Invent Your Own Computer Games With Python

Very well written book for the total beginner at programming. Lessons are organically taught and from the get go let's the user execute code to see it appear on the screen, albeit code that was copied straight from the book. Narration is SIMPLE and CONCISE. I have a huge Java 1000+ page text that I used to learn Java from scratch and it was like listening to Shakespeare -- not a knock on Shakespeare but most people don't talk that way in everyday life, therefore my brain isn't accustomed and therefore it has to "translate" Shakespeare's sentences into everyday speech - so the Java text was like that! But you shouldn't be double taxing your brain learning how to program AND deciphering what the author is writing, that is probably what frustrates most beginners. For motivational reasons, I think it is very important to hit the ground running when it comes to learning new skills and not get bogged down by all the details and memorization. It is possible to write about programming in simple sentences, I know because this book exists. So A+ there.The book starts off with installation of python and setting up an IDE (integrated development environment, software that tries to be a one-stop-shop for all your needs: editing code, running code, file manager, etc)Each chapter presents a game to be created. The author describes the mechanics of the game and then provides the source code from the get go for the student to copy over into his own file. The source code is also available on a website for quick copy-pasting. So immediately if the student copy and pastes the code into his IDE or runs the script manually through a terminal, bam, program is up and running within the first half an hour.Then the author goes step by step with each line of code and explains what is happening. Core lessons are spread throughout the book instead of all at the beginning like traditional books. In other words, in the first chapter you might learn about the import statement and variables, then a few chapters later learn about lists and dictionaries, etc. I like this format a whole lot better than texts that feature a lot of depth in the beginning that amounts to reading and memorizing -- but without anything to type and execute, you quickly forget anyway and have to spend time flipping backwards in the text to jog your memory when you realize you need something you've already learned about.Unfortunately I was a little disappeared as to how simple the lessons are. The user doesn't get to design games with a graphical interface (via the Pygame library), until the last third of the book. Prior to that, all games are executed through the command line interface (terminal, shell, console, whatever you happen to call it). This is probably my own fault for not taking a look into the book more thoroughly. I'm a novice programmer with some familiarity with Java and C++, not a total beginner so most of what the book goes over I was already familiar with and have used before, albeit the syntax is different and Python is definitely more concise in code. For some reason I was thinking the book was going to start with creating a graphical interface from the get go and progress a little quicker.I know now that the author has another book that is more what I thought this book was, entitled "Making Games with Python and Pygame"All in all, I still have to give the book 5 stars for doing well what I believe it set out to do: introducing programming to complete beginners as fast as possible, as pleasantly as possible, since I know how dense beginner texts can be.In summary, great book for TOTAL beginners. If you have some background in programming other languages, and can write simple input and output, read and write programs, this book is probably not for you.I also now know that you can read this book for free online at the author's website, which is incredible. So check out the text to see if it fits your speed. Personally, I prefer reading from real books since I stare at the screen long enough as it is and it's a good way to support the content if you like it.

Cursory review to make people aware that I see this is a good book so far, but the author handles user input in a really inefficient manner. Many times he will use multiple lines of code for something that can be easily handled with one and with less confusion.Inefficient example from book for acquiring an integer value:print("Prompt: ")variable=input()variable=int(variable)This can and should be done in one line:variable=int(input("Prompt: "))And can be easily explained as follows: Python 3's input() function prints the parameter you initially pass to it as if it were a print() function. The input() function deals only with strings of characters. So: variable=input("Prompt: ") is only expecting a string. You have to convert the string value into an integer or floating point decimal value by using the int() or float() function and wrapping that secondary function around your string value like: int( input() ) or float( input() ). This integer or float value that has been converted from the initial string is then stored into the variable as a number instead of a string.I will update my review as I make my way through the material but so far it looks good beyond that niggling point. Also, it should be explained that the use of double or single quotes in python is interchangeable when dealing with parameters in functions.

