It’s no secret that Python is popular – in fact, nearly half of developers worldwide use the programming language in their day-to-day work – but it may surprise you to know that it’s just as versatile for online gaming. Adaptable, intuitive, and communicative with other languages, Python is a sleeper hit for techies looking to flex their creative muscles.
Undoubtedly, Python is not game-ready right out of the box, but the right libraries can help it overcome its shortcomings. While its performance capabilities may not be right for complex, resource-heavy games like an FPS, a well-stacked Python setup can streamline creating browser games, such as those at casino sites.
PyGame
A wildly popular choice among novice programmers, PyGame is a fully stacked library based on the SDL library, designed to make a typically complex process more accessible. Not only does it come with modules for drawing tools and some assets to get you started, but it’s also free and open source.
Once installed, PyGame requires a little initialization:
import pygame
# Import pygame.locals for easy access to key coordinates
# Save yourself a few keystrokes
from pygame.locals import(
K_UP,
K_DOWN,
K_LEFT,
K_RIGHT,
K_ESCAPE,
KEYDOWN,
QUIT,
)
# Finally, initialize
pygame.init()
Then all of its features are right at your fingertips. PyGame has a built-in loop to handle user input and game logic, loads files from memory, creates animations, and even has built-in collision detection and physics engines – everything you need to create an online game.
Pyglet
Visually-rich Python games are often relying on Pyglet to provide graphics that pop, but the library can do even more than that; it’s an entire multimedia library intended for game development, and it comes with extra features like user interface event handling, playing sounds and music, and joystick support.
Here’s an example of code you might see a slot machine on credit card casino sites available on CasinoGam.uk using to play background music and trigger that iconic sound effect:
import pyglet
# Load the music that plays while you play
music = pyglet.media.load('/media/slots_music.mp3')
music.play()
# Or for sound effects...
sound = pyglet.media.load('/media/reels_spinning.wav', streaming=False)
sound.play()
pyglet.app.run()
PyOpenGL
Games that implement PyOpenGL typically run on PyGame, but that’s not always the case. At its core, the library is designed to grant low-level access to OpenGL, giving Python developers all the tools they need to create a game engine from scratch or connect with frameworks that use OpenGL: lighting, textures, rendering tools, and transformations, to name a few.
Before you can properly use PyOpenGL, you’ll need to import and implement a few dependencies:
import OpenGL
import OpenGL.GL
import OpenGL.GLUT
import OpenGL.GLU
From there, the virtual world is your oyster.
Random
Arguably the most critical module for any luck-based digital games, Random.py generates pseudo-random numbers. That means the results themselves are not truly random, which is fine for simple tasks like generating random colors, but the library can also be used as part of an overall process that truly randomizes outputs, which sites like casinos would require.
After importing random, you can use the randint function to specify a range and generate a random number from within it:
import random
print(random.randint(1, 100)) # Generates a random integer between 1 and 100
Both parameters are inclusive.
Albow
Short for A Little Bit Of Widgetry, Albow was originally developed for PyGame’s PyWeek competition, and it has since become yet another useful tool to eliminate much of the tedium traditionally associated with creating games – their interfaces, in particular. This GUI toolkit works well with PyGame-based games, giving developers widgets that include check boxes, buttons, labels, tables, text fields, and file load/save dialogs.
For Albow’s GUI to function properly, there must be an instance of RootWidget to implement the main loop, effectively acting as the container for all other widgets that the user will see.
# Return the root widget
get_root()
# Arrange for the function to be called after a delay
schedule_call(delay, function, repeat=False)
# Cancel a called function
cancel_call(token)
Cocos2D
For even more help integrating the 2D experience in a Python game, Cocos2D is designed with a scene structure in mind, giving developers native support for OpenGL and simplification for traditional processes.
For example, it can manage the flow between each scene, create simple sprites that behave as told, move between scenes with smooth transitions, and even has built-in classes to create seamless menus. All in all, it’s an accessible way to create visually engaging online games with memorable sound effects.
Installation is easy:
# Install via pip
pip install cocos2d
# Then import in your python script to use
import cocos2d
Once imported, you can use Cocos2D to make games without having to write too much code.