pygame

Dive deep into building games using Pygame. Harness the power of Python and create cross-platform games that run seamlessly on Windows, Linux, and Mac OS.

Learn the essentials of game development with Pygame, starting from the foundational framework. As we progress through this tutorial and the subsequent ones, we’ll delve into the intricacies of creating various game types.

Recommended Reading: Create Space Invaders with Python

Grasping the Basics with Pygame
After finishing this segment, you’ll produce a game akin to the one showcased here.

All games, regardless of their complexity, follow a foundational structure:

• Initialization of resources (graphics, sounds, levels, and data).
• Continuous running until a termination event occurs.
• Within this loop, the game’s logic is updated, user input is gathered, and the screen visuals are refreshed.

This universally accepted structure in game development translates to the following pseudo code:

initialize()
while running():
  game_logic() 
  get_input()
  update_screen()
deinitialize()

Implementing this in Pygame, we get:

import pygame
from pygame.locals import *

class App:
    windowWidth = 640
    windowHeight = 480
    x = 10
    y = 10

    def __init__(self):
        self._running = True
        self._display_surf = None
        self._image_surf = None

    def on_init(self):
        pygame.init()
        self._display_surf = pygame.display.set_mode((self.windowWidth, self.windowHeight), pygame.HWSURFACE)
        self._image_surf = pygame.image.load("pygame.png").convert()

    def on_event(self, event):
        if event.type == QUIT:
            self._running = False

    def on_loop(self):
        pass

    def on_render(self):
        self._display_surf.blit(self._image_surf, (self.x, self.y))
        pygame.display.flip()

    def on_cleanup(self):
        pygame.quit()

    def on_execute(self):
        if not self.on_init():
            self._running = False

        while self._running:
            for event in pygame.event.get():
                self.on_event(event)
            self.on_loop()
            self.on_render()
        self.on_cleanup()

if __name__ == "__main__":
    theApp = App()
    theApp.on_execute()

Here’s a breakdown:

1. The Pygame program initiates with the __init__() method.
2. The on_execute() method, responsible for the game’s core operations, is invoked.
3. Game termination and cleanup occur in the on_cleanup() method.
4. During initialization (on_init()), we define the game’s resolution and initialize the Pygame library.
5. Images are loaded in but not displayed immediately. This action is reserved for the on_render() method.

The blit method sketches the image (image_surf) onto a specific coordinate (x,y). In Pygame, coordinates begin at (0,0) (top-left) and span to (windowWidth, windowHeight). The call to pygame.display.flip() refreshes the game screen.

Further Reading: Create Space Invaders with Python

Ready to further your knowledge and grasp game logic? Dive into the next tutorial to continue this exciting journey of game creation with Python!

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