2 YEARS of PYTHON Game Development in 5 Minutes!

I spent the last two years learning Pygame and game development in general. This video shows my journey starting with almost no programming knowledge, showing all the games I made along the way and finishing with my Udemy course.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
00:35 Tic Tac Toe
00:45 Snake
00:59 Pong & Breakout
01:16 Space Invaders
01:45 Flappy Bird
02:00 Platformer
02:34 RPG Battle
03:00 Shooter
03:40 Castle Defender
03:55 Brawler
04:10 Dungeon Crawler
04:44 Outro

[@nazradu]

Your biggest achievement here is not the knowledge of coding you gained but the ability to chase a Goal for that long. Be proud of yourself!

[@CodingWithRuss]

Thank you!

[@koukous95]

Definitely, I think that's the hardest part. Props to this dude for not giving up.

[@grandpraline]

@CodingWithRuss, I wonder what is your goal in this, if there is. Would appreciate any answer and thoughts

[@user-mj3yv1km6i]

ммёеёееш

[@P.W.T_ARYAN]

​@@CodingWithRuss which coding you use

[@ALSTR330]

My 11-year-old son wants to make a platformer game from scratch. We’ve started learning python together by following along with online tutorials. So far, I’ve built a “paper rock scissors” and “math test” text based games. We also found Piskel online to start making sprites. It’s a fun bonding experience learning together. He seems patient and understands it may take many months before we’ve made something substantial. Cautiously optimistic.

[@nandorschmieder1448]

I wish my dad this, when I was young! Keep up my man!:))

[@FatemehBahrami-oz8ok]

You are an excellent parent. Well done 👍

[@EnanoForro]

You can try using a something like Construct 3 (or Construct 2, wich is deprecated). They are amazing tools for starters as you don't need to learn coding, but you still have to work on logic and lot of stuff. They are not free but they are not expensive either

[@notlogic.the.second]

nice idea👍

[@CodingWithRuss]

This sounds great! I think your approach of starting with smaller projects and slowly building up to more complex stuff is a very good way to do this. Good luck to both of you with your coding journey 🙂

[@jupiterapollo4985]

The fact that you had a random thought of "I should learn to code" and managed to get that far, and not waver in your progression/goals is extremely motivating to me. This video brings hope for a lot of us trying to follow our dreams in game creation.Thank you!

[@LeafTreez]

I definitely relate to hearing about your burnout in game development. I've been teaching myself game development for almost a year, and I recently hit a burnout phase working on a 3d action adventure game. It was so tedious at times to animate and fix bugs, but your progress gives me hope. Great work!

[@Amy-bp3fu]

This video is super inspiring and well made! Well done! The sequential outline of projects is very helpful. I appreciate you mentioning the time you took off from game dev after feeling burned out--- especially how you came back to it intending on only making smaller projects for fun. It's so easy to watch these types of videos and get discouraged when the creator behind it doesn't ever mention the harder parts of game dev or recovering from them, especially when I'm personally prone to burn out... So hearing you say you eventually needed to take a break helps me feel less intimidated by learning game dev and Python. Thank you so much for this lovely vid, I'll be coming back to it regularly as learn!

[@CodingWithRuss]

Thanks for the kind words! I enjoyed making this video as it let me look back and reflect on my previous projects. I'm glad it helped you feel better about taking on python and game dev. Good luck with your coding journey!

[@OIP_1]

great stuff, i'm learning coding not for games but for music/hardware and can relate to the frustration of taking days to work through issues (only to then run into the next batch of issues). it's fun but persistence seems to be the key. you've got great style sense with the characters, animation etc, keep going!

[@CodingWithRuss]

Thank you, and good luck with your coding journey!

