Introduction
Games have always been a fascinating way to blend creativity with programming skills. In this tutorial, we will build a simple yet engaging helicopter game using Python’s Pygame library. This game will help you understand the basics of game development, including handling user inputs, rendering graphics, and managing game states.
What is Pygame?
Pygame is a set of Python modules designed for writing video games. It provides functionalities for creating graphics, handling input devices, and managing game events. Pygame is ideal for beginners who want to get started with game development due to its simplicity and ease of use.
Game Concept
In our helicopter game, the player controls a helicopter that navigates through a series of obstacles. The objective is to avoid hitting the obstacles or the screen boundaries while trying to achieve the highest score possible. The helicopter can be moved up and down using the arrow keys.
Getting Started
To start with this tutorial, you need to have Python and Pygame installed on your system. You can install Pygame using pip:
pip install pygame
Step-by-Step Guide to Building the Game
Setting Up Pygame
First, we need to initialize Pygame and set up the display window where our game will run.
import pygame
import random
# Initialize Pygame
pygame.init()
# Set up the display
WIDTH, HEIGHT = 800, 600
screen = pygame.display.set_mode((WIDTH, HEIGHT))
pygame.display.set_caption("Copter Game")
Defining Constants and Colors
Next, we define the constants and colors used in the game. These include screen dimensions, game physics constants, obstacle properties, and colors for different game elements.
# Constants
FPS = 60
GRAVITY = 0.5
FLAP_STRENGTH = -10
OBSTACLE_WIDTH = 70
OBSTACLE_GAP = 200
OBSTACLE_SPEED = 5
UPWARD_SPEED = -5
DOWNWARD_SPEED = 5
# Colors
WHITE = (255, 255, 255)
BLACK = (0, 0, 0)
GREEN = (0, 255, 0)
RED = (255, 0, 0)
BLUE = (0, 0, 255)
SKY_BLUE = (135, 206, 235)
GREY = (169, 169, 169)
Initializing Game Variables
We then initialize the game variables such as the helicopter’s position, velocity, obstacles, score, and game state.
# Game variables
helicopter_rect = pygame.Rect(100, HEIGHT // 2, 42, 28) # Reduced size to 70%
velocity = 0
obstacles = []
score = 0
game_over = False
# Fonts
font = pygame.font.Font(None, 36)
Creating Obstacles
We define a function to create new obstacles. Obstacles consist of two rectangles (top and bottom) with a gap in between for the helicopter to pass through.
def create_obstacle():
y = random.randint(100, HEIGHT - 100 - OBSTACLE_GAP)
top_rect = pygame.Rect(WIDTH, 0, OBSTACLE_WIDTH, y)
bottom_rect = pygame.Rect(WIDTH, y + OBSTACLE_GAP, OBSTACLE_WIDTH, HEIGHT - (y + OBSTACLE_GAP))
return top_rect, bottom_rect
Drawing the Helicopter
The draw_helicopter function renders the helicopter on the screen. The helicopter consists of several shapes, including an ellipse for the body, rectangles for the tail and landing skids, and more.
def draw_helicopter(rect):
# Body
pygame.draw.ellipse(screen, RED, rect)
# Cockpit window
cockpit_rect = pygame.Rect(rect.x + 14, rect.y + 7, 12, 7) # Adjusted for size change
pygame.draw.ellipse(screen, BLUE, cockpit_rect)
# Top rotor (oval-shaped with rotor block)
top_rotor_rect = pygame.Rect(rect.x - 33, rect.y - 8, rect.width + 66, 6) # Adjusted for size change
pygame.draw.ellipse(screen, SKY_BLUE, top_rotor_rect)
rotor_block_rect = pygame.Rect(rect.x + rect.width // 2 - 2, rect.y, 4, 4) # Adjusted for size change
pygame.draw.rect(screen, BLACK, rotor_block_rect) # Changed propeller color
# Tail
pygame.draw.rect(screen, GREY, (rect.x - 28, rect.y + rect.height // 4, 28, 7)) # Adjusted for size change
# Tail rotor
pygame.draw.rect(screen, SKY_BLUE, (rect.x - 35, rect.y + rect.height // 4 - 4, 7, 14)) # Adjusted for size change
# Landing skids
pygame.draw.rect(screen, BLACK, (rect.x + 7, rect.y + rect.height - 3, rect.width - 14, 3)) # Adjusted for size change
pygame.draw.rect(screen, BLACK, (rect.x + 3, rect.y + rect.height, 3, 6)) # Adjusted for size change
pygame.draw.rect(screen, BLACK, (rect.x + rect.width - 7, rect.y + rect.height, 3, 6)) # Adjusted for size change
Main Game Loop
The main game loop handles the game logic, including updating the helicopter’s position, generating obstacles, detecting collisions, and rendering everything on the screen.
# Main game loop
clock = pygame.time.Clock()
while True:
clock.tick(FPS)
for event in pygame.event.get():
if event.type == pygame.QUIT:
pygame.quit()
exit()
keys = pygame.key.get_pressed()
if keys[pygame.K_UP]:
velocity = UPWARD_SPEED
elif keys[pygame.K_DOWN]:
velocity = DOWNWARD_SPEED
else:
velocity += GRAVITY
if not game_over:
# Apply gravity and control
helicopter_rect.y += velocity
# Check for collisions with screen boundaries
if helicopter_rect.top < 0 or helicopter_rect.bottom > HEIGHT:
game_over = True
# Move and create obstacles
for obstacle in obstacles:
obstacle[0].x -= OBSTACLE_SPEED
obstacle[1].x -= OBSTACLE_SPEED
if len(obstacles) == 0 or obstacles[-1][0].x < WIDTH - 300:
obstacles.append(create_obstacle())
if obstacles[0][0].x < -OBSTACLE_WIDTH:
obstacles.pop(0)
score += 1
# Check for collisions with obstacles
for top_rect, bottom_rect in obstacles:
if helicopter_rect.colliderect(top_rect) or helicopter_rect.colliderect(bottom_rect):
game_over = True
# Draw everything
screen.fill(WHITE)
draw_helicopter(helicopter_rect)
for top_rect, bottom_rect in obstacles:
pygame.draw.rect(screen, GREEN, top_rect)
pygame.draw.rect(screen, GREEN, bottom_rect)
# Display score
score_text = font.render(f"Score: {score}", True, BLACK)
screen.blit(score_text, (10, 10))
if game_over:
game_over_text = font.render("Game Over! Press R to Restart! Fly with Arrow Keys (Up/Down)", True, BLACK)
screen.blit(game_over_text, (WIDTH // 2 - game_over_text.get_width() // 2, HEIGHT // 2))
pygame.display.flip()
Restarting the Game
We add logic to restart the game when the ‘R’ key is pressed:
# Restart game on pressing 'R'
if game_over and keys[pygame.K_r]:
helicopter_rect.y = HEIGHT // 2
velocity = 0
obstacles.clear()
score = 0
game_over = False
Conclusion
Congratulations! You have created a simple helicopter game using Pygame. This tutorial covered the basics of setting up a game window, handling user input, rendering graphics, and managing game states. With these foundations, you can further enhance the game by adding new features such as sound effects, advanced graphics, and more complex obstacle patterns.
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