Transitioning to Python from Scratch

Last summer in Seattle, a friend mentioned having his children build games with PyGame Zero.

This week, I had some free time so I decided to try to get my child to move from Scratch to Python. We installed Python, PyGame Zero, and PyCharm on his computer. Then, we downloaded one of the simple game tutorials and experimented with it.

PyCharm was giving us a lot of Python hints that did not apply to PyGame Zero so I decided to look for an easier IDE. I found Mu that has a simple interface and works with a lot educational programming stuff including PyGame Zero and micro:bit.

This allowed us to begin with the Introduction to Pygame Zero from a blank screen without switching back and forth from the Powershell to run our Python scripts.

We loaded the free sprites and threw enemy fish at our pink alien.

This differs from Scratch in that the programs are not as easy to share. Next, I hope to use PyInstaller to share the program we created.