FOSSPicks

Games development

Pyxel

This isn't a game, but it could be your gateway to getting into game programming. Pyxel is a game-specific module/API and extended environment for Python. What makes it different from similar APIs, or simply using graphics fundamentals yourself, is that Pyxel is purposefully limited. It limits the number of colors that can be displayed onscreen to 16, it can only play four sounds at a time, and it only manipulates three 256x256 image banks. These limitations aren't to help Pyxel games run on old hardware; they're designed to limit your options in much the same way that old games consoles' limitations, such as the SNES, forced the games programmer to think creatively. And it's this forced creativity that led to many of the greatest games of the 80s, many of which are still being played or updated today.

The other advantage to this limitation is that it's easy to get started. The Pyxel module just needs to be imported into your own code, and just a few elements are needed to make your game run on the platform. It's then a case of using the functions provided by Pyxel to write your game. For instance, pal() switches color palettes, circ() draws a circle, tone() plays one of four tones (triangle, square, pulse, and noise, just like those old machines). There's only about 40 of these functions to learn, and they're all very easy for even a nonprogrammer to understand. Pyxel then handles all the rest, letting you play or analyze your game and eventually share it. There are several good examples included with the installation, and it seems a brilliant way to get started – a little like the 4k demo scene only easier to start, and playing around with it is a lot more fun.

Project Website

https://github.com/kitao/pyxel

Learn to code and have fun creating the kind of games popular in the 1980s with Pyxel.

Buy this article as PDF

Express-Checkout as PDF
Price $2.95
(incl. VAT)

Buy Linux Magazine

SINGLE ISSUES
 
SUBSCRIPTIONS
 
TABLET & SMARTPHONE APPS
Get it on Google Play

US / Canada

Get it on Google Play

UK / Australia

Related content

comments powered by Disqus
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters

Support Our Work

Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.

Learn More

News