[@lemastertech]

Hey Russ! Your videos helped kickstart my love of PyGame as well and it’s been a treat seeing all the cool content you’ve rolled out over the years! Can’t wait to see what you come up with next! Cheers mate

[@CodingWithRuss]

Hey! Thank you, that's cool to hear. And likewise looking forward to seeing more videos from you :)

[@IDTAENJUMP]

Hello Bro my name is Anjum and i am from Bangladesh and i am 14+ years old. I started Learning python 1 month ago by doing a course and the language is very easy to understand and everything is so simple. My dreamers is to be a indie game developer. Now, i am learning Python after this i am going to make my first game and after 5 to 6 years later i am going to switch to another programming language like c++ or c# then i will make some big indie games or hire some people to make a AAA game. I know this is not easy but i started my journey 1 month ago. And i think that python is a very good language to start game development career.

[@sabaafreensyed6956]

Keep up with the good work !!! All the best, there will be times where it might be hard to debug but don't worry just remember to persevere 💗

[@ZettaiKatsu2013]

Keep up mister Anjum

[@rahatchowdhury5650]

Good luck Bhai. I hope you will get success.. we can work together I'm from Bangladesh too

[@weitnow]

Thanks Russ for all the great content over the years

[@hukushmolambi8355]

I've just started learning Python, and the ride has been enjoyable so far. Its syntax is so easy to understand, which makes it an ideal language for novices in the programming world. Furthermore, the flexibility of Python in different fields is remarkable.

[@CodingWithRuss]

Agreed, python is a good way to get into programming and I think that's part of the reason for its popularity.

[@terryriley6410]

Its less than ideal for anything slightly bigger. As long as it's just small scripts and jam games its ok but you might want to look into something with types if you're building more complex stuff. I think novices should be taught a statically typed language as soon as possible apart from learning a dynamic one like python. Being able to make a choice is key and more langs you know the easier it is to switch between them.

[@zalty8556]

@@terryriley6410that’s true but it’s a good starting ground for the most part

[@panos21sonic]

Python isnt all that flexible for amateur use. Its mainly used for machine learning or quick scripts, since i reckon most hobby-ists wont be doing datascience. For every one of its other use cases, pretty much any other language capable of performing them is better.

[@megamcgee]

I love how your progress in learning game dev mirrors the advancement of video games over its first 20 years starting with pong!

[@AmaitaYume]

This is so cool! Thank you Russ for sharing it! I may be a CS for 4 years and graduated, but you learned so much because of perseverance! That's a job well done! That feels motivating for me to follow!

[@JustJanitor]

Been dabbling around trying to decide which language to try to learn. Thanks for the motivation

[@Icarus47249fd]

Be proud of yourself Russ, what you accomplish is amazing. Watching boring tutorials about Python does not help with beginner in remembering the key concepts, it necessary for them to apply what they've learned through trial and errors of creating projects. Personally it seem way more enjoyable & satisfying, not to mention you can put this in your resume for future potential jobs.

[@CodingWithRuss]

Thank you! Yes I think tutorials are good to get started but it's important to work on your own projects to be able to progress

[@romola7]

I'm just starting with python and your video is truly inspiring, keep up the great work!

[@CodingWithRuss]

Thanks! And good luck with your python journey

[@rhidzkhanahmad5227]

DONT STOP BRO! biggest fan here! keep it up!

[@Jai_Shree_Ram____469]

I learned lot of things of pygame from u

[@CodingWithRuss]

Glad to hear it!

[@Arkelo_CG]

I can relate on what you said about burnout, but taking a break is as important as learning, and by the time you came back, then you'll realized that you gained more knowledge. btw, you're progress and projects are impressive.

[@jasonwamp4325]

Thanks bro. Congrats on your successful progresses so far.

[@CodingWithRuss]

Cheers!

[@guilhermeboas5518]

i just started to study how to code in pythom and just found out about pygame, its amazing to see how you can improve yourself in 2 years, thanks for the video

[@CodingWithRuss]

Thanks Guilherme, and good luck with your python progress

[@laz0r935]

Great video, with loads of motivation coming from it. Good job!

[@CodingWithRuss]

Thanks!

[@ArneBab]

Thank you for sharing your experience!

[@CodingWithRuss]

You're welcome!

[@utsavjana6002]

thank you for the awsome content you post Sir Russ!

[@CodingWithRuss]

Thanks!

[@matt_sm0]

Came here from your reddit post, and i got say, your video really inspired me to keep pushing and keep developing games, keep the good work man

[@CodingWithRuss]

Thanks! Glad it helped and good luck with your projects.

