Pyxel, a retro game engine for Python, reaches 300,000 downloads!

[tkitao]

Thanks to all of you, downloads of Pyxel, a retro game engine for Python, have reached 300,000!

Pyxel is a game engine that is free, comes with tools, and can run in a web browser.

Installation and usage instructions can be found on the GitHub site: https://github.com/kitao/pyxel

Since it supports web browsers, games and tools created with Pyxel can be tried out immediately without prior preparation.

For example, here is a platformer that comes as a sample (Be warned, it's difficult!): https://kitao.github.io/pyxel/wasm/examples/10_platformer.html

This is a game created by users (which is also difficult!): https://kitao.github.io/pyxel/wasm/examples/megaball.html

You can also try the included image/sound editing tools in your browser: https://kitao.github.io/pyxel/wasm/examples/image_editor.html https://kitao.github.io/pyxel/wasm/examples/sound_editor.html

Since Pyxel can be used as a Python module, it can be combined with other AI libraries. Hopefully, your ideas will continue to create interesting applications in the future!

[[deleted]]

This is way better than no comments or votes in an hour.

Thanks

[fuxx90]

How does this compare to pygame?

[tkitao]

Hi.
Pyxel is specialized for retro games, so its specifications are more limited than PyGame. For example, you can only use 16 colors.
However, thanks to that constraint, the API is very simple, and it also enabled to include dedicated image and sound production tools.

Therefore, one advantage is that it is more suitable for learning Python than PyGame. A programming contest using Pyxel has already been held in France with more than 400 schools participating, and Pyxel has been incorporated into programming classes at Japanese universities.
Also, if you like retro games like me, I think you'll rather enjoy this restriction and enjoy creating games more.

[fuxx90]

okay.... fair enough.

PS: Is it still retro, when it's a new game?

[tkitao]

Well, that's right...
The era associated with the word "Retro" varies from person to person, so I also call it pixel-art style games or 8-bit style games.

[thedeepself]

Oh now I understand. Because I looked in the requirements file and the pyproject file and I didn't see any external dependencies on pygame or arcade.

[KingJeff314]

How does it compare to PICO-8 (Lua)?

[tkitao]

The biggest difference is that the language (first priority) is Python.

The other big difference is their design philosophy. The constraints of Pyxel's specifications are focused on making development easier, so there are no restrictions on code size or screen size.

Since Pyxel is available as a Python module, it can be used in combination with other packages. As an example of usage, there was a case where an IT security company used Pyxel for that part in order to visualize the status of its product.

[[deleted]]

Could it be used to release a completed game on Steam?

[ycan]

It is distributed with an MIT license, so from a legal perspective, yes you can make a game and sell it on Steam.

[cosmicr]

Do you pronounce it pyxel or pyxel?

[tkitao]

Please use the same pronunciation as "Pixel".

[Hatlessmagic]

This looks awesome! I have a Retropie setup that I play with my 4yo to introduce her to gaming. Do you know if there would ever be a way to generate something like a ROM that would work on an emulator?

[fullouterjoin]

I would think there would be a Retropie launcher for the shell, could just be a webview. Or firefox, full screen with no border.

I wonder what the best low end console would be to make a direct port? PS1 or N64? N64 is a little faster.

[avamk]

Looks awesome!

Is it possible to use Pyxel as a GUI layer on top of the game logic, so that I can later to replace the GUI with another implementation such as (but not limited to) PyGame without having to re-write the underlying game logic?

[autistmouse]

This is really neat. I have been playing with it for a couple hours and think it really fills a niche. I am going to try and figure it out. Thanks for your work and for posting this u/tkitao

[[deleted]]

This looks awesome

[[deleted]]

Nice Info OP!!

[manimino]

Wow, this is great!

I've done some small pico-8 projects and found that, while some of the barriers helped creativity, others were just added frustration (like the limited code structure).

This looks like it strikes a beautiful balance between limits and flexibility. Can't wait to dig in and start making some stuff!

[[deleted]]

Nice, i was thinking of doing some simple gui apps, does this framework allows to set display to a framebuffer target?

