Sean Riley
Python may not be the first language you think of when you consider computer games, but it's surprising adept at tying together elements of game systems and not at all bad for the implementation of games in its own right.
Game Programming With Python explains how to write game code in Python, and goes a long way toward showing that this isn't just a pet project of some hobbyists--that you'd really want to consider Python for game work. Sections dealing with graphics are particularly impressive. Even established Python enthusiasts will smile at what Sean Riley has accomplished in the area of terrain generation.
Much of the book is as interesting for its coverage of algorithms and design patterns generically as for its detailed coverage of Python programs. Riley takes care to explain, for example, the empirical logic behind the A* (a-star) path-finding algorithm as well as its specific implementation in Python. He devotes similar care to collision-detection algorithms and the simple artificial intelligence behind tic-tac-toe. Riley makes extensive use of libraries in his games, and studying his code is a good way for readers to learn about PyUI, PyOpenGL, and network services libraries. --David Wall
Topics covered: How to push Python to somewhere near the limits of its capabilities by using it to write games. The author talks about game design, useful algorithms, and strategies for using Python to interconnect game elements as well as using Python for core game functions.
1 Great Book, Terrible Support
Sean's introduction to Python game programming is excellent. As a professional games programmer, I found this title to provide a great foundation to the concepts of game programming frameworks, more so than many other titles that focus on more specific code-based tasks.
However, and this is a major fault of both the author and publisher, Sean's book and many code examples are based upon a User Interface library that he wrote called PyUI. Unfortunately, this library doesn't work, and hasn't been updated for quite some time. Downloading the library and using it as suggested in this book will simply not work for the vast majority of users.
If you intend to use this book to learn python game programming, it is important to gain enough familiarity with PyGame and PyOpenGL to be able to work around this broken library. It is also worth noting that you will not be able to use some of the user interface examples provided in the book.
2 Excellent and easy to read
This book is packed with useful game concepts and algorithms. In some ways, it is quite basic as it begins with simple concepts and the python code is easy to comprehend, but in other ways it is very advanced. The later chapters detail AI routines, terrain generation, network protocol design and multi-language development - advanced topics for most programmers who would buy this book.
The way the author builds a library of code and uses the library in increasingly complex situations make this a good showcase of how to write modular software.
I'd highly recommend this book for python programmers, game programmers interested in scripting or alternative languages, or anyone who likes to know how games actually work.
3 great game programming book
Not just a book on Python programming, this is a great book about game programming in general. I'll keep it as a general reference on game stuff. The concepts and algorythms here are useful and relevant to game programming in any language. The use of Python as the implementation language makes the content accessible and easy for programmers of all levels to grasp.
This books covers an incredible range of topics from simulations to graphics, networking and artificial intelligence. The fact that the Python code is so compact makes it possible to cram all of this useful information into a single book. If all of this code were is C++, it would take three books to hold it!
Overall, one of the best game programming books currently available.
4 Great intro to game programming
This book is a fairly detailed introduction to game programming in general. Especially if you're looking to get into the business I think this book could be a great buy. You'll learn enough to make you dangerous by faithfully following the book.
It'll definitely help you fill in gaps in general game programming issues.
