{"id":2524,"date":"2012-05-15T21:46:56","date_gmt":"2012-05-16T04:46:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/learnbyblogging.com\/?p=2524"},"modified":"2012-05-15T22:38:45","modified_gmt":"2012-05-16T05:38:45","slug":"book-review-invent-your-own-computer-games-with-python-by-al-swigart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/learnbyblogging.com\/?p=2524","title":{"rendered":"Book Review: “Invent Your Own Computer Games with Python” by Al Swigart"},"content":{"rendered":"

I did some paper learning of the Python programming language. Never got a hands on experience with it. Learning to program games seemed to be a good motivator to learn a new computer language. The nice thing about this book is that all of programs are available on the web<\/a> for download without having to retype them. In addition the entire book in html format is on the web too. <\/p>\n

Python programming language is intriguing to me because of its interpretive environment and object-oriented nature (though the book didn’t explore the “class” object) plus its popularity among fellow engineers.<\/p>\n

The most notable program is Reversi and its simple algorithm that borderline artificial intelligence. I was surprised by how easy it is to set up simulation to test out various algorithms against each other. Very nice. There were other text-oriented programs like Tic Tac Toe, Hangman, Sonar Treasure Hunt. Then the author went into more graphic-oriented games like Dodgers to explore the sound, and graphics. Very nice flow from simple games to a full blown interactive graphic game and yet kept the programming relative simple to understand.<\/p>\n

This is a book for beginner programmers. As an experienced programmer, I flipped the pages fairly quickly to learn the main syntax and uniqueness of the Python language. If I were a beginner programmer interested in learning Python to start off, I would pick this book because of the instant gratification from playing a game makes learning less stressful.<\/p>\n

There is a follow on book called “Making Games with Python and Pygame<\/a>.” I just might read it too.<\/p>\n