4E, Invent Your Own Computer Games with Python

I come to this book from the perspective from someone who has written python for many years and who has been involved in the technology world for quite some time. My children are growing up and I would like them to have confidence with programming no matter what career path they choose in life. Programming is not so much a means to an income, but a tool that empowers you to get things done no matter what your chosen career is.

My problem, how do I teach this to my kids. This book has given me the foundation of getting back to the basics. Furthermore, it does it in a way that is fun. Most kids like games. Give them the power to write games and you will get the extra attention from them needed to get through the learning curve.

The first several chapters have helped me slow down, figure out how to get basic concepts across to my oldest. These are things I take for granted, but can be daunting for a new user. The examples in the book are provided on-line as well. It does take a little while (chapter 17) to get to the really fun stuff (graphical games). But when you do, these chapters help gain the attention that might otherwise be waning.

Complaints: I really don't have too much to complain about. There were some inconsistencies with the code which you can cut and paste on-line, but the code you actually click to download to your machine was completely aligned with the the book. My major complaint is with python, the language itself. The challenge this book is facing is that python is going through a major change between 2.X and 3.X, but some of the libraries used to write games are still only written in 2.X. The major differences are small, but as an example, you learn to use the print statement print("hello"), only to find out that when you are using the pygame libraries, you must use the old version of print which looks like this: print "hello".

I recommend this book for any beginner trying to learn programming. I also recommend you be realistic and recognize it will take an investment of 10+ hours before you start to really become comfortable getting things done yourself.

I am absolutely illiterate when it comes to computers, but I thought I would give simplified programming a try using this book. It was the perfect tool for me to get started. It is an easy read, easy to follow and puts things in a perspective that makes for easy understanding. The pictures and drawings helped me to grasp the concepts better.

It was astounding that someone like me could create games on the computer and it was actually quite fun.

I am not in love with programming and no tool or book could have changed that. It is a love for some and not for others, but this is the perfect tool for someone like myself, having no knowledge, no concept and no background in computers.

This book is fun, brilliant and makes learning simple and easy.

I was particularly interested in this book because I have a young nephew (ten years old) who I thought might like to learn how to program. I wanted to see if this book could live up to its claims to be "understandable by kids as young as 10 to 12 years old".

The short answer is yes, it can. From my experience, I think there are a few aspects of the author's style that make this book particularly suitable for children and beginners:

1. Repetition.

He does not introduce topics in the dry, methodical style so common to books about computing. He'll mention something in passing, then explain it in more detail in a later section, then mention it again later, and so on, until the idea is completely understood by the reader without him or her ever having to deliberately memorise a definition. This use of casual repetition seems to be a far easier and more effective teaching technique than the more abstractly structured lessons I've encountered in other programming books.

2. No dumbing down.

Although this book is aimed, at least in part, at children, the material is never dumbed down or patronising. The author uses simple examples but they are always complete and fully explained. He does not over-simplify things or avoid mentioning things that might be too complicated for poor little kiddies' brains.

3. Functional examples.

Not only are the code examples always fully functional programs, but the author introduces them with an example run, showing what the programs do before he explains the program's code in detail. This is a fantastic aid to understanding. So many books for beginners begin each section with a page of inscrutable code and then slowly explain it, so that the reader has to get to the end of the chapter before he finally discovers what it does. Such a technique does not appear to work with children. Showing the results first and then explaining where they came from is a huge improvement.

The only real complaint I have is, I suppose, the flip-side of my first point above. Sometimes the author's style of teaching by repetition rather than definition causes him to use some computing terminology before he has explained it. Most of the time this does not matter (in fact, as I said, I think it is a better way to introduce ideas anyway) but occasionally this leads to confusion. For example, he uses the term "string" without making it completely clear what a "string" is in computing. He also writes "Ctrl-S" to mean pressing the "Ctrl" key and the "S" key at the same time, which is fairly obvious to anyone with computing experience but not so obvious to a child who has only ever used a GUI before. But these are not very serious issues - it's just the only complaint I have.

Overall, a great success. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn to program and has no previous experience.

