Python Arcade

How to create a 2D game with Python and the Arcade li... https://opensource.com/article/18/4/easy-2d-game-crea...
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How to create a 2D game with Python

and the Arcade library
Learn how to get started with Arcade, an easy-to-use Python library
for creating 2D video games.
24 Apr 2018 | Paul Vincent Craven (/users/paul-vincent-craven) | 32 | 5 comments
Image by :
Paul Vincent Craven (https://opensource.com/users/paul-vincent-craven). CC BY-SA 4.0
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
Python (https://opensource.com/resources/python) is an outstanding language for people

learning to program, and perfect for anyone wanting to "get stuff done" and not spend heaps
1 of 18 7/31/18, 10:17 PM
of time on boilerplate code. Arcade (http://arcade.academy) is a Python library for creating 2D

video games that is easy to start using, and very capable as you gain experience. In this
article, I will explain how to start using Python and Arcade to program video games.
d development on Arcade after teaching students using the PyGame
source advocates who library. I taught in-person using PyGame for almost 10 years, and I
receive our ProgramArcadeGames.com
giveaway alerts (http://ProgramArcadeGames.com) to teach online.
e isroundups.
and article great, but eventually I felt like I was wasting time having to cover for bugs that
were never fixed (https://stackoverflow.com/questions/10148479/artifacts-when-drawing-
primitives-with-pygame).
I worried about teaching things like the event loop (https://www.pygame.org/docs/tut

/tom_games2.html), which was no longer the way we code. I had a whole section
(http://programarcadegames.com/index.php?chapter=introduction_to_graphics&
lang=en#section_5_1) in which I explained why the y-coordinates were reversed. Because
PyGame was seldom updated and it is based on an old SDL 1 (https://www.libsdl.org
/download-1.2.php) library, rather than something like more modern like OpenGL
(https://opensource.com/article/18/4/opengl-bindings-bash), I didn't hold a lot of hope for the
future.
More Python Resources

What is Python? (https://opensource.com/resources
/python?intcmp=7016000000127cYAAQ)
Top Python IDEs (https://opensource.com/resources/python
/ides?intcmp=7016000000127cYAAQ)
Top Python GUI frameworks (https://opensource.com/resources/python/gui-
frameworks?intcmp=7016000000127cYAAQ)
Latest Python content (https://opensource.com
/tags/python?intcmp=7016000000127cYAAQ)
More developer resources (https://developers.redhat.com
/?intcmp=7016000000127cYAAQ)
I wanted a library that was easier to use, more powerful, and used some of the new features
of Python 3, like decorators and type-hinting. Arcade is it. And this is how to get started.
Installation
Arcade, like many other packages, is available via PyPi (https://pypi.python.org/pypi), which
2 of 18 7/31/18, 10:17 PM
means you can install Arcade using the pip command (or the pipenv (https://opensource.com
/article/18/2/why-python-devs-should-use-pipenv) command). If you already have Python
installed, you can likely just open up a command prompt on Windows and type:
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and Linux
and article roundups.
pip3 install arcade
For more detailed installation instructions, you can refer to the Arcade installation
documentation (http://arcade.academy/installation.html).
Simple drawing
You can open a window and create simple drawings with just a few lines of code. Let's create
an example that draws a smiley face like the figure below:
3 of 18 7/31/18, 10:17 PM

The script below shows how you can use Arcade's drawing commands
(http://arcade.academy/quick_index.html#drawing-module) to do this. Note that you don't
need to know how to use classes or even define functions. Programming with quick visual
feedback is great for anyone who wants to start learning to program.
import arcade
# Set constants for the screen size

SCREEN_WIDTH = 600
SCREEN_HEIGHT = 600
4 of 18 7/31/18, 10:17 PM
# Open the window. Set the window title and dimensions (width and height)
arcade.open_window(SCREEN_WIDTH, SCREEN_HEIGHT, "Drawing Example")
# Set the background color to white.

