A R R
well if u use MFC there are class for windows

in Windows operating system sends messages to your window's procedure (ex wM_mousemove, ...) witch is responsible for calling functions u want depending on the type of message

in mFC it is easy and u dant need to know all minor things
u just create a class for window derived from CFrameWnd and show wich functions u want to call on the specific event=message

u create the CWinApp::instance(...) of these class CFramewnd::Create(...) in initinstance-function of you CWinApp class object representing the application and
and give the pointer to the window m_pMain...= ptrYourWnd;
look in MSDN= microsoft developer network

if u want to use borlands VCL there are also some classes

But if u want to use WinAPI=aplication programming interface directly it is hard
but i can send u a skeleton

if u want some details write me mail www.tsadigov@yahoo.com

I am a beginner but i hope i will be able to help u

If you look for examples using DirectDraw, that will be closer to gaming things. The DirectDraw examples show typical simple gaming loops, and will be better for gaming animation than regular windows drawing.

In the VC++ help index, look for "DirectDraw samples"

MFC or DirectDraw? I guess i have to do some studies on them to pick the right one.
I really dont have much time though. Maybe about 4 weeks to do my project.