Hello there! In this tutorial, we’ll learn how to build a simple Space Invaders game using Python and the Pygame library. We’ll be using Replit, an online IDE, to write and run our code. By the end of this tutorial, you’ll have a fun game that you can play and share with your friends.
Prerequisites: This tutorial assumes that you have some experience with Python programming. If you’re new to Python, you might want to check out a beginner tutorial first.
Setting up Replit:
- To get started, open your web browser and go to https://replit.com/.
- Click on the “Sign Up” button in the top right corner of the page.
- Fill in the required information to create a new account, or sign up using your Google, GitHub, or Facebook account.
- After signing up, you’ll be taken to your Replit dashboard. Click on the “New Repl” button to create a new project.
- In the “Create a Repl” window, select “Python” as the language, and give your project a name (e.g., “SpaceInvaders”). Then, click on “Create Repl” to set up your new Python environment.
Installing Pygame in Replit:
- In the Replit environment, click on the “Packages” icon on the left side of the screen.
- In the “Search packages” field, type “pygame” and press Enter.
- Click on the “pygame” package, and then click on the “Add” button to install it.
Now we’re ready to start building our Space Invaders game!
Step 1: Importing Libraries and Initializing Pygame First, we need to import the required libraries and initialize Pygame:
import pygame
from pygame.locals import *
import sys
pygame.init()
Step 2: Setting up the Game Window Next, let’s set up the game window with a title, background color, and size:
# Constants for screen dimensions
SCREEN_WIDTH = 800
SCREEN_HEIGHT = 600
# Create the game window
screen = pygame.display.set_mode((SCREEN_WIDTH, SCREEN_HEIGHT))
pygame.display.set_caption('Space Invaders')
# Set the background color
bg_color = (0, 0, 0) # Black
Step 3: Creating the Player Class Now, we’ll create a player class to represent our spaceship:
class Player(pygame.sprite.Sprite):
def __init__(self, x, y):
super().__init__()
self.image = pygame.image.load("spaceship.png")
self.rect = self.image.get_rect()
self.rect.x = x
self.rect.y = y
self.speed = 5
def move_left(self):
self.rect.x -= self.speed
if self.rect.x < 0:
self.rect.x = 0
def move_right(self):
self.rect.x += self.speed
if self.rect.x > SCREEN_WIDTH - self.rect.width:
self.rect.x = SCREEN_WIDTH - self.rect.width
Remember to upload a “spaceship.png” image to Replit for the player spaceship. You can find free images on websites like https://www.kenney.nl/assets or draw your own using a tool like https://www.piskelapp.com/.
Step 4: Creating the Enemy Class We’ll also create an enemy class to represent the alien invaders:
class Enemy(pygame.sprite.Sprite):
def __init__(self, x, y):
super().__init__()
self.image = pygame.image.load("alien.png")
self.rect = self.image.get_rect()
self.rect.x = x
self.rect.y = y
self.speed = 2
def update(self):
self.rect.x += self.speed
if self.rect.x < 0 or self.rect.x > SCREEN_WIDTH - self.rect.width:
self.speed = -self.speed
self.rect.y += self.rect.height
Again, remember to upload an “alien.png” image for the enemy sprite.
