Chinese Translation of "Invent with Python" Started
Sun 16 October 2011 Al Sweigart
Yuanle Qiu has started translating the "Invent Your Own Computer Games with Python" into Chinese.
Pygame Cheat Sheet
Fri 07 October 2011 Al Sweigart
If you already know a bit of programming and Python, and want to get up to speed on the Pygame 2D game framework, here's a cheat sheet that you can look over. It implements a very short Pygame program covering most of Pygame's basic features.
List of Street Names, List of Last Names
Wed 28 September 2011 Al Sweigart
I wrote some programs to go through 6 GB of OpenStreetMap data from http://metro.teczno.com so that I could extract a list of street names for an upcoming game project. The game will use procedural generation to create cities, so I need to have a dataset of street names but couldn't easily find one. So I've created this one and wanted to share it.
JavaScript Cipher Wheel
Tue 20 September 2011 Al Sweigart
I've created a web version of the Caesar Cipher wheel using JQuery and CSS sprites.
Virtual Caesar Cipher Wheel program
Sun 18 September 2011 Al Sweigart
The Caesar Cipher Wheel is a paper cutout that can be used to perform encryption and decryption in the Caesar Cipher. However, if you don't have a printer but do have Python and Pygame installed, you can use this Caesar Cipher Wheel program to rotate a virtual cipher disk instead.
New Game Source Code: Simon Gesture (Simon clone with mouse gestures)
Sat 17 September 2011 Al Sweigart
Draw out horizontal, vertical, or diagonal lines in the same directions that the dot moves. The pattern of the dot's movement becomes longer and longer.
Pygcurse - A "curses" Emulator Built on Pygame
Sat 10 September 2011 Al Sweigart
Pygcurse (pronounced "pig curse") is a curses library emulator that runs on top of the Pygame framework. It provides an easy way to create text adventures, roguelikes, and console-style applications. The mascot of Pygcurse is a blue pig with a skull tattoo on its butt.
Rough Drafts of My Next Two Books Are Available
Wed 07 September 2011 Al Sweigart
I've decided to make the incomplete rough drafts of my next two Python books available.
Become a Codebreaker with Python
Making Graphical Games with Pygame
The emphasis is on "rough" and "incomplete", but I thought it would be better to give a preview of the direction I was going. These books are also available under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA license like the first "Invent with Python" book.
Nobody Cares About a Few Million Nanoseconds
Fri 19 August 2011 Al Sweigart
This is a mistake a lot of new programmers make. The coder comes up with some clever trick or that can save a few bytes of memory or shave a few nanoseconds off of a function. You must learn that these "clever tricks" aren't really worth it.
Recursion Explained with the Flood Fill Algorithm (and Zombies and Cats)
Thu 11 August 2011 Al Sweigart
This is a programming tutorial for beginner and intermediate programmers who want to learn what recursion is. The programming language used for the examples is Python, but you can probably follow along if you know programming in some other language such as PHP or JavaScript.
New Game Source Code: Gemgem (A Bejeweled clone)
Fri 24 June 2011 Al Sweigart
Here's the source code for a Bejeweled clone called Gemgem, written in Python with Pygame.
New Game Source Code: Star Pusher (Sokoban clone)
Mon 13 June 2011 Al Sweigart
Here's a Sokoban ("box pusher") clone called Star Pusher. I've used the graphics from the Planet Cute collection. You'll need Python (2 or 3) and Pygame installed to run it. Just download and unzip the files to the same directory. It comes with 201 levels from David W. Skinner.
New Game Source Code: Four in a Row
Fri 10 June 2011 Al Sweigart
I've made a Connect Four AI in Python with Pygame.
Great Pygame Example Site
Mon 16 May 2011 Al Sweigart
I wanted to share this link to a great site with some simple Pygame examples:
There is also a textbook draft called "Introduction to Computer Science Using Python and Pygame" by Paul Vincent Craven.
"MooseGesture" - Python Mouse Gestures Module
Mon 09 May 2011 Al Sweigart
"MooseGesture" is a Python module that implements a basic mouse gesture recognition system. It can identify gestures made up of strokes in the eight cardinal and diagonal directions.
Free Music, Sound Effects, Tiles, and 2D Art to Use in Your Games
Sat 30 April 2011 Al Sweigart
I've compiled a list of free graphics and sound files that you can use in your games. The chapter on using graphics and sound files with the Pygame library is in Chapter 19 of the "Invent with Python" book.
New Game Source Code: Squirrel Eat Squirrel
Sun 06 March 2011 Al Sweigart
Made a new game with Pygame. It's called "Squirrel Eat Squirrel", where you move your squirrel around the screen eating the smaller squirrels and avoiding the larger ones. The more squirrels you eat, the larger you grow.
New Extra Game: Connect Four clone
Fri 25 February 2011 Al Sweigart
I have a text version of a Connect Four clone done. The AI for it looks ahead two moves, which makes it fairly impossible to beat unless you concentrate.
1000th Book Sold!
Sat 12 February 2011 Al Sweigart
I'd just like to announce that "Invent Your Own Computer Games with Python" has just sold its 1000th hard copy since it's gone on sale last May.
Cipher Disk Cutout
Wed 09 February 2011 Al Sweigart
Here's a cipher disk that you can print and cutout to help you manually implement the Caesar Cipher. Simply download and printout the PDF and cut out the two circles and place them on top of each other.