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Pygame Platformer Game Development Guide

Aug 1, 2024

Pygame Platformer Tutorial Notes

Introduction

  • Tutorial on creating a platformer game using Pygame.
  • Game features: Player is a ninja who can run, dash, jump, wall jump, and fight enemies.
  • Instructor: Fluffy Potato, experienced game developer with 10+ years in Pygame, released two games on Steam.

Prerequisites

  • Basic understanding of Python, including:
    • Lists
    • Dictionaries
    • Object-oriented programming (optional)
  • Link to older Pygame tutorial series available for those unfamiliar with OOP.

Pygame Overview

  • Pygame is a Python wrapper for SDL (Simple DirectMedia Layer).
  • Low-level game development, creating everything manually (animations, cameras, players).
  • Good learning experience, beneficial for software engineering skills.

Installing Pygame

  • Use Python's package manager pip: pip install pygame
  • Two versions available: pygame and pygame-ce (community edition).
  • Recommend using pygame-ce for this tutorial.

Creating the First Game Window

  • Import Pygame and initialize it.
  • Create a game loop that updates the display.
  • Handle user input to prevent the application from freezing.

Basic Structure

import pygame pygame.init() # Create window screen = pygame.display.set_mode((640, 480)) clock = pygame.time.Clock() while True: for event in pygame.event.get(): if event.type == pygame.QUIT: pygame.quit() sys.exit() pygame.display.update() clock.tick(60)

Assets Overview

  • Resources provided for the tutorial are public domain (art, sounds, music).
  • Pre-made assets for backgrounds, characters, sounds, etc. stored in a structured folder.

Player Class

  • Define a Player class with attributes for movement, jumping, and actions.
  • Implement basic movement, jumping, and interactions with the environment.

Enemy Class

  • Define an Enemy class that follows simple AI behavior:
    • Walks back and forth.
    • Turns around at edges.
    • Shoots projectiles at player.

Particle Effects

  • Implement visual effects for projectiles and their interactions.
  • Use particles for leaves falling and explosions.

Creating Particle Effects

  • Define a Particle class with properties for position, angle, and speed.
  • Render particles based on their properties and update them over time.

Collision Detection

  • Implement collision detection for player and enemies using rectangles.
  • Use pygame.Rect for handling bounding boxes of game entities.

Level Editing

  • Introduce a level editor for creating and modifying game levels visually.
  • Use JSON for saving and loading levels.

Game Transition & Music

  • Add screen shake effects for hits and transitions between levels.
  • Implement background music and sound effects for various actions.

Example of Playing Music

pygame.mixer.music.load('data/music/background.wav') pygame.mixer.music.play(-1)

Final Notes

  • General advice for progressing in game development.
  • Encouragement to participate in game jams to practice skills.
  • Focus on applying learned concepts to personal projects.

Conclusion

  • Review of key concepts: Pygame setup, player/enemy mechanics, particle effects, collision detection, level editing, audio implementation.
  • End of tutorial; further resources and videos available on instructor's channel.

Full transcript