[@crimsonjack4676]

Great and inspiring! Please keep doing it.

[@CodingWithRuss]

Thanks! Will do.

[@AwesomeO844]

2 years WELL spent!!!

[@T3hSwampFox]

This is huge. Ive wanted to try game dev for years. Would start and grinf a couple months then get burned out. Your consistency and persistence really show whats possible over time. This is hugely motivating for me, thank you for sharing.

[@CodingWithRuss]

Thanks :)

[@daniellavanyenu272]

THANKS FOR SHARING SIR. I AM PROUD OF YOUR JOURNEY.

[@CodingWithRuss]

Thank you! :)

[@caatah]

I've just started learning Python for use in Azure Devops, however this looks like something really fun to aim towards. Great video, and congratulations on your development journey so far!

[@CodingWithRuss]

Thank you! And good luck with your own coding journey.

[@vladimirbosinceanu5778]

I want to get started with Pygame. I am machine learning engineer and I want to get into some basic game development. Your work is inspiring. Also, the art is really cool. Thank you for sharing!

[@fresh2k2004]

Pong!! Haha when i was a kid I spent so much time on a DOS computer and a book about Pascal making this game. It took me about 8 months. Now im much older and learning python. Great video!

[@DineshVaidyaOfficial]

wow thanx. this was really nice and motivating video. And please keep on continue...

[@CodingWithRuss]

Thank you!

[@TenSeconds_]

Thank you Russ, great content

[@CodingWithRuss]

Cheers!

[@nillzmeskillz9483]

Dammit. Now i have a new addiction, and it's thanks to you! Great video. got me interested in pygame!

[@CodingWithRuss]

Haha glad to hear it! Pygame is a lot of fun to play around with. Maybe not the most efficient way to make a game but great for learning how things work behind the scenes.

[@scrye113]

This video was awesome for me I am at the starting point where you started getting into coding and trying to make a game

[@Skeffles]

Wow! It's amazing to see what you've made over the last 2 years.

[@CodingWithRuss]

Thank you. I just checked out your channel and saw your isometric museum game devlog, it looks so good! Reminds me a lot of theme hospital.

[@Skeffles]

@@CodingWithRuss thank you for checking it out.

[@ashotmargaryan6931]

Thank you man you help me and i love your courses and now im learning unity and you can too

[@CodingWithRuss]

Thanks!

[@SkyFly19853]

People can even start with Python programming by making a text based rpg games to understand the basics, then make a 2d game... Then 2.5d game... Then 3d game.

[@rafales1525]

Wow - congrats ❤ well done budy 😊

[@CodingWithRuss]

Cheers :)

[@Creek1575]

Damn. This really inspired me. I have a little bit of knowledge about Python (since I've made a project in college about automation). I really want to make my own game but always doubts myself and hardstuck on basics. 2 years is a long way but I just wasted 3 years since graduating when I should've created my own game in that span.

[@maheshmegala1950]

really a good journey..keep it up

[@AlmondAxis987]

Reminds me of my first time making games with python... My first game library was turtle 😂 But then I got into pygame and now I am working with SDL2 and c++ (Pygame is basically a python-remake of SDL). I can totally relate to how making games without game engines is so much fun

[@mattlau]

Wow the determination! Good stuff !

[@CodingWithRuss]

Thanks!

[@muntahmahfuzsrestho.]

Awesome, dude. 😮❤❤❤

[@CodingWithRuss]

Thanks :)

[@BrownSloth0]

I started programming when I was 17. Now, I am 21 years old. From Unity to creating my own game engine. I am sometimes amazed how far I have come.

[@ReekieReels]

This was really inspiring thank you 😃

[@CodingWithRuss]

Cheers!

[@cococh3607]

This 5 minutes is already been a good start for me as an aspiring game developer. PyGame is a good way for me to solidify my skills. Thank you for sharing a beautiful game.

[@CodingWithRuss]

Great to hear!