This is a great book for anyone who's just starting to program or who has very little programming background and wants to get into python. The more advanced learner will find less of use here, but it does cover some topics a lot of other sources for introduction level stuff do not... such as the main program loop, introduction to AI, and some basic level 2d graphics with pygame. It does not include topics like OOP, recursion, or great depth of any of the topics it touches on. Still, I mostly purchased this book to give support to the Author (He makes the book available for free in ebook form), and going though it I've learned a couple of tricks in python I didn't know. Writing style is also very accessible and light. Strong online resource support.Those with more python\programming experience that want to get a basic handle on graphics might try his book Making Games with Python & PyGame as a better fit starting point.

I just received this book last week, and I am having so much fun with it...So much fun, that this is the first time I have felt compelled to write a review for a book purchased from Amazon.I am 59 years old, with no programming experience, and I am the furthest thing from being a computer geek that you could imagine. I have always wanted to learn a little about programming. I have leafed through some other books, but they all seemed either very intimidating or very dry/boring, or both. This book is just perfect to get someone like me started. What a fun way to learn...whether you are a kid or a big kid-at-heart.The extras and helpful tools on the author's website are a great bonus.I find that having the book in hand to make notes in, makes for a better learning experience. But if you are only going to download the free version, then please consider making a donation on the author's website...I think the author really deserves it.

I bought this book to see if I could interest my children in programming.I'm a professional programmer and I use Python extensively in my work, so I read the book first to see if it was up to the job.The first thing that was obvious was that this book uses Python3. The python eco-system is very gradually migrating from Python2. On reflection I think this was an excellent choice and will stop the book aging.This book very deliberately doesn't attempt to teach the whole of Python, it sticks to an easy to comprehend subset. It doesn't attempt object oriented programming and doesn't introduce any datatypes except for lists and dictionaries.The author uses excellent programming style given those limitations, and doesn't abuse global variables. A slight nit-pick is the use of thisKindOfVariable which isn't the python standard which is this_kind_of_variable.The author encourages the student to type in the programs listed, but to use the website to check that they have been typed in correctly. Typing the programs in is an excellent way of really learning the language, and hopefully the website will stop the frustration of the program not working. It remains to be seen how well this works in practice with my children though!This book reminded me very much of the book that I learnt to program with, which was the BASIC manual which came with the Sinclar ZX80, and I think the author has done a really good job of attempting to produce a modern version. The author has thought carefully about exactly what to introduce and what not to introduce and to try hard not to over-complicate things.I'm looking forward to trying this book out with my children.

Going back 30 years, programming in Basic from magazines on the speccy ..what fun! .. well I think this book brings the same joy to the current generation.. The book takes the (right) approach of learning by doing, getting to write code and games without needing to understand everything from the start.Each chapter a game with the source code to write out, and when done the chapter then talks about the constructs in really good detail.Especially with children they need to see the reward without spending too long writing the code so the beginning chapters are especially perfect. My 8 yr old found some of the explanations a bit difficult so we kind of skipped over them once the basic understanding was there (why not?!) we then spent the time 'hacking' the games to try new ideas out and learning that way.Here using Python, which although a 'proper' language, is a good bet because its accessible esp important for children and if the interest is there they can stick with the language without needing to move to another necessarily.

I think this is a brilliant book if you want to learn to programme. The are a number of reasons for thisUnlike a lot of books the author does not lose sight of the fact you are a beginner.Some authorsmove to quickly or presume to much about the knowledge of the reader.So you end up getting stuck a few chapters inIt is written for python which experts reckon is the best language to understand for a beginner as well as being very powerfulThe book is interesting ,it teaches you through games.I find it a lot more intresting if you have projects and games to createThe author is good a teaching and writes in a relaxed,informal mannerThe book has a website that has videos,code example and a code breakdown/Tracer(which tells you what each line of code does)the website is good as helps learn the code in the book through differnt teaching methods

Good book. 5 stars.

Likely useable for many people wanting to get their kids into Raspberry-Pies and programming. Great book, I prefer having a printed copy handy as a reference (a bit like entering listings from magazines in my day). The examples are well explained and educational and even enjoyable for an old 'C/C++' programmer like myself.