The Art of Doing: Video Game Creation With Python and Pygame

From simple games using single images to complex games using classes and 100 sprites, this course will cover it all!

4.80 (616 reviews)
Udemy
platform
English
language
Game Development
category
instructor
The Art of Doing: Video Game Creation With Python and Pygame
15,252
students
17.5 hours
content
Dec 2021
last update
$79.99
regular price

What you will learn

Fundamentals of the Pygame library and overall video game design.

The use of Classes and Inheritance to make complex code more organized and efficient.

How to create surfaces, blit images, render text, handle user input, and detect collisions.

How to work with sprites, sprite groups, and more robust collision methods.

How to create our own tile map and read a tile map to design a game level.

How to use 2 dimensional vectors to handle complex platformer motion such as running and jumping under gravity and friction.

How to add custom character animations using sprite sheets to help make our games really come to life.

How to use collision masks to have pixel perfect collisions when needed.

Create 7 awesome games in total! 4 that are very beginner friendly, 2 that are intermediate, and 1 that is advanced.

Why take this course?

Have you learned the fundamentals of Python and then asked yourself; what's next?

If so, consider taking this course which will start you on your journey to making your own playable, fun, and rather addicting video games using Python and the Pygame library. 

So often, when students ask for advice they are told to, "Go build something" or "Get involved on a project" but have no idea what projects to build or get involved in.

This course will set you on your way! In this course I will walk you though, step by step, on how to to design the layout and the functionality of 7 unique, engaging, and most importantly, FUN games.  By the end of this course, I promise that you will be coming up with your own game ideas and feel confident enough in your abilities to create them.

In my experience teaching computer science, students tend to flourish under the basics but hit a wall when we approach object oriented programming.  The shift to using Classes as a way to structure code is difficult and often times students don't have enough exposure to meaningful examples of how to use Classes to help make complex code more efficient.  I believe by the end of this course, you will understand how to use classes.

This course is designed in such a way that NO KNOWLEDGE OF CLASSES is needed to start!  We will begin by learning the fundamentals of the Pygame library and video game design concepts as we move onto making 4 very fun arcade style games.

  • Feed the Dragon:  Using your arrow keys, move the dragon up and down, trying to eat as many gold coins as you can.  The more coins you eat, the faster you move!

  • Click the Clown:  Using your mouse, click the clown on your screen as he moves in random directions.  With each click, he moves faster and faster!

  • Snake:  Relive the glory days of cellphone gaming circa 2000 with the classic Snake style game!

  • Burger Dog: Feed a hungry pup burgers that are falling from the sky.  Time your speed boosts just right to catch those burgers that are just out of reach!

We will then review/teach concepts of classes and inheritance in Python as they are crucial tools to help us take our games to the next level using Sprites and Sprite Groups.  We will spend some time learning more intermediate concepts such as how to use sprites, sprite groups, and various sprite collision detection methods as we move onto making 2 intermediate level games.

  • Monster Wrangler: A heroic Knight must wrangle various monsters on the screen.  Be careful to collect the right type of monster; collect the wrong one and you will be punished!

  • Space Invaders:  Who doesn't love space invaders????  Save civilization from wave after wave of impending aliens slowly (and then quickly) creeping across and down the screen in that classic Space Invader motion!

The third portion of this course will focus on more advanced topics such as creating a tile map and using/reading it to create more complex level designs, using 2 dimensional vectors to aid with more complex player movement such as running and jumping under forces of friction and gravity, and adding character animations to make our games really come to life!  We will use these more advanced concepts as well as all of our previous knowledge to make one last game that will be a great final project for you to show off!

  • Zombie Knight: It's dark, spooky, and the zombies have risen!!!  In this classic style platformer, you a trusty Knight must survive night after night of zombie attacks.  Jump from platform to platform.  Use portals to teleport across the level.  Attack zombies with your trusty sword to kill them....BUT, you must remember; zombies can always rise from the dead!  Finish them off for good by stomping on them once you kill them with your sword!  Most importantly, collect valuable rubies and prevent more zombies from rising!   

I'm really proud of this class.  I really believe it not only is a great learning experience but it is also A LOT OF FUN!  I hope you consider joining and taking part in the learning.