[@henrikloiske8572]

So cool...Well done on your achievments 😁😁

[@CodingWithRuss]

Thank you :)

[@pythonfoundations]

love this journey good LUCK!!

[@CodingWithRuss]

Thank you :)

[@pythonfoundations]

@@CodingWithRuss are you Scottish btw?

[@CodingWithRuss]

@@pythonfoundations Yea, did the accent give it away? 😅

[@SeanStClair-cr9jl]

Hell yeah!

[@bow_wow_wow]

Cheers to you! You're certainly far better at this than I am. I've been piddling with programming in my spare time for several years, with not much to show for it. I'm very discouraged, but I've still got the programming bug. I can't justify it. I don't even know what I want to do with it. It's almost like an addiction. There is just something about the experience of programming that I enjoy. Are you making any progress in terms of organizing your code? It looked like one of your files was 900 lines long.

[@ReeperKuruRuke]

I think i have similar game-coding skill level as you, but you really have senses on making these cool fast-paced progress reviewing videos. This vid gives me some great motivation! I'm learning Unity(C#) if you ask me.

[@CodingWithRuss]

Thanks! I definitely plan on trying out Unity eventually as well.

[@timdithmer9184]

@@CodingWithRuss I am a dev for a long time. Tried to build games for a few times. Made progress but lost the fun again and again after having to do the same things again and again. Started to use Godot. It is incredibly simple now to build my idea's and I started to spend my time where it is fun, not at the fundamentals again and again. And as long as you don't want to build the next AAA game, you are definitely not limited. Can't imagine what's possible with unity then :)

[@CodingWithRuss]

@@timdithmer9184 Hi Tim, it's funny you mention godot because I just started messing around with it yesterday! I really like it so far and will try to make a few games with it.

[@timdithmer9184]

@@CodingWithRuss Already thrilled to see what you're about to make 🥹

[@thepetpotato8356]

Well, I learned how to make a box move

[@Speedlife91]

Im a software dev. You learned more by yourself than I back then in school. Good job 👌

[@anon2447]

I paid for a really expensive bootcamp that promised this, I ended up in abootcamp learning web-dev with flask, and it's been a rollerocaster of emotion, looking forward to finally pass the bootcamp so i can learn with this or rpg in a box(it's kinda like a voxel rpg maker that epic gave for free back in January and uses Bauxite as a language which has a Synthax that0s way too similar to Python's OOp)

[@matthewdev]

That RPG game looks pretty cool, I hope you go back to it sometime!

[@CodingWithRuss]

Thanks!

[@eyadnegm3706]

AMAZING bro literally so cool

[@CodingWithRuss]

Thanks

[@RVideoR]

Great story and your experience is really great .. BiG Like Bro

[@CodingWithRuss]

Thanks!

[@TimBrownYoutube]

Great video and I think all game devs can relate to the journey. I tried Godot recently and was blown away. Very intuitive, very powerful, very lightweight. It would be great to watch you try it. Could be a great force multiplier for you.

[@CodingWithRuss]

Thanks Tim, I've seen little bits of godot but never used it myself. Could be an interesting one to try sometime down the line.

[@tresaidh3y90]

GameMaker 2.0 is a good one to start with if you can handle PyGames

[@tresaidh3y90]

@@chineseRATFACE Damn bro you are hating hardcore. There are plenty of game devs that use Python and make successful web based games. Go take this hatred somewhere else. Or at least bring something more constructive.

[@choppedcheesegaming]

i love this video portfolio!

[@CodingWithRuss]

Thanks!

[@ganesharon]

very thank you for making this video.

[@CodingWithRuss]

Glad you liked it

[@interghost]

Most impressive!

[@CodingWithRuss]

Cheers!

[@Formulaah]

This helped me learn on what to learn first I’ve tried learning some big projects you have done. But this made me realize I should slow down a bit. I LOVE YOU RUSS

[@CodingWithRuss]

Good idea! It can be tempting to start with a big project but smaller ones can be a good way to learn the key concepts.

[@HE360]

Your games look very cool! I had a somewhat similar story. But, I started in language called "Blitz Basic". I had no programming knowledge then too. But, mine happened eons ago.