This amazing book really is a butterslide into python programming, where in no time you are already creating games! I'm a biologist, with little formation in computer languages, but still got to grasp all the concepts here shown and i'm already creating fun variations of the games explained here to share with my friends.
Even though i'm from Argentina, and english is not my mother tongue, the language in this book is easy, and each game is compartmentalized into digestable sub-sections so that you understand it fully. I've since downloaded all of Al Sweigart's book and hoping for others to come.

Great book to distrubute to friends who have shown some interest in gaming and programming.

I found the book easy to pickup and follow. Everything was clear for me and it definitely helped pile up some information to use as a stepping stone. Id definitely suggest checking it out especially being cheaper than some other books I've looked at.

This book does a great job of laying everything out so that no prior knowledge or other resources are required to understand it. With just the lessons in the book, you can learn to do everything in the example programs, whether you're 12, 21, 60. You can get to the end of the book without feeling confused or left behind, and by the time you do you'll have a firm grasp of all the concepts covered, so that you can create your own program from scratch. Having the student write out all the example programs, and going over every line, ensures that the lessons are entirely comprehensive and nothing is glossed over, yet adult students or those with light backgrounds in other programming languages won't feel that they're being taught down to and won't feel like skipping ahead. I would recommend this book as an intro programming course text, or to anyone who wants to pick up Python on their own.

I have read this book online for free at [...]/ ,and I have to say it is fantastic. The pygame chapters are a must have, making the earlier Invent Your Own Computer Games With Python obsolete. This is a great addition to the beginner/intermediate/ or even professional programmer's arsenal.

I will be purchasing a print copy, as it is much easier on my eyes :)

This book is extremely accessible, making it a valuable resource for not only children but adults trying their hands at programming. It is written in a straightforward and laid manner that makes it engaging and easy without condescension. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in python or just a great introduction into programming in general.

This is one of the best beginner's programming books I've come across in ages. I haven't read a computer language book this fun since I was a little guy back in the 80's working my way through my cousin's BASIC book he had let me borrow. Mr. Sweigart skillfully recaptures the spirit of my old BASIC book by not just telling us about Python, but having us work through some simple, fun programs. Teaching Python (or any language for that matter) by DOING is in my opinion better than having to drudge through the technicalities of the language alone. This is the perfect book for a budding young programmer, or even an older sysadmin who never really got around to finishing his programming education.

The book started with very basic functions and continued to grow on that knowledge, it has been one of the easiest programming books I've read but amazingly didn't just touch only the most basic of functions and objects.

Each chapter I knew I not only learned something...I built something that did something, which for a new programmer is AMAZING and gives the extra push that nearly every other Python programming book falls short on.

Although the book title specifies, "Computer Games", the information is invaluable to all pathways of Python programming.

If you're looking for a first, second or third book, or for someone else who might be interested in learning Python, this is it.

"Invent Your Own Computer Games with Python" is one of the three free python books from Al Sweigart. This is a great introductory Python programming book. I suggest “Hacking Secret Ciphers with Python” for more advanced topics. Even though the book is meant for young kids, it's great for adults also. I have friends in college who are reading this book and said it helps them with their college courses.

This book is beautifully detailed, carefully descriptive while being thoroughly accessible book that introduces you to Python. Although I've only been studying Python for a few months I have read other programming books - java, C++, shell, C, python- none of the books are as accessible. What makes this book great, is the attention to detail and not assuming that his audience knows everything(or even a great deal) about programming. If you want to learn Python without having to do endless searches-while you are trying to read the book- this is a self-sufficient tool and hopefully other tech writers will take notice.

Enjoy

This book is fantastic for teaching children programming and the Python language. I am currently using it to teach a 13 year old the core basics of programming before moving him on to harder material. It is also a wonderful book for an adult with little or no exposure to programming. In fact, if I was going to introduce an adult to programming, I would have them read this book. HOWEVER, this is not a book about developing modern games. This is a book that teaches programming by using text based games as examples. Using games as examples is a very effective way to teach programming and this book is a success in that regard. It might have been better titled "Learn Python by Creating Computer Games" or something like that.

"'Invent Your Own Computer Games
With Python' is a magnificently ambitious book
which teaches computer programming and the
Python 3 language starting from the very
beginning. I have no doubt that a person who
wants to learn programming will achieve great
success using this book, especially if they
take the time to manually type in each of the
programs and debug all of their own typos."