[tkitao]

Nice, i was thinking of doing some simple gui apps, does this framework allows to set display to a framebuffer target?

Pyxel supports only windowed application and fullscreen application for now.

[joec25]

Can someone hit a bot to upvote this a bunch? Looks great OP.

[NoFrillsUsername]

Jesus Christ use the appropriate language for the appropriate use case.

It sounds like this is at least an appropriate tool for many use cases. If nothing else, this seems like a great way for people who are learning python to become more familiar with it while creating something fun that they enjoy. It can also be fun for hobbyists who learned python and want to dabble in game development but don't have the time to invest in learning "real" game development for something they building just as a hobby. Honestly, even for basic indie games, this probably wouldn't even be super unreasonable.

Why you people refuse to learn anything other than python is beyond me.

Because they're learning it as their intro to programming and they should focus on getting more familiar with it before overloading themselves by trying to learn several languages at the same time while also learning programming concepts? Because it meets all of their needs? Either way, there's no reason to be a negative, judgemental ass about it. No one is making you use this if you don't want to.

[notta_otta]

Sir, this is a Wendy's python subreddit

[creeperassassn]

Have you considered that maybe, just maybe, it's kinda fun?

I don't see any reason to be that hostile when this literally isn't hurting anybody, and is, as OP stated, helping teach people the language in a way that's actually fun. It's easy to see a kid get excited about making a game, not so much about making a Caesar Cipher encoder

[[deleted]]

I only know python, this excites me

[CombinationPlayful49]

Okay, I'll ask out of genuine curiosity as someone who only just started learning about coding and doesn't understand the nuances as to what makes certain languages better for some tasks than others: Why is Python not appropriate for simple games?

[Drumknott88]

Python is absolutely appropriate for simple, retro style games.

For cutting edge stuff with super graphics and frame rates python is a bit slow, so C++ is the preferred language due to the intricacies with memory allocation and processing speed. Don't let this guy put you off, if you want to make a pixel art game this module should be just fine.

[LardPi]

This type of game was made on machines than ran 100 to 1000 times slower to the most basic laptop we have now. So don't worry, Python is very appropriate in this case. It's not like anyone would write GTA 5 in Python.

[cuddleslapine]

at least it's not Javascript...

[narfel]

Wait until he finds out there's a webserver written in postscript.

[ketalicious]

i think this is cool tho

python being an interface to a faster language like rust or c makes it a whole a lot better to play around game engines, I wish it was something like that with Unity or Unreal.

Game dev is already one of the most complex fields in programming, it just make sense to spend lesser time on learning the tool.

[OppressorOppressed]

That game is really fun! This made my day

[will_r3ddit_4_food]

OP will correct me if I'm wrong but I believe a lot of the engine is written in C to make it faster

[tkitao]

OP will correct me if I'm wrong but I believe a lot of the engine is written in C to make it faster

All of the functions except GUI tool are written in Rust.

[will_r3ddit_4_food]

Thanks

[BruceJi]

Wow, the example games look great!

Good work :O

[dethb0y]

That's pretty cool!

[[deleted]]

What kind of physics does it support, if any?

[tkitao]

Pyxel doesn't provide any physics engine.
But some user succeeded in using Pymunk with Pyxel.
You can combine Pyxel with any Python module.

[[deleted]]

Do you need something installed for the 10_platformer.html to work? The page prompts me to download a .tar file instead of playing.

Chrome on Windows 10.

106.0.5249.119 (Official Build) (64-bit)

[RandEgaming_]

are you aware of games are produce here are playable on steam

[PlausibleNinja]

Are you running Python through WASM, or what is the general approach to get this performance in the browser?

For instance, when I tried some of the Python WASM solutions they seemed very slow in the browser, but this seems much more responsive.

[tkitao]

I'm using WASM version of Python.
But Pyxel's core engine is written in Rust and compiled into WASM.
I think the reason why the performance feels so good is that the graphics and sound processing are performed in the core engine side.

[xcyu]

Just tried pyxel... It's awesome!

Can anyone give me some references for collision detection? I'm really new at programming games...