Summary

Many people learn to program because of their interest in building their own video games. Once the necessary skills have been acquired, it is often the case that the original idea of creating a game is forgotten in favor of solving the problems we confront at work. Game jams are a great way to get inspired and motivated to finally write a game from scratch. This week Daniel Pope discusses the origin and format for PyWeek, his experience as a participant, and the landscape of options for building a game in Python. He also explains how you can register and compete in the next competition.

Preface

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• Your host as usual is Tobias Macey and today I’m interviewing Daniel Pope about PyWeek, a one week challenge to build a game in Python

Interview

• Introductions
• How did you get introduced to Python?
• Can you start by describing what PyWeek is and how the competition got started?
  • What is your current role in relation to PyWeek and how did you get involved?


• What are the strengths of the Python lanaguage and ecosystem for developing a game?


• What are some of the common difficulties encountered by participants in the challenge?


• What are some of the most commonly used libraries and tools for creating and packaging the games?


• What are some shortcomings in the available tools or libraries for Python when it comes to game development?


• What are some examples of libraries or tools that were created and released as a result of a team’s efforts during PyWeek?


• How often do games that get started during PyWeek continue to be developed and improved?
  • Have there ever been games that went on to be commercially viable?


• What are some of the most interesting or unusual games that you have seen submitted to PyWeek?


• Can you describe your experience as a competitor in PyWeek?
  • How do you structure your time during the competition week to ensure that you can complete your game?


• What are the benefits and difficulties of the one week constraint for development?


• How has PyWeek changed over the years that you have been involved with it?


• What are your hopes for the competition as it continues into the future?

Keep In Touch

• @lordmauve on Twitter
• Blog
• lordmauve on GitHub

Picks

• Tobias
  • The Architecht Show


• Dan
  • Red Blob Games
  • Designing Virtual Worlds by Richard Bartle

Links

• PyWeek
• Two Sigma
• Game Jam
• Richard Jones
• PyGame
• Pyglet
• SDL
• PyGame Zero
• Cocos 2D
• Doctor Corovich’s Flying Atomic Squid
• Mortimer The Lepidopterist
• Ludum Dare

The intro and outro music is from Requiem for a Fish The Freak Fandango Orchestra / CC BY-SA