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Re: [pygame] Pygame community platform?



2009/12/18 jug <jug@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>:
> Hi Olof,
>
> Olof Bjarnason wrote:
>>
>> I have this crazy idea of making a "pygame community platform" to make
>> distributing/finding/testing/installing pygames simpler.
>>
>
> Interesting idea.
>
>> For end users, it would be a program to install, maybe called
>> something like "PygamePlatform". It would provide a graphical user
>> interface,
>> for the ubuntu platform to begin with, since that is what I'm using.
>> It would feature search/install/uninstall/run interaction.
>>
>
> What do you do with dependencies? Include them to your game source?
> Or add some often used 3rd party packages as extra projects?

Ignore them? :)

No I just thought Python+Pygame could be assumed. For example, the
program itself could be written in Python+Pygame to make a flashy GUI,
and of course then Python+Pygame would exst on the system for "pool
games" to depend upon.

Do many Pygame games depend on other third party libraries than
Pygame? I have only used Python+Pygame+builtins so far. Python is so
flexible I have not felt the need for any additional library.

>
>> Installing would mean downloading .py+bin files and placing them in a
>> PygamePlatform local "games pool". Thus uninstalling is as easy as
>> installing.
>>
>
> Rene is working on something like this, but I think its more for bin files
> including python and all dependencies. So for people who do not know
> python etc. but want to play your games. Is that what you want to do or
> just making it easier for people with python to find and install pygame
> games?

Think of it as the find-install program of ubuntu; a little
descriptive text and one or more screenshots, a link to a home page
etc.
A button to download game, a button to run (if the game exists in
local game pool, that is has been downloaded).

That would make it really simple to publish games, and let your
friends test out the games.

As a developer, you would simply manipulate the PygamePlatform wiki
(or similar) to add your game to the database.
The "game page" would include information of where to download the
source+binaries of the game, plus the descriptive text + screenshots.

So primarily: simplify publishing Python+Pygame-based games. And when
that is simple, testing+feedback+quality comes along.

For the end-users, they may think of the PygamePlatform program as
Valve's Steam utility for Windows (and more platforms maybe?).

But for free, casual-style primarily 2d-games. Like pygame games usually are :)

>
>> GUI: Much like Ubuntus add programs, combined with the start menu.
>>
>
> A GUI wouldn't be a problem I think.
>
>> The database of pygames would reside on some wiki-like web page, so
>> pygame-developers could easily add their creations without any updates
>> to the PygamePlatform-installations out there.
>>
>> Of course this is a great deal of work, but provided it does
>> PygamePlatform could be ported to Windows, Mac etc. without any
>> changes to the wiki-database or the games themselves.
>>
>
> Depends on what existing tools and libs you use/ what you want to do
> You could also just write a wrapper for easy_install with a
> project filter/ own db with project names, a nice GUI and some additional
> game informations.
>
>> Feedback? Is there earlier projects that has tried (and failed) doing
>> this kind of thing?
>>
>
> Well, there is a pygame community platform/website with project listing:
>
> http://pygameweb.no-ip.org/
>
> Its still a beta/rc version, but it has an api (actually two: XMLRPC and
> REST,
> see the "more"-tab) that allows you to get some (maybe more soon) data
> about the projects. Currently you could use it for a "check for
> updates/newer
> version" inside your games/programs. It also gives you the download urls for
> bin and source files (if available).
>
> So if people would add their games to pypi and insert a game description and
> pypi-url/-name on the website, only the GUI would be left to do.
>
>
> Regards,
>
>  Julian
>



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