You could always try making a simple game. I find that games work well, as there's plenty you can add and redo at later stages when you've learnt more. You can try Tic-Tac-Toe, battleships, card games, rpg's etc. Quite a lot is possible, even within CMD.
#include <iostream> //cout
#include <Windows.h> //COORD / getstdhandle ( windows functions )
#include <conio.h> // _kbhit()
void gotoxy( int x, int y );
int main()
{
char c = '*';
gotoxy( 5, 7 );
std::cout << c;
gotoxy( 21, 16 );
std::cout << c;
gotoxy( 3, 18 );
std::cout << c;
gotoxy( 68, 3 );
std::cout << c;
//set the position for the "Press and key..."
gotoxy( 1, 23 );
std::cout << "Press any key to continue...";
//press a key to continue...
//while there isn't a key being pressed
while( ! _kbhit() )
{ /* do nothing - wait for a key press, before exiting */ }
return 0;
}
void gotoxy( int x, int y )
{
//create a COORD object
COORD coord;
//set the x and y co-ordinates
coord.X = x;
coord.Y = y;
//set the values in the console
SetConsoleCursorPosition( GetStdHandle( STD_OUTPUT_HANDLE ), coord);
}
Create a new project and have a play around with this. If you want to move across the console etc:
erase at the current position
get the new position
move to it
draw the char