VBGamer

I'm a newbie at game programming in Visual Basic and I need some help. What I want to do is to make an RPG using the old 2D tile-based system like the games Final Fantasy or Zelda. I can't figure out how to make different copies of the picture boxes then put them on one big picture box. I heard that there is a way to just to make a text file and add numbers and letters to it then make VB convert them into different bitmaps, but I don't see how that is possible. If it is, could someone please help me. Thanks, Gandor