[@benjell9295]

love your content

[@CodingWithRuss]

Thanks!

[@sofiaamdlaou2164]

i like your progress:)

[@CodingWithRuss]

Thanks :)

[@ShampooChan-nl1uj]

The last one looks pretty good it looks really alive

[@robert907]

I’m currently working on a space invaders clone myself. It’s my first project. I’m trying to do a follow along on KZbin however it’s not as straightforward as it initially seemed. Took me two days but I got a controllable player and an enemy AI. Tomorrow ima work on crash domains, bullets and such.

[@CodingWithRuss]

Nice! It can definitely be harder than it looks sometimes, but breaking it down into smaller tasks and chipping away at them like you've done is a great approach.

[@thunderplus1]

i love this game i didn't t know you made this wow

[@CodingWithRuss]

Glad you liked it!

[@spielville5087]

Pretty funny you mentioned complexity of an RPG game. I actually was inspired by your RPG battler video to build a few projects. One of those is an actual RPG/RTS on my channel.

[@CodingWithRuss]

Nice! I had a look at the demos on your channel just now.

[@mcrdunyas5752]

Thanks for everything 🌹

[@CodingWithRuss]

Welcome!

[@user-pw4cq7cp8v]

Awesome, man! What about "math"? Do you have any advises on that point to novices?

[@trapperjohn77]

Well done you. :) Just starting out with python. Can´t wait to see where i am in 2 years. I´ll be 48 by then. :/

[@clins1994]

Epic !

[@CodingWithRuss]

Thanks!

[@TheOluapalves]

man, great job! (y)

[@CodingWithRuss]

Thanks!

[@The_Real_Goodboy_Link]

Good job!

[@CodingWithRuss]

Thanks!

[@poluefemus]

awesome

[@firstname4337]

very awesome video

[@CodingWithRuss]

Thanks :)

[@blueygaming1051]

i am just now learning how to use python, you have me motivation

[@CodingWithRuss]

Good to hear! Stick with it :)

[@chrissykes69]

Thanks for video, i see my issue now. I do not work on projects by my own, but copy paste from tutorials or read code.

[@CodingWithRuss]

Tutorials can be useful to get started but you are right that working on projects on your own is important if you want to learn and improve.

[@holgersebert4134]

I would recommend using bigger and more powerful libraries. This way, you can code AAA-titles and get really proficient in using powerful libraries.

[@Billboyedits]

What soo did you use or website did u use?

[@the_avatar0]

Greate!

[@Deb07Pro]

Thanks for inspiring me 😉

[@CodingWithRuss]

Hope to see some cool projects from you soon :)

[@Deb07Pro]

@@CodingWithRuss :)

[@alanodonovan5487]

your flappy bird looked very clean and smooth like the original

[@CodingWithRuss]

Thanks, I was pleased with how that one came out!

[@joshuaberketa7986]

It will be awesome to see you try unity! Looking forward to more tutorials!

[@CodingWithRuss]

Thanks Joshua!

[@journeyman153]

Next you should make a POLE POSITION type game. super fun!

[@PedroRodriguez-fv6sc]

Great story bro.

[@CodingWithRuss]

Thanks!

[@user-zr6yt7ub7h]

cool video)

[@CodingWithRuss]

Thanks :)

[@serhii.chernenko]

good story, good job!

[@CodingWithRuss]

Thank you!

[@timwaagh]

It seems the pygame game I'm working on is already an order of magnitude bigger than anything here. What would be the biggest Pygame in terms of complexity?

[@DaRza17]

If I didn't have a job or family I would love to learn all that...

[@aleksandargluhov78]

Good job, you enspire me!

[@CodingWithRuss]

Glad to hear it :)

[@Mikebigmike94]

C++ and unreal engine looks a lot more lucrative to me. So many Udemy courses on it aswell. Hope they’re as good as they seem, would love to make my own game with my own rules.