st of named colors see:
rcade.academy/arcade.color.html
Join the 85,000 open be specified in (red, green, blue) format and
an also
source advocates who alpha) format.
een, blue,
_background_color(arcade.color.WHITE)
# Start the render process. This must be done before any drawing commands.
arcade.start_render()
# Draw the face

x = 300
y = 300
radius = 200
arcade.draw_circle_filled(x, y, radius, arcade.color.YELLOW)
# Draw the right eye

x = 370
y = 350
radius = 20
arcade.draw_circle_filled(x, y, radius, arcade.color.BLACK)
# Draw the left eye

x = 230
y = 350
radius = 20
arcade.draw_circle_filled(x, y, radius, arcade.color.BLACK)
# Draw the smile

x = 300
y = 280
width = 120
height = 100
start_angle = 190
end_angle = 350
arcade.draw_arc_outline(x, y, width, height, arcade.color.BLACK, start_angle, end_angle
# Finish drawing and display the result

arcade.finish_render()
# Keep the window open until the user hits the 'close' button
arcade.run()
Using functions
Of course, writing code in the global context isn't good form. Thankfully improving your
program by using functions is easy. Here we can see an example of a drawing a pine tree at
5 of 18 7/31/18, 10:17 PM
a specific (x, y) location using a function:
def draw_pine_tree(x, y):

x a pine tree at the specified location. """
is function draws
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Join the 85,000
theopen
triangle on top of the trunk.
source advocates who x, y points for the triangle.
eed three
draw_triangle_filled(x
receive our giveaway alerts + 40, y, # Point 1
x, y - 100, # Point 2
x + 80, y - 100, # Point 3
arcade.color.DARK_GREEN)
# Draw the trunk

arcade.draw_lrtb_rectangle_filled(x + 30, x + 50, y - 100, y - 140,
arcade.color.DARK_BROWN)
For the full example, see drawing with functions (http://arcade.academy/examples

/drawing_with_functions.html).
6 of 18 7/31/18, 10:17 PM

The more experienced programmer will know that modern graphics programs first load
drawing information onto the graphics card, and then ask the graphics card to draw it later as
a batch. Arcade supports this (http://arcade.academy/examples/shape_list_demo.html) as
well. Drawing 10,000 rectangles individually takes about 0.800 seconds. Drawing them as a
batch takes less that 0.001 seconds.
The Window class
Larger programs will typically derive from the Window (http://arcade.academy

/arcade.html#arcade.application.Window) class, or use decorators (http://arcade.academy
7 of 18 7/31/18, 10:17 PM
/examples/decorator_drawing_example.html#decorator-drawing-example). This allows a

programmer to write code to handle drawing, updating, and handling input from the user. A
template for a starting a Window-based program is below.
class MyGame(arcade.Window):
""" Main application class. """
def __init__(self, width, height):

super().__init__(width, height)
arcade.set_background_color(arcade.color.AMAZON)
def setup(self):
# Set up your game here
pass
def on_draw(self):
""" Render the screen. """
# Your drawing code goes here
def update(self, delta_time):

""" All the logic to move, and the game logic goes here. """
pass
def main():
game = MyGame(SCREEN_WIDTH, SCREEN_HEIGHT)
game.setup()
arcade.run()
if __name__ == "__main__":
main()
The Window class has several methods that your programs can override to provide
functionality to the program. Here are some of the most commonly used ones:
on_draw: All the code to draw the screen goes here.

update:All the code to move your items and perform game logic goes here. This is called
about 60 times per second.
on_key_press: Handle events when a key is pressed, such as giving a player a speed.
8 of 18 7/31/18, 10:17 PM
on_key_release: Handle when a key is released, here you might stop a player from moving.
on_mouse_motion: This is called every time the mouse moves.
on_mouse_press: Called when a mouse button is pressed.
: This function is used in scrolling games, when you have a world much larger
Join thewhat can
85,000 be seen on one screen. Calling set_viewport allows a programmer to set
open
sourcet advocates who
part of that world is currently visible.
Sprites
Sprites (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprite_(computer_graphics)) are an easy way to create a