Screenshots

The Art of Doing: Video Game Creation With Python and Pygame - Screenshot_01The Art of Doing: Video Game Creation With Python and Pygame - Screenshot_02The Art of Doing: Video Game Creation With Python and Pygame - Screenshot_03The Art of Doing: Video Game Creation With Python and Pygame - Screenshot_04

Reviews

Adam
August 24, 2023
I'm a bit dissapointed. I'm not an experienced Python programer but I wish the Tutor would not treat me as a completely dumb person. The code in Advanced and later sections is a mess -> copy n-times the same line or keep all the code in a single file? This teaches the beginner to code the wrong way. I also imagined that Zombie Knight section will introduce some OOP concepts but the code looks more like a sketchbook -- not what I expected.
William
August 16, 2023
Yes it is . I like the instructors style of teaching. He makes it easier to follow the process of creating the classes and their functions.
Gabriel
July 2, 2023
The lessons were easy to follow, and worth the time spent. I feel like I learned a lot from this course.
Nikola
May 27, 2023
The fact that he makes you code the same time all over again just shows how dedicated he is in helping you learn. You are amazing.
Alexander
May 26, 2023
Nice introduction into pygame. However, especially at later stages of the course the code itself becomes really bloated and could be done much better. I think this will annoy experienced Python programers and teach beginners the wrong way of doing things. Even though the code itself works, it can become pretty much unreadable or hard to debug. For example copying the same line of code 60 times to load images that only differ in a number in their filename or the gender of the zombie in thefile path isn't really a proper way of implement this type of code. Utility methods (to handle such imports) would have been great to use as well! Also, it's a bit of a shame that inheritance was almost never used and every class was within the same script. Courses like these are pretty much perfect to introduce concepts of object oriented programming in my opinion. For example, it would've been quite easy to create a base class for e.g. "objects" or "creatures" which has base animate(), move(), ... methods, which can then be used and adapted by zombies, rubies, portals and so on. I am also a bit confused by the Advanced Pygame Tutorial, since you basically create the same platformer in Zombie Knight anyway? It felt a bit redundant. Overall this course teaches you the basics of pygame, but will not teach you how to really code a real game. I am sure (or at least I hope) that no successful, modern game has been written in a single script, or has this amount of redundancy.
Kevin
April 26, 2023
This course was fantastic! It's perfect for beginners, who just learned the basics of python and like to go on with small projects. On top you get a basic understanding of how games work and how you can implement some basic OOP concepts into code. I had a lot of fun and will now try to code my own mini platformer. I just wish there were some real exercises to apply the learned concepts (with solutions) and maybe a second course (which dives deeper into some more physics concepts or stuff like creating whole levels, scrolling, menus, saving etc.) But nevertheless, after you've finished the course, you know almost enough to do a lot of this stuff on your own. Awesome teacher!
Lars
April 20, 2023
Just finished the 'Clown' game in section 4. Very good, it is repetitive, but that's good for memorizing. I made the code for half of Clown gameplay #1 and all of Gameplay #2 myself, without watching the instructions. Think I'll make a PowerPoint about the steps we take in creating basic pygames, for later memorization. True, the game logic and ideas on how the 'mechanics' works do differ from game to game, but many things are 'standardized', so one could come up with ideas, or see them used in other classic 2D games, and use the 'formulas' for games from this tutorial, and carry new game projects through from start to finish. Excellent! I'm very satisfied so far.
Himaksh
April 15, 2023
It is a very inspiring course. I love it. He explains everything in detail and the games are a little funny. This is the best python course in udemy from my side.???
Sayum
April 14, 2023
So far great, will be helpful in my university of hertfordshire software development exercise course.
Peter
April 3, 2023
This course is so much better than I thought it would be. If you want to become a game dev, I recommend using this course. he always makes it fun!
Isaiah
April 1, 2023
I REALLY liked this course and had a lot of fun making video games! It was really fun to finish and then customize the games. My three favorite games were Snake, Space Invaders, and Zombie Knight. I Highly recommend this course if you know some python and want to learn more.
Aaa
March 22, 2023
This course is one of the best courses I have purchased on Udemy. The instructor does an excellent job progressing from simple to more complex games, a very enjorable learning experience.
Savan
February 3, 2023
It was an excellent course. I am a beginner learner, but after taking this course, I have a much better understanding of how object-oriented programming works. Thank you so much.
Vincent
January 13, 2023
Outstanding course! I really loved learning pygame through this course, and I can confidently say that I can now make my own game using python and pygame! Mike the instructor/teacher does a great job teaching and I really enjoyed this course.
Michael
January 3, 2023
Repetition, repetition, repetition. That is the name of the game and this instructor does it well. I have learned more from this teacher than anyone else. Thank you.

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4188936
udemy ID
7/16/2021
course created date
8/1/2021
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