# Tutorial 3: Better Pong

Contents

- Tutorial 3: Better Pong
  - Adding Scoring
    - Making Enter Restart the Game
    - Giving Points to the Players
    - Displaying the Scores
      - New Resources
      - Drawing the HUD
      - Displaying the HUD
    - Giving Victory
  - Adding Sounds
    - Getting the Sounds
    - Loading the Sounds
    - Playing the Sounds
  - Adding Joystick Support
    - Axis Movement
    - Trackball Movement
    - Applying the Joystick Controls
  - The Final Result

In the last tutorial, we made a simple Pong game that was kind of boring. We’re going to make it better by adding scores, sounds, and joystick support.

## Adding Scoring

Adding a score system will make our Pong game feel more like a game and less like a toy. Every time a player wins a round, they will get one point. When a player gets ten points, they will win the game, and a new game can be started by pressing the Enter key.

### Making Enter Restart the Game

We are going to need a new global variable: `game_in_progress`. This variable will indicate whether or not a game is currently going and will be used to determine whether to start a new game or pause when the Enter key is pressed. Set it to `True` by default.

To make pressing Enter start a new game, we will check `game_in_progress`. If a game is in progress, we will pause the game, as we had it do previously. Otherwise, we will set `game_in_progress` to `True` and restart the room.

If you look through the documentation for `sge.dsp.Room`, you may notice that no “restart” method exists. In fact, this is a design choice; earlier versions of the SGE did have a method to restart rooms, but it was removed because this feature is overly difficult to maintain properly. But how do we restart the room, then? Well, we technically don’t. Instead, we create a new room which is exactly like the one we wanted to restart, and immediately start it. We will put the creation of the room into a new function, `create_room()`. Our definition of `Game.event_key_press()` becomes:

    def event_key_press(self, key, char):
        global game_in_progress

        if key == 'f8':
            sge.gfx.Sprite.from_screenshot().save('screenshot.jpg')
        elif key == 'f11':
            self.fullscreen = not self.fullscreen
        elif key == 'escape':
            self.event_close()
        elif key in ('p', 'enter'):
            if game_in_progress:
                self.pause()
            else:
                game_in_progress = True
                create_room().start()

Now, we need to define `create_room()`. This is very simple; we just copy and paste the code we used at the bottom to create the room into it, but specify that `player` and `player2` are global. Our function is as follows:

    def create_room():
        global player1
        global player2
        player1 = Player(1)
        player2 = Player(2)
        ball = Ball()
        return sge.dsp.Room([player1, player2, ball], background=background)

Of course, this makes the identical code at the bottom redundant, so we will replace it with a call to `create_room()`.

### Giving Points to the Players

We now need to add score attributes to the `Player` objects. We will initialize the new attribute, `score`, in `Player.event_create()` as `0`.

Now, in `Ball.event_step()`, add lines to increase `player1.score` and `player2.score` whenever the respective player wins a round.

### Displaying the Scores

The players have points, but can’t see the score! We need to add a HUD (heads-up display) to show the score to the players.

There are a couple of ways we can do this. Most obviously, we can use `sge.dsp.Game.project_text()` or `sge.dsp.Room.project_text()`. However, there is a much better way: have a dynamically generated sprite that represents the look of the HUD at any given time, and displaying that sprite.

#### New Resources

We need to add a new global variable called `hud_sprite`. Assign a new sprite to this variable with a `width` of `320`, a `height` of `120`, an `origin_x` of `160`, and an `origin_y` of `0`.

To draw text, we need a font. Create a new `sge.gfx.Font` object and assign it to `hud_font`. For now, we will use a system font. I am choosing `"Droid Sans Mono"`, but you can choose whatever font you prefer. Pass your choice as the first argument to `sge.gfx.Font.__init__()`. Set the `size` keyword argument to `48`.

Note

We are using system fonts for simplicity, but it is generally a bad idea to rely on them. There is no standard for what fonts are available on the system, and the set of fonts available on the system varies widely. In real projects, it is better to distribute a font file with the game and use that.

#### Drawing the HUD

There are a few times we need to redraw the HUD: when the game starts, when player 1 scores, and when player 2 scores. Therefore, we will put the redrawing code into a function, `refresh_hud()`. This function needs to clear the HUD sprite, draw Player 1’s score, and then draw Player 2’s score.

Another constant is needed: `TEXT_OFFSET`, which we will define as `16`.

We clear the HUD sprite with `sge.gfx.Sprite.draw_clear()`.

