Create a Pong Game in Python

Build a classic Pong game in Python using the Pygame library. This tutorial offers a comprehensive guide with complete code, covering initialization, setting up screen dimensions, paddle and ball settings, drawing functions, handling user input, and game logic.

Prerequisites

First, you need to install pygame if you haven’t already:

pip install pygame

Pong Game Code

Here is the complete code for a simple Pong game:

import pygame
import random

# Initialize Pygame
pygame.init()

# Screen dimensions
width, height = 800, 600
screen = pygame.display.set_mode((width, height))
pygame.display.set_caption("Pong Game")

# Colors
white = (255, 255, 255)
black = (0, 0, 0)

# Paddle settings
paddle_width, paddle_height = 10, 100
paddle_speed = 10

# Ball settings
ball_size = 10
ball_speed_x = 5 * random.choice((1, -1))
ball_speed_y = 5 * random.choice((1, -1))

# Initialize paddle positions
left_paddle = pygame.Rect(10, height // 2 - paddle_height // 2, paddle_width, paddle_height)
right_paddle = pygame.Rect(width - 20, height // 2 - paddle_height // 2, paddle_width, paddle_height)

# Initialize ball position
ball = pygame.Rect(width // 2 - ball_size // 2, height // 2 - ball_size // 2, ball_size, ball_size)

# Scores
left_score, right_score = 0, 0

# Font for score display
font = pygame.font.SysFont("comicsansms", 30)

def draw():
    screen.fill(black)
    pygame.draw.rect(screen, white, left_paddle)
    pygame.draw.rect(screen, white, right_paddle)
    pygame.draw.ellipse(screen, white, ball)
    pygame.draw.aaline(screen, white, (width // 2, 0), (width // 2, height))

    left_text = font.render(f"{left_score}", True, white)
    right_text = font.render(f"{right_score}", True, white)
    screen.blit(left_text, (width // 4, 20))
    screen.blit(right_text, (width * 3 // 4, 20))

    pygame.display.flip()

def move_paddles():
    keys = pygame.key.get_pressed()
    if keys[pygame.K_w] and left_paddle.top > 0:
        left_paddle.y -= paddle_speed
    if keys[pygame.K_s] and left_paddle.bottom < height:
        left_paddle.y += paddle_speed
    if keys[pygame.K_UP] and right_paddle.top > 0:
        right_paddle.y -= paddle_speed
    if keys[pygame.K_DOWN] and right_paddle.bottom < height:
        right_paddle.y += paddle_speed

def move_ball():
    global ball_speed_x, ball_speed_y, left_score, right_score
    ball.x += ball_speed_x
    ball.y += ball_speed_y

    if ball.top <= 0 or ball.bottom >= height:
        ball_speed_y *= -1

    if ball.colliderect(left_paddle) or ball.colliderect(right_paddle):
        ball_speed_x *= -1

    if ball.left <= 0:
        right_score += 1
        reset_ball()
    if ball.right >= width:
        left_score += 1
        reset_ball()

def reset_ball():
    global ball_speed_x, ball_speed_y
    ball.center = (width // 2, height // 2)
    ball_speed_x *= random.choice((1, -1))
    ball_speed_y *= random.choice((1, -1))

def main():
    global left_score, right_score
    clock = pygame.time.Clock()
    running = True

    while running:
        for event in pygame.event.get():
            if event.type == pygame.QUIT:
                running = False

        move_paddles()
        move_ball()
        draw()
        clock.tick(60)

    pygame.quit()

if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()

Explanation

1. Initialization: pygame.init() initializes all the modules required for Pygame.
2. Screen Dimensions and Colors: Set the width, height, and colors used in the game.
3. Paddle and Ball Settings: Define dimensions and initial speeds.
4. Initialize Positions: Set initial positions for paddles and the ball.
5. Scores: Initialize scores for both players.
6. Font: Define the font used for displaying scores.
7. Draw Function: Renders paddles, ball, net line, and scores on the screen.
8. Move Paddles Function: Handles the movement of paddles based on user input.
9. Move Ball Function: Updates ball position, handles collisions with walls and paddles, and updates scores.
10. Reset Ball Function: Resets the ball to the center with a random direction after a score.
11. Main Game Loop (main()):
    • Handles events such as quitting the game.
    • Updates paddle and ball positions.
    • Draws the updated state on the screen.
    • Maintains a consistent frame rate with clock.tick(60).