This is an opinion by a good friend who is a long-time programmer...

This book was my introduction to pygame and it has been a great help. It's written for kids and very easy to understand. Fun examples are easy to tweak to your own liking. I wrote a worm style game less than a week after reading this book. I highly recommend this book for anyone looking to learn pygame with minimal python experience.

I'm a pretty experienced Python coder, but I still found this book to be a huge help. I wasn't too familiar with concepts of game development before, but this book really helped me understand it all, using examples, clean wording, and a pretty amazing walk-you-through system of learning. I recommend this book to anyone who's interested in coding, plain and simple. It truly put the spark back into my love for Python.

Like many people, I have been frustrated with books aimed at 'beginners'. Normally, they write one chapter on the basics and from then on treat the reader as an expert. This book genuinely understands that I have ZERO knowledge, and then sets out to change that.

Easy to read, easy to follow and excellent value for money. I also emailled the author with a query on something I didn't understand and received a polite, friendly and very useful response that answered my question. Highly recommended.

If you are interested in learning about programming, read this book. With the confidence you will gain from writing and playing the games in this book you will be introduced to the world of programming. Python is a great place to start that adventure. Have fun and see you out there!!!

I learned my first language, python using this book 8 years ago, and haven't stopped programming since. It's an amazing book for beginners and really goes over the concepts of programming while you create video games. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking to learn how to program.

This is a very simple programming book for python. There are very few of them that are simple and easy to understand. I have used the online version for training for my students. I think this is an excellent book.

I love this book, it is very well written especially if you are a beginner like me! It teaches the basic really well and easy to understand. Other books I have read were all very confusing when you are starting out but this one is perfect! I highly recommend it!!

A well written book giving a great introduction into the world of programming python. The best part is the examples, they always show interesting ways to use the new topics you've just learned. I feel like the book encourages creativity and fun in programming as opposed to the cold mathematical sometimes seen in other texts.

This book was a great tool in learning Python. It was really nice to be able to build games that I could play, as I was learning how the language worked. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone that's looking to pick up the basics of this language.

This book is great since it really goes into detail about all of the topics and gives great examples while doing so.
It also breaks up the monotony that most programming books suffer from by including a bit of humor.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning the basics of Python! The book starts off assuming you know nothing about programming, but quickly becomes interesting and extremely fun. This book is a must buy!

Hello everyone

I recently got this book for my kid so he can get into programming and he loves it . It's so easy to understand and follow and definetly not boring . It covers many aspects of Python and is good for getting into programming . ''d recommend it to anyone no matter the age looking to get into programming

I'm loving this book. I've never programmed before but this actually lets me do something every step of the way. Once I do each project the book's way and read the description of how it works I can go back and rewrite the game or a similar game to be the way I want it to be. It's great. I think this is a great start to programming because it is so much fun.

To little OOP teaching, I wish "Cracking Codes with Python" could be as cheap as this book, there is no reason for "Cracking Codes with Python" to be more expensive if someone could easily post the PDF version for free, I hate reading from the computer, that is why, I am planning to buy the "Cracking Codes with Python".

Like many of the other reviewers have said, the book is generally well written and easy to understand.

My biggest critique, however, is that there are no exercises and therefore, the new information that is presented in each chapter is not reinforced. If fact the beginning programmer will likely just copy the source code of each program after going through the explanation and that's it. This, in fact, is not the way to learn programming in my opinion. I wish the author would have included some relevant and related questions with solutions at the end of each chapter to help the reader retain and practice what was learned in the example games.

Also, he doesn't even touch object oriented programming (which apparently is beyond the scope of the book) but for a book that's over 400 pages long, that seems like a major cop out to me.

I highly recommend this book for anyone new to programming. The baby steps approach is very good, since it keeps the reader motivated and infact rushes them to go over the book cover to cover, so that they can start writing their own programs (and games) at the earliest :)

The later part of the chapters get a little more detailed in terms of writing bigger complex programs, but in a fun way. It's also a good refernce book for someone who has been programming for a while and wants to dabble with a new programming language(Python)