To draw the text, we use `sge.gfx.Sprite.draw_text()`. Both calls have a few arguments in common: `font` is set to `hud_font`, `y` is set to `TEXT_OFFSET`, `color` is set to white, and `valign` is set to `"top"`.

The rest of the arguments are different between the two. `text` is set to the respective player’s score, converted to a string. `x` is set to `hud_sprite.width / 2 - TEXT_OFFSET` for player 1’s score, and `hud_sprite.width / 2 + TEXT_OFFSET` for player 2’s score. `halign` is set to `"right"` for player 1’s score, and `"left"` for player 2’s score.

`refresh_hud()` ends up something like this:

    def refresh_hud():
        # This fixes the HUD sprite so that it displays the correct score.
        hud_sprite.draw_clear()
        x = hud_sprite.width / 2
        hud_sprite.draw_text(hud_font, str(player1.score), x - TEXT_OFFSET,
                             TEXT_OFFSET, color=sge.gfx.Color("white"),
                             halign="right", valign="top")
        hud_sprite.draw_text(hud_font, str(player2.score), x + TEXT_OFFSET,
                             TEXT_OFFSET, color=sge.gfx.Color("white"),
                             halign="left", valign="top")

Add calls to `refresh_hud()` in the three places where a `Player.score` value changes, right after the change. These places are in `Player.event_create()` and `Ball.event_step()`.

we have one more problem. `refresh_hud()` requires `player1` and `player2` to each have an attribute called `score`, but the first time it is called, one of the player objects has not had a chance to initialize this attribute. To work around this, add a class attribute to `Player` called `score`, and set it to `0`. This will cause `player1.score` and `player2.score` to be `0` in the event that the respective object’s `score` has not been initialized yet.

#### Displaying the HUD

At this point, we have our HUD, but it isn’t displayed. We will fix this simply by adding a step event to `Game` which projects the HUD sprite onto the screen:

    def event_step(self, time_passed, delta_mult):
        self.project_sprite(hud_sprite, 0, self.width / 2, 0)

Unlike `sge.dsp.Room` projections, `sge.dsp.Game` projections are relative to the screen. Additionally, these projections are always on top of everything else on the screen. This is usually how we want a HUD to be displayed, which is why we are using a `sge.dsp.Game` projection instead of a `sge.dsp.Room` projection or `sge.dsp.Object` object.

Note

You may notice that, when you pause the game, the HUD disappears. This is not a bug! This happens because the step event doesn’t occur while the game is paused. If you want the HUD to show up while the game is paused, project it in the paused step event, defined by `sge.dsp.Game.event_paused_step()`, as well.

### Giving Victory

At this point, we have scores, but no one ever officially wins. We need to end the game when someone gets 10 points. We will go a little further and replace the scores with text that says “WIN” and “LOSE” for the winner and loser, respectively.

Define a new constant called `POINTS_TO_WIN` as `10`.

In our case, the most convenient place to check for victory is within `Ball.serve()`. Specifically, put the code that sets the speed of the ball under a conditional that checks whether the `score` values of both players are less than `POINTS_TO_WIN`. Add an `else` block below that. This is where a player has won the game.

Since the game is over, stop the movement of the ball by setting `xvelocity` and `yvelocity` to `0`. We don’t want any more scoring to happen.

Now, draw the new text onto the HUD. We do this using the same call to `sge.gfx.Sprite.draw_text()` we used in `refresh_hud()`, except instead of drawing the scores converted to strings, we draw `"WIN"` or `"LOSE"` depending on whether or not the respective player’s score is greater than the other player’s score.

Finally, set `game_in_progress` to `False`. Don’t forget to declare it with `global` first.

The new `Ball.serve()` looks something like this:

    def serve(self, direction=None):
        global game_in_progress

        if direction is None:
            direction = random.choice([-1, 1])

        self.x = self.xstart
        self.y = self.ystart

        if (player1.score < POINTS_TO_WIN and
                player2.score < POINTS_TO_WIN):
            # Next round
            self.xvelocity = BALL_START_SPEED * direction
            self.yvelocity = 0
        else:
            # Game Over!
            self.xvelocity = 0
            self.yvelocity = 0
            hud_sprite.draw_clear()
            x = hud_sprite.width / 2
            p1text = "WIN" if player1.score > player2.score else "LOSE"
            p2text = "WIN" if player2.score > player1.score else "LOSE"
            hud_sprite.draw_text(hud_font, p1text, x - TEXT_OFFSET,
                                 TEXT_OFFSET, color=sge.gfx.Color("white"),
                                 halign="right", valign="top")
            hud_sprite.draw_text(hud_font, p2text, x + TEXT_OFFSET,
                                 TEXT_OFFSET, color=sge.gfx.Color("white"),
                                 halign="left", valign="top")
            game_in_progress = False

## Adding Sounds

We have a complete Pong game now, but it’s still a little quiet. Let’s make it more lively by adding some sounds.