2D bitmapped object in Arcade. Arcade has methods that make it easy to draw, move, and
animate sprites. You can also easily use sprites to detect collisions between objects.
Creating a sprite
Creating an instance of Arcade's Sprite (http://arcade.academy

/arcade.html#arcade.sprite.Sprite) class out of a graphic is easy. A programmer only needs
the file name of an image to base the sprite off of, and optionally a number to scale the image
up or down. For example:
SPRITE_SCALING_COIN = 0.2
coin = arcade.Sprite("coin_01.png", SPRITE_SCALING_COIN)
This code will create a sprite using the image stored in coin_01.png. The image will be scaled
down to 20% of its original height and width.
9 of 18 7/31/18, 10:17 PM

Sprite lists
Sprites are normally organized into lists. These lists make it easier to manage the sprites.
Sprites in a list will use OpenGL to batch-draw the sprites as a group. The code below sets up
a game with a player, and a bunch of coins for the player to collect. We use two lists, one for
the player and one for the coins.
def setup(self):
""" Set up the game and initialize the variables. """
# Create the sprite lists

self.player_list = arcade.SpriteList()
self.coin_list = arcade.SpriteList()
# Score
self.score = 0
# Set up the player

# Character image from kenney.nl
self.player_sprite = arcade.Sprite("images/character.png", SPRITE_SCALING_PLAYER)
10 of 18 7/31/18, 10:17 PM
self.player_sprite.center_x = 50 # Starting position

self.player_sprite.center_y = 50
self.player_list.append(self.player_sprite)

COIN_COUNT):
source advocates
Createwho
the coin instance
Coin image
receive our giveaway from kenney.nl
alerts
and article roundups. Sprite("images/coin_01.png", SPRITE_SCALING_COIN)
# Position the coin

coin.center_x = random.randrange(SCREEN_WIDTH)
coin.center_y = random.randrange(SCREEN_HEIGHT)
# Add the coin to the lists

self.coin_list.append(coin)
We can easily draw all the coins in the coin lists:
def on_draw(self):
""" Draw everything """
self.coin_list.draw()
self.player_list.draw()
Detecting sprite collisions
The function check_for_collision_with_list allows us to see if a sprite runs into another

sprite in a list. We can use this to see all the coins the player sprite is in contact with. Using a
simple for loop, we can get rid of the coin from the game and increase our score.

# Generate a list of all coin sprites that collided with the player.
coins_hit_list = arcade.check_for_collision_with_list(self.player_sprite, self.coin_list
# Loop through each colliding sprite, remove it, and add to the score.
for coin in coins_hit_list:
coin.kill()
self.score += 1
For the full example, see collect_coins.py (http://arcade.academy/examples

/sprite_collect_coins.html).
Game physics
11 of 18 7/31/18, 10:17 PM
Many games include some kind of physics. The simplest are top-down programs that prevent
the player from walking through walls. Platformers add more complexity with gravity and
platforms that move. Some games use a full 2D physics engine with mass, friction, springs,
For simple top-down based games, an Arcade program needs a list of walls that the player
(or anything else) can't move through. I usually call this wall_list. Then a physics engine is
created in the Window class's setup code with:
self.physics_engine = arcade.PhysicsEngineSimple(self.player_sprite, self.wall_list)
The player_sprite is given a movement vector with its two attributes change_x and change_y. A
simple example of doing this would be to have the player move with the keyboard. For
example, this might be in the custom child of the Window class:
12 of 18 7/31/18, 10:17 PM
MOVEMENT_SPEED = 5
def on_key_press(self, key, modifiers):

"""Called whenever a key is pressed. """
UP:
player_sprite.change_y = MOVEMENT_SPEED
source advocates who key.DOWN:
player_sprite.change_y = -MOVEMENT_SPEED
and article roundups. key.LEFT:
self.player_sprite.change_x = -MOVEMENT_SPEED
elif key == arcade.key.RIGHT:
self.player_sprite.change_x = MOVEMENT_SPEED
def on_key_release(self, key, modifiers):

"""Called when the user releases a key. """
if key == arcade.key.UP or key == arcade.key.DOWN:

self.player_sprite.change_y = 0
elif key == arcade.key.LEFT or key == arcade.key.RIGHT:
self.player_sprite.change_x = 0
Although that code sets the player's speed, it doesn't move the player. In the update method
of the Window class, calling physics_engine.update() will move the player, but not through
walls.

