Re: [pygame] How much python experience needed?

[James Hofmann <jwhinfinity@xxxxxxxxx>]

--- Haroon Khalid <haroon@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> So how much farther do I have to go with python, what key subjects do I need
> to know about besides the ones I mentioned I already know?
 
The way I really got a handle on Python, and game programming in general, was
from being introduced to data structures in coursework. I would take the
assignments we had(in Java) and do Python versions first. Once you've
successfully implemented a few simple structures like stacks, queues and
trees(Python provides built-in types for most of these, but you can reimplement
them for practice), and done a few test programs with them, the conceptual
foundations are there to make most applications, including 2d games - the main
hassle is in learning the library. 

The work is simpler if you do things that only need the console first, so if
you were going to draw a map, you could start by figuring out how to do it with
the print statement. Then you would learn how to make surfaces and draw to the
screen in pygame. Then you could combine the two. Programming anything
significant tends to require this kind of "write/mash-up" process because you
never get a clear concept of what to do the first time around, even with a lot
of planning. At some point you have to just start writing code and deal with
each piece of logic as it comes up, and then trash some bits when you realize
that they don't do what you want...thus starting with the simplest case means
that you can work out the details early on.

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