### Getting the Sounds

I would normally go to a database like OpenGameArt for sound effects, but in this case, we are instead going to use a nice free/libre program called Sfxr. This program makes it easy to generate retro-sounding sound effects, so it’s perfect for Pong sounds. Generate three sounds: one for the ball bouncing off a paddle (“bounce.wav”), one for the ball bouncing off a wall (“bounce_wall.wav”), and one for the ball passing by a player (“score.wav”). Alternatively, you can copy the sounds I generated from examples/data. Create a folder in your project directory with the name “data” and put your sounds in this folder.

Note

Some file systems, like FAT32 and NTFS, are case-insensitive and will allow you to treat “bounce.wav” and “Bounce.wav” as if they are the same file name, but some, such as pretty much every Linux file system, are case-sensitive, meaning that “bounce.wav” and “Bounce.wav” are two completely different names; requesting one will never give you the other. If you have a case-insensitive file system, be careful to not get the case wrong, or some people who play the game will face a crash that will be completely invisible to you!

### Loading the Sounds

Sounds in the SGE are stored in `sge.snd.Sound` objects. As the only argument, indicate the full path to the file. There are two ways to indicate the path: using the current working directory as a base, and using the directory of pong.py as a base. Both of methods require the `os` module, so be sure to add this to your list of imports.

The easiest way to get the path of the file is to use the current working directory as a base, on the assumption that the current working directory is also the directory that the “data” folder is located in. This method is very simple; assuming we want the file called “spam.wav”, we would use this code:

    os.path.join("data", "spam.wav")

However, it is not always the case that the current working directory is the appropriate location to search for the “data” folder. It could be that the current working directory is the user’s home directory, for instance. To prevent the game from crashing in this case, define a constant called `DATA`, indicating the “data” directory relative to the location of pong.py:

    DATA = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), "data")

`__file__` is a special variable indicating the full path to the current file, i.e. pong.py in this case. By getting the directory name of the current file, we can be certain of where to look for the “data” folder. `DATA` now indicates the appropriate path to the “data” folder, so from now on, if we want a file called “spam.wav” located in this directory, we use this code:

    os.path.join(DATA, "spam.wav")

Assign the appropriate `sge.snd.Sound` objects to `bounce_sound`, `bounce_wall_sound`, and `score_sound`.

### Playing the Sounds

Sounds are played with `sge.snd.Sound.play()`. Call this method in the appropriate places: when a player scores, when the ball bounces off an edge of the screen, and when the ball hits a paddle. There are five places in total.

With that, our Pong game now has sound effects.

## Adding Joystick Support

Joystick support is a nice thing to have in a game, so we are going to add it. We are going to support analog sticks and trackballs. Mouse control would actually be even better, but this would put one of the players at an unfair advantage.

First, we will add an attribute to `Player` indicating what joystick to use, called `joystick`. Set it to `0` (which is the first joystick) for player 1, and `1` (which is the second joystick) for player 2.

### Axis Movement

Adding movement based on a joystick axis is easy. For this, we use `sge.joystick.get_axis()` in the step event of `Player`. Pass `self.joystick` as the first argument, and `1` (which is the Y-axis) as the second argument. Assign it to a variable called `axis_motion`. Later, we will be modifying the code that sets `yvelocity` so that it is chosen based on axis position, trackball movement, or key presses, whichever one would cause it to move fastest.

### Trackball Movement

Since trackball motion is relative, it is a little trickier. We need to store the amount of movement it makes each frame. We will use an attribute called `trackball_motion` for that; initialize it as `0` in the create event.

We now need to define the trackball move event, which is defined by `sge.dsp.Object.event_joystick_trackball_move()`. Within this event, if the `joystick` argument is the same as `self.joystick`, add `y` to `self.trackball_motion`. We are adding to it, rather than replacing it, because the trackball might move multiple times in the same frame.

