Program Arcade Games: With Python and Pygame

I haven't been through the whole book yet, but so far I like it very much. The writing is clear and to the point. Now, I have to say that I already know how to program in Python. I was looking for a book to use in teaching. So I can't say whether this would be enough info if you were trying to learn how to program for the first time ever using only this book. I will set my daughter on that task and report back. I have looked at a lot of programming books and something about this one appeals to me. It is trying to get you started quickly rather than emphasizing pedagogy. I am teaching a summer camp in Python game programming and that's what I am looking for. I have taught Python at a university before; I wouldn't choose this book for that.

This is a different book for teaching programming than most. First, it's based off a website with the book's contents, lab exercises, quizzes and youtube videos(!) all freely available. You can create an account (for free) and progress through the website. The "book" is basically much of the website in text form. (I reviewed the April 2013 1st Edition) This is a very informal style book, reads more like class notes that a "traditional" thick programming book. This is both a strength and weakness. Not every facet of the Python language is explored but for the purpose of the book's title it is only necessary to have a basic knowledge of Python. Note that this book is written for Python v3.x unlike many older books that cover v2.x. (As for which version of the language to learn I would say unless you need to maintain older code learn v3.x). THE GOOD: + For beginners this might be a good starting point if you're eager to get started (even if you have never programmed before). There is no long discourse of programming concepts, history etc before the book jumps into simple commands to run in Python's IDLE IDE. If you are the type however that would like a "proper" language reference so you can explore on your own another book like Learning Python, 5th Edition would be helpful (note that Learning Python is an impressively thick book that is better as a reference book rather than a "teach yourself" book unless you already have programming experience). Another reference option is The Quick Python Book, Second Edition which isn't as thick as Learning Python but covers parts of the Python language that "Program Arcade Games" doesn't. Note that all 3 books cover Python v3.x. + The Review questions and online quizzes help you learn to really scrutinize your code. Some of the review questions are tricky! (but in a good way). I enjoyed working through the review questions and the use of the "find what's wrong with this code" makes this book different from many other programming books and these certainly held my interest and I looked forward to them while reading! THE BAD: - Doesn't really cover how to install Python or Pygame. For the former you just download the latest stable version from python.org for your operating system and install it, accepting the defaults. The real problem is Pygame - for whatever reason the main Pygame site doesn't have updated Pygame downloads for "newer" releases of Python. (The book doesn't mention any of this!). What you need to do is go to bitbucket.org/pygame/pygame/downloads and download the appropriate version. (As of this writing Python v3.3.3 needs pygame-1.9.2a0.win32-py3.3.msi for Windows OS - if Amazon removes the link in the previous sentence enter this filename in a search engine). You run the Pygame installer, selecting "install for all users" and "Python 3.3 (from registry)". Once you finish the Pygame install, start Python (IDLE) and enter "import pygame" - if you don't get an error message you should be all set. This whole situation could easily be a source of frustration to a beginner if you didn't know where to get updated Pygame installers. - Newer versions of IDLE (than the one shown in the book) have slightly changed some menu options. For example to use IDLE to write a new Python script/file you select "File/New File", not "File/New Window" as shown in the book. - Some things are explained out of sequence. For example, in Chapter 4 (which discusses loops) the author gives the syntax for a "for loop" that uses a list but lists are not introduced until Chapter 7. (I understand that this is probably done so all the "for loop" stuff is in one place but a sentence saying that lists are covered later on would probably be helpful for beginners). - There are quite a few minor typos/formatting mistakes (words without spaces right next to each other). Nothing much that will interrupt your progress though. OVERALL I would recommend this book for learning programming. The focus on Python (an easily understandable language even for beginners) and Pygame (add-on Python library for creating video games) will certainly appeal to many readers (especially pre-teen/teen school students). For the minor flaws that the book contains the author seems like a person genuinely interested about teaching programming and has dedicated the book "to everyone who loves to learn". As mentioned above, the contents of this book is freely available on the 'Programarcadegames" website (add dot com to the quoted text). You can visit the website and preview the text before buying the printed book. I hope you have found this useful!

The site programarcadegames.com is the best Python educational site that I have found thus far on the internet. I bout the Kindle edition of the book as well to support Dr. Craven's efforts. The Kindle edition of the book is a great companion to the website as the website also has videos explaining many of the concepts. Kudos to Dr. Craven. Highly recommended for anyone wanting to get started in Python game programming.

This book really holds your hand and walks you through what you need to know to start making simple 2D games with Python and Pygame. After this book, you should be able to use it as a reference to read other people's Pygame code.

Looks like a great book but arrived from publisher missing approximately half of the chapters. Looks like a quality control issue with the publisher but still very disappointing when opened as a gift on Christmas morning!

An outstanding resource for teaching high school students Computer Science using Python. The best I have found!

The formatting of the kindle version is really messed up. For a language that depends on spacing as much as python, the scrambled syntax is unacceptable. The exercises are also poorly documented and have a tendency to get insanely a) tedious and b) horrifically difficult. It's easy to get bogged down in details you'll never need. The book's text is so-so, and also really poorly formatted for kindle version.

Awesome

Good book overall, links to youtube videos are great, only con is in the example code bits and the exercises responses , the indentation is not correct ( I tried in my phone and also in the kindle app for PC ) and that makes the reading a bit tricky

nachdem ich schon ein Buch über die Grundkonzepte von Python gelesen hatte und mich ein wenig in die Pygame Bibliothek hineinarbeiten wollte, wurde ich auf dieses Buch aufmerksam: Das Buch ist didaktisch gut aufgebaut. Die Kapitel ergeben in dieser Reihenfolge durchaus Sinn. Man ist nach dem Lesen des Buchs tatsächlich in der Lage ein kleines Spiel zu programmieren. Die "Labs" am Ende vieler Kapitel (zu denen es keine Lösungen gibt, die jedoch auch ohne diese gut machbar sind) machen durchaus Spaß. Es wird abgesehen von "Pygame" natürlich auch auf die "Basics" der Sprache Python eingegangen (Vorwissen nicht unbedingt erforderlich!). Die dazugehörende Homepage erweitert das Angebot in vielerlei Hinsicht, wie zum Beispiel Videotutorials zu bestimmten Themen (loops, etc) oder Anregungen zu eigenen Projekten. Obwohl in Englisch geschrieben, ist es trotzdem relativ gut verständlich (Niveau 9. Klasse) 4 Sterne, da ein wenig mehr auf die Pygame Bibliothek hätte eingegangen werden können. Trotzdem unter dem Strich ein sehr gelungenes Buch!

thanks

Quite good, missing more discussions about the sprites. Interesting the didattic approach. To find a way to make sprites not based on blocks or images. What about a circle where only the circumference is shown ?

Just started on my journey into python programming and I thought creating games would keep me interested. I've started with a Raspberry pi with python 3 and pygame installed. Tryed out a couple of learn by example books which is ok, but your not learning, just copying. That's where this book comes into its stride. Not only is every section well broken down, it fills in all the gaps that I missed. Also each section has a quiz and samples to play with. If your gonna learn, learn with this book. Only little niggle I've had with it, it's not got everything there I needed. But enough to go yeah it's worth the money