[@savagekid94]

I've just now begun learning pygame. I remember I used to want to make video games as a kid. The Devry university commercials back then uses to talk all about how anyone could learn to make games. As soon as I figured out that it cost money to go to Devry and that games require coding, design, and planning, I fell out of it. Coding looked like math and I hated that. I also didn't like the drag and drop RPG makers because I felt like it may have been too limited and confusing. I became a graphic designer and hobbyist animator But in 2022 I bought the 100 days of code class on udemy. I didn't really take it seriously and procrastinated until around maybe March 2023. But since then I've been doing the class for about 5 days a week for at least 1 hour. I've coded a couple basic games like rock paper scissors, black jack, and snake game, but I took a pause on the class to take on a bigger project. Granted I'm still using a tutorial but I will be changing it up even more as the tutorial finishes. Right now, I'm using Clear Codes' Ultimate Intro to python to learn about the library and then how to make a Zelda style game. But in the mean time, I'm making a basic runner game with basic obstacle enemies, No AI yet. I wanted to make a simple platforming/runner game. kinda similar to super mario run but a 2D version with more fleshed out gameplay mechanics. I'm glad I got reintroduced to game dev because as a designer, it gives me another avenue and a better niche. I've always hated doing ad design and all the corporate crap anyway and I've been taking UI/UX classes anyway so this was the perfect opportunity.. My partner is also learning python so now my goal is to try to design games with him and potentially become indie devs. It's the only goal I really recall having since I was young. It's amazing to see how far you've come in 2 years WITHOUT tutorials.

[@CodingWithRuss]

Thanks! It sounds like you are well on your way with learning python and pygame. Making your own games can be difficult but also a great way to learn through practice. I started off with a tutorial (Tech with tim) and then started making these games in the video. But I regularly got stuck and had to google things so that's also a normal part of the process.

[@awesomewow668]

Amazing journey, I recently used Godot and it was like the best engine I had ever used. Awesome community, appealing design and the workflow is smooth as hell. I hope you will also try it at some point :)

[@CodingWithRuss]

Thanks! Interestingly a few people have commented to recommend godot, so I'm curious to check it out and see how it compares

[@awesomewow668]

@@CodingWithRuss looking forward for a comparison video!

[@jakep8484]

Just got ur class on udemy, finishing up a college python course and figured I was ready to work with pygame a bit. I used to use game maker before studio came out but dont like game maker studio near as much as i enjoyed game maker 7. From what I can tell pygame is tougher than godot because you have to program everything where godot does some of the work for you.

[@CodingWithRuss]

@@jakep8484 Nice, hope you like it! Pygame makes you code more stuff from the ground up so it has pros and cons depending on how you look at it. It would take more work to get certain things working compared to game specific engines, but that also gives you the flexibility to code it exactly how you'd like.

[@jakep8484]

@@CodingWithRuss thanks, yeah Ive watched some of your youtube videos and really enjoyed how you go at a slower space and pretty much talk about every step you are doing. I think that and some of the more advanced cool features you teach makes your videos stand out. Btw do you have any videos of making a two player game using game controllers? That would be a very useful video. I got my wife into some games when we got married and now we have a toddler so I want to make some games that fit what we all like and be multiplayer.

[@pokerface6886]

I started learning python 3 months ago and gonna start learning pygame. How long did each project take you? Thank your for the video

[@CodingWithRuss]

pygame is definitely worth a try. The earlier projects didn't take too long, maybe a few days but as they got more complex they took longer and longer. The shooting game took a few weeks I think, maybe longer but I wasn't working on that one very consistently.

[@thiagovianavargas3996]

I really liked this video. I start developing a app to read mangas and it improves my learning so much. it is in python flet. I want to try developing games too and i think its a good option pygame. thank you

[@CodingWithRuss]

Glad you liked it. Pygame is a good place to start especially if you want to learn python in the process as well

[@thiagovianavargas3996]

@@CodingWithRuss I guess it right. but you think Pygame is too limited, like we can't build a 3d game (i don't know)

[@AlbertEinstein1o1]

Sir did you had a downfall or demotivation? How'd you stay attached with pygame? How'd you always stay motivated?

[@ekstasiqX]

What program or resources do you use to make your graphicss/sprites? Graphics are my main weakness

[@CodingWithRuss]

I got them from itch.io mostly.