### Applying the Joystick Controls

Currently, we have this line:

    self.yvelocity = key_motion * PADDLE_SPEED

This line uses the state of the keys to determine how to move the paddle. We need to change this so that the joystick controls we defined can be used as well. It will be replaced with the following:

- If the absolute value of `axis_motion` is greater than the absolute value of both `key_motion` and `trackball_motion`, set `yvelocity` to `axis_motion * PADDLE_SPEED`.
- Otherwise, if `trackball_motion` is greater than `key_motion`, set `yvelocity` to `self.trackball_motion * PADDLE_SPEED`
- Otherwise, use the line we have been using up until this point.

After this, we must set `trackball_motion` to `0`.

## The Final Result

Our final Pong game now has scores, sounds, and even joystick support:

    #!/usr/bin/env python3

    # Pong Example
    # Written in 2013-2015 by Julie Marchant <onpon4@riseup.net>
    #
    # To the extent possible under law, the author(s) have dedicated all
    # copyright and related and neighboring rights to this software to the
    # public domain worldwide. This software is distributed without any
    # warranty.
    #
    # You should have received a copy of the CC0 Public Domain Dedication
    # along with this software. If not, see
    # <http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/>.

    import random

    import sge

    DATA = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), "data")
    PADDLE_XOFFSET = 32
    PADDLE_SPEED = 4
    PADDLE_VERTICAL_FORCE = 1 / 12
    BALL_START_SPEED = 2
    BALL_ACCELERATION = 0.2
    BALL_MAX_SPEED = 15
    POINTS_TO_WIN = 10
    TEXT_OFFSET = 16

    game_in_progress = True

    class Game(sge.dsp.Game):

        def event_step(self, time_passed, delta_mult):
            self.project_sprite(hud_sprite, 0, self.width / 2, 0)

        def event_key_press(self, key, char):
            global game_in_progress

            if key == 'f8':
                sge.gfx.Sprite.from_screenshot().save('screenshot.jpg')
            elif key == 'f11':
                self.fullscreen = not self.fullscreen
            elif key == 'escape':
                self.event_close()
            elif key in ('p', 'enter'):
                if game_in_progress:
                    self.pause()
                else:
                    game_in_progress = True
                    self.current_room.start()

        def event_close(self):
            self.end()

        def event_paused_key_press(self, key, char):
            if key == 'escape':
                # This allows the player to still exit while the game is
                # paused, rather than having to unpause first.
                self.event_close()
            else:
                self.unpause()

        def event_paused_close(self):
            # This allows the player to still exit while the game is paused,
            # rather than having to unpause first.
            self.event_close()

    class Player(sge.dsp.Object):

        score = 0

        def __init__(self, player):
            if player == 1:
                self.joystick = 0
                self.up_key = "w"
                self.down_key = "s"
                x = PADDLE_XOFFSET
                self.hit_direction = 1
            else:
                self.joystick = 1
                self.up_key = "up"
                self.down_key = "down"
                x = sge.game.width - PADDLE_XOFFSET
                self.hit_direction = -1

            y = sge.game.height / 2
            super().__init__(x, y, sprite=paddle_sprite, checks_collisions=False)

        def event_create(self):
            self.score = 0
            refresh_hud()
            self.trackball_motion = 0

        def event_step(self, time_passed, delta_mult):
            # Movement
            key_motion = (sge.keyboard.get_pressed(self.down_key) -
                          sge.keyboard.get_pressed(self.up_key))
            axis_motion = sge.joystick.get_axis(self.joystick, 1)

            if (abs(axis_motion) > abs(key_motion) and
                    abs(axis_motion) > abs(self.trackball_motion)):
                self.yvelocity = axis_motion * PADDLE_SPEED
            elif abs(self.trackball_motion) > abs(key_motion):
                self.yvelocity = self.trackball_motion * PADDLE_SPEED
            else:
                self.yvelocity = key_motion * PADDLE_SPEED

            self.trackball_motion = 0

            # Keep the paddle inside the window
            if self.bbox_top < 0:
                self.bbox_top = 0
            elif self.bbox_bottom > sge.game.current_room.height:
                self.bbox_bottom = sge.game.current_room.height

        def event_joystick_trackball_move(self, joystick, ball, x, y):
            if joystick == self.joystick:
                self.trackball_motion += y

    class Ball(sge.dsp.Object):

        def __init__(self):
            x = sge.game.width / 2
            y = sge.game.height / 2
            super().__init__(x, y, sprite=ball_sprite)

        def event_create(self):
            self.serve()

        def event_step(self, time_passed, delta_mult):
            # Scoring
            if self.bbox_right < 0:
                player2.score += 1
                refresh_hud()
                score_sound.play()
                self.serve(-1)
            elif self.bbox_left > sge.game.current_room.width:
                player1.score += 1
                refresh_hud()
                score_sound.play()
                self.serve(1)

