Make games with graphics!
“Making Games with Python & Pygame” covers the Pygame library with the source code for 11 games. “Making Games” was written as a sequel for the same age range as “Invent with Python”. Once you have an understanding of the basics of Python programming, you can now expand your abilities using the Pygame library to make games with graphics, animation, and sound.
The book features the source code to 11 games. The games are clones of classics such as Nibbles, Tetris, Simon, Bejeweled, Othello, Connect Four, Flood It, and others.
The book and the programs are open source, and are available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike license, meaning they are free to copy and distribute. See the license for full details. A print copy can be bought on Amazon.com for $25.
ISBN 978-1469901732
Download the .pdf version for free. (Alternate link) Download the .mobi version for your Kindle/eReader for free. (Alternate link)
Vote for this siteQuick Download Links
- Python 3.1 installer (for Windows)
- Python for other operating systems (Mac, Linux)
- Pygame for Python 3.1 installer (for Windows)
- Full PDF of the "Making Games" book
- Download the complete book as a .mobi (for Kindle and eReaders).
- Source Code of the games.
Compare Prices
I want to make programming knowledge accessible to everyone. As such, “Invent Your Own Computer Games with Python” is free to read online. And I've priced the print version (available for sale on Amazon.com) for $25.00 (including free shipping) to make it affordable. If you are an educator, please email me for information about a 55% education discount code. al@inventwithpython.com
Python Books I Recommend (if you don't mind paying)
These books take a more conventional approach to covering programming concepts (except for "Evil Genius" which does mostly use game projects). They don't focus on having complete source code for small projects or games, but they do explain programming concepts fairly well.
| "Python Programming for the Absolute Beginner, 3rd Edition" is a great book to learn Python if you have never programmed before. |
| "The Quick Python Book, 2nd Edition" is a great book if you are already a programmer and want to learn Python, or just want to quickly get up to speed with various programming concepts. |
| "Hello World! Computer Programming for Kids and Other Beginners" covers the basic concepts like "Absolute Beginner" and "Quick Python" do, but is more purposefully aimed at younger readers. |
| "Python Programming: An Introduction to Computer Science, 2nd Edition" is more like a formal textbook, but it also goes over algorithms and data structures more rigorously than the other programming books. |
| "Programming Video Games for the Evil Genius" teaches the Java programming language, but takes a similar approach to "Invent with Python" by having the source code to various games. |
Contact
You can email the author at al@inventwithpython.com. Feel free to send your programming questions or comments.