""" Movement and game logic """
self.physics_engine.update()
For a full example see sprite_move_walls.py (http://arcade.academy/examples

/sprite_move_walls.html).
Platformers
13 of 18 7/31/18, 10:17 PM

Moving to a side view platformer is rather easy. A programmer just needs to switch the
physics engine to PhysicsEnginePlatformer and add in the gravity constant.
self.physics_engine = arcade.PhysicsEnginePlatformer(self.player_sprite,
self.wall_list,
gravity_constant=GRAVITY)
You can use a program like Tiled (http://www.mapeditor.org/) to lay the tiles/blocks that make
up your level.
For an example, see sprite_tiled_map.py (http://arcade.academy/examples

/sprite_tiled_map.html).
For full 2D physics you can integrate the PyMunk (http://arcade.academy/examples

/pymunk_platformer.html#pymunk-platformer) library.
Learn by example
14 of 18 7/31/18, 10:17 PM
One of the best ways to learn is by example. The Arcade library has a long list of example
programs (http://arcade.academy/examples/index.html) that a person can draw on to create
games. These examples each show a game concept that students have asked for in my
s or
Get the x
online over the years.
newsletter
source gadvocates
any of these
who demos is easy once Arcade has been installed. Each of the samples
comment
receive at the
our giveaway beginning of the program with a command you can type on the
alerts
and-line
and article to run the sample, for example:
roundups.
python -m arcade.examples.sprite_moving_platforms
Summary
Arcade lets you start programming graphics and games with easy-to-understand code. Many
new programmers have created great games (http://arcade.academy/sample_games.html)
not long after getting started. Give it a try!
To learn more, attend Paul Vincent Craven's talk, Easy 2D Game Creation With Arcade
(https://us.pycon.org/2018/schedule/presentation/100/), at PyCon Cleveland 2018
(https://us.pycon.org/2018/).
Topics : PyCon (/tags/pycon) Python (/tags/python) Programming (/tags/programming)
About the author

Paul Vincent Craven - Paul Craven is the author of "Program Arcade Games with Python
and Pygame (http://programarcadegames.com)", an on-line and in-print resource for
learning to program. He is the primary maintainer of the Arcade (http://arcade.academy)
(/users/paul- Python game library for 2D graphics. Paul is also a professor at Simpson College
vincent- (http://simpson.edu/computer-science/) in Iowa.
craven) • More about me (/users/paul-vincent-craven)
Learn how you can contribute (/participate)
15 of 18 7/31/18, 10:17 PM
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5 Comments
Châu on 25 Apr 2018 2

Great for open source game competition!
A few bits short of a word on 29 Apr 2018 1

Tl;dr: in replacing PyGame you've managed to do precisely the same core mistake and made it too annoying
to get your library up and running in at least what I think of as a sensible manner (subjective for sure).
First: Python 3.6 is a pain because it's so new, most distributions haven't even included 3.anything but at least
getting 3.5.x up and running is fairly easy on most distributions as far as I know, but 3.6.? Compiling from
source and wrestling with getting added bits and bobs and whatnot actually working? Who hasn't wasted far
too many hours on stuff like that?
You're not helping yourself. This is the prefect mirror image of PyGame not supporting whatever Python
16 of 18 7/31/18, 10:17 PM
people already have. In PyGame it's because PyGame is old (and broken) and in Arcade it's because the
Python is too new. Same difference. Okay if you run in dedicated environments etc. but not for normal people
at home wanting to take a peek and get right into it at minimal cost.
x a completely open and non-reviewed security issue as per the year-old report from
nd issue: pip, is it still
Get the newsletter
zech intelligence agency? Should anyone be using pip at all?
on lost the plot with pip. It's not your fault
receive our giveaway alerts issues in what is nothing but a drive-by comment using a mail address that is never
for such negative
read (because Google is evil) but someone should point these things out and people usually don't, so for
once I nudged my temporary JavaScript settings for opensource.com and commented.
Despite all that your actual library looks interesting, too bad I'm tired of hoops.
Paul Vincent Craven (/users/paul-vincent-craven) on 29 Apr 2018 1

