Staring back at me on the screen was an image I recognized: a
face—my face. Grainy and pixilated, it was still me. I watched with detached
curiosity as my expression twisted and contorted beyond human limits until
finally, an alien embryo burst from my skull. A voice behind me said, "You wanna
see it again?"

No, this wasn't some horrible dream, it was my job. I worked at a
company producing and designing computer games. I also got to "star" in our
first release, an adventure game where the player clicks me around the screen.
And if the player fails to solve the game in time . . . well, I think you know
how that turns out. I've also worked as a programmer for a major Internet
services company, traveling to sites around the country. And while those two
lines of work may seem quite different, the basic skills necessary to succeed in
each started to take shape while I wrote simple games on my home computer as a
kid.

The goal of this book is to teach you the Python programming
language, learning to program the same way I did: by creating simple games.
There's something more exciting about learning to program by writing software
that's fun. And even though the examples are entertaining, you'll still see some
serious programming. I cover all of the fundamental topics you'd expect from an
introductory text and then some. In addition, I point out concepts and
techniques that you can apply to more mainstream projects.

If you're new to programming, you've made the right choice. Python
is the perfect beginners' language. It has a clear and simple syntax that will
get you writing useful programs in short order. Python even has an interpreted
mode, which offers immediate feedback, allowing you to test out new ideas almost
instantly.

If you've done some programming before, you've still made the
right choice. Python has all the power and flexibility you'd expect from a
modern, object-oriented programming language. But even with all of its power,
you may be surprised how quickly you can build programs. In fact, ideas
translate so quickly to the computer, Python has been called "programming at the
speed of thought."

Like any good book, this one starts at the beginning. The first
thing I cover is installing Python under Windows. Then, I move through concepts,
one step at a time, by writing small
programs to demonstrate each step. By the end of the book, I'll have covered
such fancy-sounding topics as data structures, file handling, exceptions,
object-oriented design, and GUI and multimedia programming. I also hope to show
you how to design as well as program. You'll learn how to organize your work,
break problems down into manageable chunks, and refine your code.

You'll be challenged at times, but never overwhelmed. Most of all,
you'll have fun while learning. And in the process, you'll create some small,
but cool computer games.