            # Bouncing off of the edges
            if self.bbox_bottom > sge.game.current_room.height:
                self.bbox_bottom = sge.game.current_room.height
                self.yvelocity = -abs(self.yvelocity)
                bounce_wall_sound.play()
            elif self.bbox_top < 0:
                self.bbox_top = 0
                self.yvelocity = abs(self.yvelocity)
                bounce_wall_sound.play()

        def event_collision(self, other, xdirection, ydirection):
            if isinstance(other, Player):
                if other.hit_direction == 1:
                    self.bbox_left = other.bbox_right + 1
                else:
                    self.bbox_right = other.bbox_left - 1

                self.xvelocity = min(abs(self.xvelocity) + BALL_ACCELERATION,
                                     BALL_MAX_SPEED) * other.hit_direction
                self.yvelocity += (self.y - other.y) * PADDLE_VERTICAL_FORCE
                bounce_sound.play()

        def serve(self, direction=None):
            global game_in_progress

            if direction is None:
                direction = random.choice([-1, 1])

            self.x = self.xstart
            self.y = self.ystart

            if (player1.score < POINTS_TO_WIN and
                    player2.score < POINTS_TO_WIN):
                # Next round
                self.xvelocity = BALL_START_SPEED * direction
                self.yvelocity = 0
            else:
                # Game Over!
                self.xvelocity = 0
                self.yvelocity = 0
                hud_sprite.draw_clear()
                x = hud_sprite.width / 2
                p1text = "WIN" if player1.score > player2.score else "LOSE"
                p2text = "WIN" if player2.score > player1.score else "LOSE"
                hud_sprite.draw_text(hud_font, p1text, x - TEXT_OFFSET,
                                     TEXT_OFFSET, color=sge.gfx.Color("white"),
                                     halign="right", valign="top")
                hud_sprite.draw_text(hud_font, p2text, x + TEXT_OFFSET,
                                     TEXT_OFFSET, color=sge.gfx.Color("white"),
                                     halign="left", valign="top")
                game_in_progress = False

    def create_room():
        global player1
        global player2
        player1 = Player(1)
        player2 = Player(2)
        ball = Ball()
        return sge.dsp.Room([player1, player2, ball], background=background)

    def refresh_hud():
        # This fixes the HUD sprite so that it displays the correct score.
        hud_sprite.draw_clear()
        x = hud_sprite.width / 2
        hud_sprite.draw_text(hud_font, str(player1.score), x - TEXT_OFFSET,
                             TEXT_OFFSET, color=sge.gfx.Color("white"),
                             halign="right", valign="top")
        hud_sprite.draw_text(hud_font, str(player2.score), x + TEXT_OFFSET,
                             TEXT_OFFSET, color=sge.gfx.Color("white"),
                             halign="left", valign="top")

    # Create Game object
    Game(width=640, height=480, fps=120, window_text="Pong")

    # Load sprites
    paddle_sprite = sge.gfx.Sprite(width=8, height=48, origin_x=4, origin_y=24)
    ball_sprite = sge.gfx.Sprite(width=8, height=8, origin_x=4, origin_y=4)
    paddle_sprite.draw_rectangle(0, 0, paddle_sprite.width, paddle_sprite.height,
                                 fill=sge.gfx.Color("white"))
    ball_sprite.draw_rectangle(0, 0, ball_sprite.width, ball_sprite.height,
                               fill=sge.gfx.Color("white"))
    hud_sprite = sge.gfx.Sprite(width=320, height=120, origin_x=160, origin_y=0)

    # Load backgrounds
    layers = [sge.gfx.BackgroundLayer(paddle_sprite, sge.game.width / 2, 0, -10000,
                                      repeat_up=True, repeat_down=True)]
    background = sge.gfx.Background(layers, sge.gfx.Color("black"))

    # Load fonts
    hud_font = sge.gfx.Font("Droid Sans Mono", size=48)

    # Load sounds
    bounce_sound = sge.snd.Sound(os.path.join(DATA, 'bounce.wav'))
    bounce_wall_sound = sge.snd.Sound(os.path.join(DATA, 'bounce_wall.wav'))
    score_sound = sge.snd.Sound(os.path.join(DATA, 'score.wav'))

    # Create rooms
    sge.game.start_room = create_room()

    sge.game.mouse.visible = False

    if __name__ == '__main__':
        sge.game.start()