You are right that 3.6 is a pain to get up and running with some Linux distributions. With Windows,
MacOS, and Ubuntu it will be default version for people doing a recent install. Not so much with Linux
Mint or some other ones. I'll think about your comment seriously. I quite like the new print formatting,
but it isn't used a lot in the code.
If you don't like pip, install Arcade using setup.py. I'm not quite sure what you are looking for here.
Seth Kenlon (/users/seth) on 12 Jun 2018 0

This looks amazing. I can't wait to try it.
I just installed it on Linux and will try it out very soon. It looks great. I like PyGame, but it *is* showing its age,
so this is a hugely welcome development.
Jess Weichler (/users/cyanide-cupcake) on 12 Jun 2018 0

Wow, Paul, this library looks really promising. Last year I ran a Python class with 10-13 year olds and
PyGame. Though it went well, I was occasionally frustrated by the limitations of the PyGame library and the
confusing state of the docs. Can't wait to try out Arcade!
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
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How to create a 2D game with Python

Python (https://opensource.com/resources/python) is an outstanding language for people

of time on boilerplate code. Arcade (http://arcade.academy) is a Python library for creating 2D

I worried about teaching things like the event loop (https://www.pygame.org/docs/tut

More Python Resources

pip3 install arcade

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# Set constants for the screen size

# Set the background color to white.

Get the newsletter x

# Draw the face

# Draw the right eye

# Draw the left eye

# Draw the smile

# Finish drawing and display the result

a specific (x, y) location using a function:

def draw_pine_tree(x, y):

# Draw the trunk

For the full example, see drawing with functions (http://arcade.academy/examples

Get the newsletter x

The Window class

Larger programs will typically derive from the Window (http://arcade.academy

/examples/decorator_drawing_example.html#decorator-drawing-example). This allows a

def __init__(self, width, height):

def update(self, delta_time):

on_draw: All the code to draw the screen goes here.

Sprites (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprite_(computer_graphics)) are an easy way to create a

Creating an instance of Arcade's Sprite (http://arcade.academy

coin = arcade.Sprite("coin_01.png", SPRITE_SCALING_COIN)

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# Create the sprite lists

# Set up the player

self.player_sprite.center_x = 50 # Starting position

Get the newsletter x

# Position the coin

# Add the coin to the lists

We can easily draw all the coins in the coin lists:

Detecting sprite collisions

The function check_for_collision_with_list allows us to see if a sprite runs into another

def update(self, delta_time):

For the full example, see collect_coins.py (http://arcade.academy/examples

self.physics_engine = arcade.PhysicsEngineSimple(self.player_sprite, self.wall_list)

def on_key_press(self, key, modifiers):

def on_key_release(self, key, modifiers):

if key == arcade.key.UP or key == arcade.key.DOWN:

def update(self, delta_time):

For a full example see sprite_move_walls.py (http://arcade.academy/examples

Get the newsletter x

For an example, see sprite_tiled_map.py (http://arcade.academy/examples

For full 2D physics you can integrate the PyMunk (http://arcade.academy/examples

Topics : PyCon (/tags/pycon) Python (/tags/python) Programming (/tags/programming)

About the author

Learn how you can contribute (/participate)

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Put platforms in a Python Is BDFL a death sentence? What's the difference

Châu on 25 Apr 2018 2

A few bits short of a word on 29 Apr 2018 1

Paul Vincent Craven (/users/paul-vincent-craven) on 29 Apr 2018 1

Seth Kenlon (/users/seth) on 12 Jun 2018 0

Jess Weichler (/users/cyanide-cupcake) on 12 Jun 2018 0

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def init(self, width, height):