Introduction to Pygame - Rishan Solutions

What is Pygame?

Pygame is a popular Python library used for creating 2D games and multimedia applications. It provides functions for graphics, sound, input handling, and game physics, making it easier to build interactive applications.

Key Features of Pygame

✔ Cross-Platform – Works on Windows, macOS, and Linux
✔ Hardware-Accelerated Graphics – Uses SDL (Simple DirectMedia Layer) for fast rendering
✔ Supports Sound and Music – Built-in modules for handling audio
✔ Handles Input Devices – Works with keyboards, mice, and game controllers
✔ Easy to Learn – Ideal for beginners and hobbyists

1. Installing Pygame

To install Pygame, run the following command:

pip install pygame

Once installed, verify by running:

import pygame
print(pygame.__version__)

✔ Displays the installed Pygame version

2. Creating a Basic Pygame Window

Every Pygame program starts with initialization and a game loop.

import pygame

# Initialize Pygame
pygame.init()

# Create a window
WIDTH, HEIGHT = 800, 600
screen = pygame.display.set_mode((WIDTH, HEIGHT))
pygame.display.set_caption("My First Pygame Window")

# Main loop
running = True
while running:
    for event in pygame.event.get():
        if event.type == pygame.QUIT:  # Check if the user closes the window
            running = False

# Quit Pygame
pygame.quit()

✔ Creates a window with a size of 800×600 pixels
✔ Handles the close button event properly

3. Adding Colors and Shapes

You can draw shapes like rectangles, circles, and lines using pygame.draw.

# Define colors
WHITE = (255, 255, 255)
RED = (255, 0, 0)
BLUE = (0, 0, 255)

# Fill the screen with white
screen.fill(WHITE)

# Draw a red rectangle
pygame.draw.rect(screen, RED, (50, 50, 200, 100))

# Draw a blue circle
pygame.draw.circle(screen, BLUE, (400, 300), 50)

# Update display
pygame.display.flip()

✔ Displays a rectangle and a circle on the screen

4. Handling Keyboard and Mouse Events

Pygame allows you to detect key presses and mouse clicks.

for event in pygame.event.get():
    if event.type == pygame.QUIT:
        running = False
    elif event.type == pygame.KEYDOWN:  # Detects key press
        if event.key == pygame.K_w:
            print("W Key Pressed!")
    elif event.type == pygame.MOUSEBUTTONDOWN:  # Detects mouse click
        print(f"Mouse Clicked at {event.pos}")

✔ Detects when a key is pressed
✔ Prints mouse click coordinates

5. Adding Images (Sprites)

Pygame allows loading and displaying images as sprites.

# Load an image
player_image = pygame.image.load("player.png")

# Display the image
screen.blit(player_image, (100, 100))
pygame.display.flip()

✔ Loads and displays a sprite at (100,100) coordinates

6. Adding Movement

We can move a sprite using the arrow keys.

player_x, player_y = 100, 100  # Initial position
speed = 5

while running:
    for event in pygame.event.get():
        if event.type == pygame.QUIT:
            running = False

    keys = pygame.key.get_pressed()  # Get key states
    if keys[pygame.K_LEFT]:  # Move left
        player_x -= speed
    if keys[pygame.K_RIGHT]:  # Move right
        player_x += speed
    if keys[pygame.K_UP]:  # Move up
        player_y -= speed
    if keys[pygame.K_DOWN]:  # Move down
        player_y += speed

    screen.fill(WHITE)  # Clear the screen
    screen.blit(player_image, (player_x, player_y))  # Draw player
    pygame.display.flip()  # Update display

✔ Moves the player using arrow keys
✔ Clears the screen and redraws the image each frame

7. Adding Sound Effects

Pygame supports sound effects and background music.

# Load sound effect
jump_sound = pygame.mixer.Sound("jump.wav")

# Play sound when spacebar is pressed
if event.type == pygame.KEYDOWN:
    if event.key == pygame.K_SPACE:
        jump_sound.play()

✔ Plays a jump sound when the spacebar is pressed

8. Game Loop and FPS (Frames Per Second)

To control game speed, we use a clock to manage FPS.

clock = pygame.time.Clock()

while running:
    screen.fill(WHITE)  # Clear screen

    for event in pygame.event.get():
        if event.type == pygame.QUIT:
            running = False

    pygame.display.flip()  # Refresh screen
    clock.tick(60)  # Limit FPS to 60

✔ Runs the game at 60 FPS for smooth performance

9. Adding Collision Detection

We can check if two objects collide using pygame.Rect.

player_rect = pygame.Rect(player_x, player_y, 50, 50)
enemy_rect = pygame.Rect(400, 300, 50, 50)

if player_rect.colliderect(enemy_rect):
    print("Collision Detected!")

✔ Detects when two rectangles overlap

10. Complete Mini-Game Example

Here’s a simple Pygame character movement example:

import pygame

pygame.init()

# Screen settings
WIDTH, HEIGHT = 800, 600
screen = pygame.display.set_mode((WIDTH, HEIGHT))
pygame.display.set_caption("Pygame Character Movement")

# Colors
WHITE = (255, 255, 255)

# Load player
player = pygame.image.load("player.png")
player_x, player_y = 100, 100
speed = 5

# Game loop
running = True
while running:
    screen.fill(WHITE)  # Clear screen

    for event in pygame.event.get():
        if event.type == pygame.QUIT:
            running = False

    keys = pygame.key.get_pressed()
    if keys[pygame.K_LEFT]: player_x -= speed
    if keys[pygame.K_RIGHT]: player_x += speed
    if keys[pygame.K_UP]: player_y -= speed
    if keys[pygame.K_DOWN]: player_y += speed

    screen.blit(player, (player_x, player_y))  # Draw player
    pygame.display.flip()  # Update display

pygame.quit()

✔ Moves the player using arrow keys
✔ Handles quitting properly