pygame-community/pygame-ce

Free

🐍🎮 pygame - Community Edition is a FOSS Python library for multimedia applications (like games). Built on top of the excellent SDL library.

FreeFree tier

Type

Open Source

Visit Website GitHub (38 stars)

About pygame-community/pygame-ce

Pygame is a free and open-source cross-platform library for the development of multimedia applications like video games using Python. It uses the Simple DirectMedia Layer library and several other popular libraries to abstract the most common functions, making writing these programs a more intuitive task. This distribution is called 'pygame - Community Edition' ('pygame-ce' for short). It is a fork of the upstream pygame project by its former core developers, and was created after impossible challenges prevented them from continuing development upstream. The new distribution aims to offer more frequent releases, continuous bugfixes and enhancements, and a more democratic governance model.

Key Features

Free and open-source cross-platform library

Built on top of the Simple DirectMedia Layer (SDL) library

Abstracts common multimedia functions for intuitive development

Offers more frequent releases and continuous bugfixes compared to upstream

Comes with comprehensive tutorials and full reference documentation

Supports democratic governance model and welcomes new contributors

Easy installation via pip (pip install pygame-ce)

Pros & Cons

Pros

Free and open-source with no licensing costs
Cross-platform (Windows, macOS, Linux)
Active community fork with frequent updates and enhancements
Well-documented with tutorials and reference materials
Built on SDL for good performance and hardware abstraction
Democratic governance allows community input

Best For

Developing 2D video gamesCreating multimedia applications (e.g., interactive visualizations)Educational projects and prototyping interactive softwareLearning game development concepts in Python

FAQ

How do I install pygame-ce?

Run 'pip install pygame-ce' in your terminal or command prompt. On some Linux systems, you may need to use a virtual environment (e.g., 'python3 -m venv venv') to avoid system package conflicts.

Where can I find documentation and tutorials for pygame-ce?

You can browse the documentation online at the pygame docs page or run 'python -m pygame.docs' locally. Pygame-ce also comes with many tutorials and introductions.

What is the difference between pygame-ce and the original pygame?

pygame-ce is a community-driven fork of the original pygame project by its former core developers. It aims to provide more frequent releases, continuous bugfixes and enhancements, and a more democratic governance model.