nbitsperpixel=%d \ncolors=%d \nimpcolors=%d",
        filename,
        bitmap->bitmapinfoheader.biSizeImage,
        bitmap->bitmapinfoheader.biWidth,
        bitmap->bitmapinfoheader.biHeight,
		bitmap->bitmapinfoheader.biBitCount,
        bitmap->bitmapinfoheader.biClrUsed,
        bitmap->bitmapinfoheader.biClrImportant);
#endif

// close the file
_lclose(file_handle);

// flip the bitmap
Flip_Bitmap(bitmap->buffer, 
            bitmap->bitmapinfoheader.biWidth*(bitmap->bitmapinfoheader.biBitCount/8), 
            bitmap->bitmapinfoheader.biHeight);

// return success
return(1);

} // end Load_Bitmap_File

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

int Unload_Bitmap_File(BITMAP_FILE_PTR bitmap)
{
// this function releases all memory associated with "bitmap"
if (bitmap->buffer)
   {
   // release memory
   free(bitmap->buffer);

   // reset pointer
   bitmap->buffer = NULL;

   } // end if

// return success
return(1);

} // end Unload_Bitmap_File

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////


int Flip_Bitmap(UCHAR *image, int bytes_per_line, int height)
{
// this function is used to flip upside down .BMP images

UCHAR *buffer; // used to perform the image processing
int index;     // looping index

// allocate the temporary buffer
if (!(buffer = (UCHAR *)malloc(bytes_per_line*height)))
   return(0);

// copy image to work area
memcpy(buffer,image,bytes_per_line*height);

// flip vertically
for (index=0; index < height; index++)
    memcpy(&image[((height-1) - index)*bytes_per_line],
           &buffer[index*bytes_per_line], bytes_per_line);


// release the memory
free(buffer);

// return success
return(1);




} // end Flip_Bitmap
My small bitmap is called oneblocktetris.bmp

Thank you for any replies.