Python Super Mario Example

Edging into Pygame setup

Piecing together a Python script for a minimal Super Mario game prototype, focusing on setting up Pygame, creating a Mario sprite, and handling basic movements with a background.

Crafting a minimal side-scrolling game

Mapping out a brief Python script using Pygame, focusing on a side-scrolling platformer. It will handle sprite animation, character movement, and collisions, while clearly stating this is an educational prototype.

Thought about Python Super Mario code for 7 seconds

Below is a simple example of how you might start coding a basic “Super Mario–style” platformer in Python using the Pygame library. This code is not an official reproduction of Super Mario Brothers and does not contain Nintendo assets; it’s simply a small sample project that demonstrates character movement, gravity, jumping, and collisions with the ground. You can expand on this to add more features such as enemies, level design, scoring, etc.

Prerequisites

1. Python 3 installed on your system.
2. Pygame installed (you can install via pip install pygame).

File Structure & Assets

You will need a few image assets to test this properly:

1. A background image (e.g., background.png) – or you can use a solid color.
2. A character sprite (e.g., mario.png) with transparent background.

your_project/
    main.py
    background.png  (optional)
    mario.png       (required)

(Feel free to replace mario.png with any character placeholder image if you’d like.)

Example Code (main.py)

import pygame
import sys

# Initialize Pygame
pygame.init()

# --- Game Constants ---
SCREEN_WIDTH  = 800
SCREEN_HEIGHT = 450
FPS = 60

# Colors (if you don't want to load a background image)
BLUE = (135, 206, 235)  # Sky blue

# Set up the display
screen = pygame.display.set_mode((SCREEN_WIDTH, SCREEN_HEIGHT))
pygame.display.set_caption("Super Mario-Style Demo")

clock = pygame.time.Clock()

# --- Load Assets ---
try:
    background = pygame.image.load("background.png").convert()
except:
    # If no background image is found, we will fill the screen with a solid color
    background = None

# Load the player image
player_image = pygame.image.load("mario.png").convert_alpha()

# --- Player Settings ---
player_x = 50
player_y = SCREEN_HEIGHT - 80  # Roughly on the "ground"
player_speed = 5
player_width  = player_image.get_width()
player_height = player_image.get_height()

# For jumping and gravity
gravity = 0.5
player_velocity_y = 0
jump_force = -10
on_ground = False

# Ground level (simple one-line ground for demonstration)
GROUND_LEVEL = SCREEN_HEIGHT - 40

# Main game loop
running = True
while running:
    clock.tick(FPS)

    # --- Event Handling ---
    for event in pygame.event.get():
        if event.type == pygame.QUIT:
            running = False
            pygame.quit()
            sys.exit()

    # --- Key Presses ---
    keys = pygame.key.get_pressed()
    
    # Left-Right movement
    if keys[pygame.K_LEFT]:
        player_x -= player_speed
    if keys[pygame.K_RIGHT]:
        player_x += player_speed
    
    # Jumping
    if keys[pygame.K_SPACE] and on_ground:
        player_velocity_y = jump_force
        on_ground = False

    # --- Gravity & Vertical Movement ---
    player_velocity_y += gravity
    player_y += player_velocity_y

    # --- Collision with Ground ---
    if player_y + player_height > GROUND_LEVEL:
        player_y = GROUND_LEVEL - player_height
        player_velocity_y = 0
        on_ground = True
    
    # --- Drawing ---
    # Draw background
    if background:
        screen.blit(background, (0, 0))
    else:
        screen.fill(BLUE)  # Sky blue as a fallback

    # Draw a simple "ground"
    pygame.draw.rect(screen, (0, 128, 0), (0, GROUND_LEVEL, SCREEN_WIDTH, SCREEN_HEIGHT - GROUND_LEVEL))

    # Draw the player
    screen.blit(player_image, (player_x, player_y))

    # Update the display
    pygame.display.update()

# Clean up
pygame.quit()

How This Works

1. Initialization:

   • We import Pygame, initialize it, and create a game window of size 800×450 pixels.

2. Loading Assets:

   • We attempt to load a background image (background.png). If it fails (file not found), we fill the screen with a solid sky-blue color.
   • We load a player sprite (mario.png).

3. Player Variables:

   • player_x and player_y control the character’s position.
   • player_speed is how fast the character moves horizontally.
   • player_velocity_y is used for vertical movement and jumping.

4. Game Loop:

   • Event Handling checks if the user wants to quit.
   • Key Presses allow left/right movement and jumping when spacebar is pressed.
   • Gravity and collision checks ensure the character eventually falls back down and doesn’t sink beneath the ground.

5. Drawing:

   • We first draw the background (or fill with a color).
   • We draw a simple green rectangle as the “ground.”
   • We blit (draw) the character sprite.
   • Finally, we update the display.

Next Steps

• Level Design: Add platforms, pipes, or blocks.
• Scrolling: Make the background scroll left/right as Mario moves.
• Enemies & Objects: Introduce Goombas, Koopa Troopas, collectible coins, etc.
• Physics & Collisions: Expand with tile-based collision detection.
• Audio: Add jump sounds, background music, etc.

Remember, this is just a skeleton code to get you started. Building a full-fledged platformer takes additional work in sprite management, collision detection, animations, level design, and so on. Have fun experimenting!