Step 5: Creating the Bullet Class We’ll need a bullet class for the player to shoot at the enemies:
class Bullet(pygame.sprite.Sprite):
def __init__(self, x, y):
super().__init__()
self.image = pygame.Surface((4, 10))
self.image.fill((255, 255, 255))
self.rect = self.image.get_rect()
self.rect.x = x
self.rect.y = y
self.speed = 10
def update(self):
self.rect.y -= self.speed
Step 6: Creating Game Objects and Groups Now we’ll create instances of the player, enemies, and bullet groups:
player = Player(SCREEN_WIDTH // 2, SCREEN_HEIGHT - 100)
enemies = pygame.sprite.Group()
for i in range(5):
for j in range(5):
enemy = Enemy(50 + i * 100, 50 + j * 70)
enemies.add(enemy)
bullets = pygame.sprite.Group()
Step 7: The Main Game Loop Finally, let’s create the main game loop to handle input, updates, and drawing:
clock = pygame.time.Clock()
while True:
# Handle events
for event in pygame.event.get():
if event.type == QUIT:
pygame.quit()
sys.exit()
elif event.type == KEYDOWN:
if event.key == K_SPACE:
bullet = Bullet(player.rect.centerx, player.rect.y)
bullets.add(bullet)
keys = pygame.key.get_pressed()
if keys[K_LEFT]:
player.move_left()
if keys[K_RIGHT]:
player.move_right()
# Update game objects
enemies.update()
bullets.update()
# Check for collisions
pygame.sprite.groupcollide(bullets, enemies, True, True)
# Draw game objects
screen.fill(bg_color)
screen.blit(player.image, player.rect)
enemies.draw(screen)
bullets.draw(screen)
pygame.display.flip()
clock.tick(60)
That’s it! You should now have a simple Space Invaders game. Of course, there is room for improvement, such as adding sound effects, multiple levels, and a scoring system. Feel free to experiment and make the game your own.
I hope this tutorial has been helpful for you. Enjoy your new Space Invaders game, and happy coding!
Here is the complete code:
import pygame
from pygame.locals import *
import sys
pygame.init()
# Constants for screen dimensions
SCREEN_WIDTH = 800
SCREEN_HEIGHT = 600
# Create the game window
screen = pygame.display.set_mode((SCREEN_WIDTH, SCREEN_HEIGHT))
pygame.display.set_caption('Space Invaders')
# Set the background color
bg_color = (0, 0, 0) # Black
class Player(pygame.sprite.Sprite):
def __init__(self, x, y):
super().__init__()
self.image = pygame.image.load("spaceship.png")
self.rect = self.image.get_rect()
self.rect.x = x
self.rect.y = y
self.speed = 5
def move_left(self):
self.rect.x -= self.speed
if self.rect.x < 0:
self.rect.x = 0
def move_right(self):
self.rect.x += self.speed
if self.rect.x > SCREEN_WIDTH - self.rect.width:
self.rect.x = SCREEN_WIDTH - self.rect.width
class Enemy(pygame.sprite.Sprite):
def __init__(self, x, y):
super().__init__()
self.image = pygame.image.load("alien.png")
self.rect = self.image.get_rect()
self.rect.x = x
self.rect.y = y
self.speed = 2
def update(self):
self.rect.x += self.speed
if self.rect.x < 0 or self.rect.x > SCREEN_WIDTH - self.rect.width:
self.speed = -self.speed
self.rect.y += self.rect.height
class Bullet(pygame.sprite.Sprite):
def __init__(self, x, y):
super().__init__()
self.image = pygame.Surface((4, 10))
self.image.fill((255, 255, 255))
self.rect = self.image.get_rect()
self.rect.x = x
self.rect.y = y
self.speed = 10
def update(self):
self.rect.y -= self.speed
player = Player(SCREEN_WIDTH // 2, SCREEN_HEIGHT - 100)
enemies = pygame.sprite.Group()
for i in range(5):
for j in range(5):
enemy = Enemy(50 + i * 100, 50 + j * 70)
enemies.add(enemy)
bullets = pygame.sprite.Group()
clock = pygame.time.Clock()
while True:
# Handle events
for event in pygame.event.get():
if event.type == QUIT:
pygame.quit()
sys.exit()
elif event.type == KEYDOWN:
if event.key == K_SPACE:
bullet = Bullet(player.rect.centerx, player.rect.y)
bullets.add(bullet)
keys = pygame.key.get_pressed()
if keys[K_LEFT]:
player.move_left()
if keys[K_RIGHT]:
player.move_right()
# Update game objects
enemies.update()
bullets.update()
# Check for collisions
pygame.sprite.groupcollide(bullets, enemies, True, True)
# Draw game objects
screen.fill(bg_color)
screen.blit(player.image, player.rect)
enemies.draw(screen)
bullets.draw(screen)
pygame.display.flip()
clock.tick(60)
