Creating an Arkanoid Clone with Python and PygameZero

Creating an Arkanoid Clone with Python and PygameZero

We begin by installing the PygameZero library and setting up a basic window. The title, width, and height are defined, and the paddle and ball actors are created.

pip install pgzero

import pgzrun
TITLE = "Arkanoid clone"
WIDTH = 800
HEIGHT = 500
pgzrun.go()

Actors are loaded from an images folder. The paddle and ball positions are initialized with paddle.x = 120, paddle.y = 420, ball.x = 30, and ball.y = 300.

paddle = Actor("paddleblue.png")
paddle.x = 120
paddle.y = 420
ball = Actor("ballblue.png")
ball.x = 30
ball.y = 300

The draw() function renders the background, paddle, and ball. Initially it only draws the paddle and ball, then the background image is added.

def draw():
    screen.blit("background.png", (0, 0))
    paddle.draw()
    ball.draw()

Bricks (bars) are placed using a helper function. A list of brick images is iterated to create three rows of different colors.

def place_bars(x, y, image):
    bar_x = x
    bar_y = y
    for i in range(8):
        bar = Actor(image)
        bar.x = bar_x
        bar.y = bar_y
        bars_list.append(bar)
        bar_x += 70

coloured_box_list = ["element_blue_rectangle_glossy.png",
                    "element_green_rectangle_glossy.png",
                    "element_red_rectangle_glossy.png"]

x, y = 120, 100
for coloured_box in coloured_box_list:
    place_bars(x, y, coloured_box)
    y += 50

Paddle movement is handled in the update() function by checking keyboard.left and keyboard.right and adjusting paddle.x by 5 pixels per frame.

def update():
    if keyboard.left:
        paddle.x -= 5
    if keyboard.right:
        paddle.x += 5

Ball physics uses global speed variables ball_x_speed and ball_y_speed. The ball position is updated each frame, and its direction is reversed when it hits the screen edges.

ball_x_speed = 1
ball_y_speed = 1

def update_ball():
    global ball_x_speed, ball_y_speed
    ball.x -= ball_x_speed
    ball.y -= ball_y_speed
    if ball.x >= WIDTH or ball.x <= 0:
        ball_x_speed *= -1
    if ball.y >= HEIGHT or ball.y <= 0:
        ball_y_speed *= -1

Collision detection removes bricks when the ball hits them and reverses the ball's vertical speed. The same logic is applied for paddle collisions, with an optional random horizontal direction change.

def update():
    update_ball()
    for bar in bars_list:
        if ball.colliderect(bar):
            bars_list.remove(bar)
            ball_y_speed *= -1
            # optional random horizontal bounce
            if random.randint(0, 1):
                ball_x_speed *= -1
    if paddle.colliderect(ball):
        ball_y_speed *= -1
        if random.randint(0, 1):
            ball_x_speed *= -1

The tutorial concludes with suggestions for extending the game: adding a game‑over condition when the ball falls below the paddle, implementing a scoring system with different points for brick colors, and further polishing the gameplay.