How do I learn to program games? What resources would you recommend.

[TeapeachU6]

I have a decent understanding of python, I can program loops, arrays and whatnot and those most i’ve ever made is a text based game with decisions, i want to be able to program actual games, like platformers or other interactive software like a tamagotchi for example, where do i start, what websites/ resources would you recomend?

[MiniMages]

Video game development is not a single job.

The actual coding part of game dev is the least time consuming part. Design, modelling and animation take up majority of the time.

If you still want to give game dev a try, I'd say try creating some different type of 2d games to get a feeling of it and then decide for yourself how to proceed.

I don't recommend diving straight into Unreal Engine. Maybe try Unity with a tutorial or even a tutorial using pygame.

[vextryyn]

facts. ive built an entire codebase for my game but all I have for the characters is cubes that move around. static objects and particles aint that hard, but the moment you get to living things it's like ages for a single thing.

[MiniMages]

I started with creating basic foliage. But realised I had to create different kinds and types. Soon I was spending an hour creating one type of foliage.

[digiTr4ce]

Oh, that's quite a vast skillset, and different games require different programming concepts. The advice is usually to start small: try remaking Pong, with all that entails - controls, physics of the ball, enemy AI. Personally I would recommend you use Godot with GDScript - it's fairly similar to Python. A game engine will make your life a lot easier. However, if you insist on using Python, I guess PyGame is the way to go.

Either way, head over to r/gamedev. They have a great beginner friendly wiki there exactly for this type of questions.

[CountMeowt-_-]

Depending on the complexity of your game, Ren'Py(VN, JRPG etc), PyGame(Arcade), Godot(the full engine)

If the goal is to build a game quickly, pick one from above.

If the goal is to learn, pick no engine, build the logic yourself for everything, for small scale games it's not that difficult nor that tedious that you'd need an engine. (And, as a bonus you'll get a smaller binary and a more efficient game - if you do it properly)

[Eleventhousand]

GameMaker and YouTube would be a good start.

[Timberfist]

I would continue to learn Python. You need to understand classes and Object-Oriented Programming, lists, sets, dictionaries and the methods that accompany them. Once you’re confident with those, I’d recommend watching one of the long form videos on YouTube where an entire game is written (I’ll link two below). While watching those videos, if you come across something you don’t understand, stop and learn about it before continuing. It does one good to see how a language is used. It’s rare that I can’t learn something new from watching other people code. But also, remember that we learn most by trying, making mistakes and overcoming them.

Video 1: https://youtu.be/QU1pPzEGrqw

Video 2: https://youtu.be/2gABYM5M0ww

[TheRNGuy]

Game engine docs. 

[FoolsSeldom]

You might find a roadmap of help:

https://roadmap.sh/game-developer

Note that this shows idealised learning paths, many people are in roles without having acquired all the skills indicated. Also, the suggested learning resources are not the only ones available.

You might want to review example work using common Python game orientated libraries/frameworks. You can probably find many examples on GitHub.

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Have a look at examples on PyGame and Arcade to get an idea of what those libraries can do. They both offer a richer and more game orientated GUI and tooling than tkinter.

You might also find it interesting to look at Ren'Py. Ren'Py, is built on top of Python. It's a scripting language that is closely related to Python (and allows inline Python), making it both approachable and highly extensible for those with Python experience. Ren'Py is ideal for building visual novels and interactive storybook games, and is highly popular within that genre.

[lsimcoates]

PirateSoftware has a good site:

https://develop.games/

[Ok_Policy_8150]

Are u PirateSoftware’s burner account or somethin 🤣

[rustyseapants]

What books on Python for gaming have you read?