Okay, so today I decided to get my hands dirty and code a volleyball game. It sounded pretty cool in my head, and I was itching to give it a shot.
Getting Started
First things first, I needed a basic plan. I wasn’t aiming for some super-realistic, AAA-title level thing. Just a simple, fun little game. I figured I’d use Python because, well, I like Python. It’s easy to mess around with.
I started by setting up the game window. No fancy libraries, just the good old “screen equals something by something” kind of deal. Then I created the players. Just simple rectangles for now, because who needs fancy graphics when you’re just starting out? One for my player, and one for the computer.
Making Things Move
Next up, movement. I needed to make those rectangles actually do something. I added some basic controls: left and right for my player. For the computer, I just made it move randomly for now. It’s not exactly a challenging opponent, but hey, it moves!
- Player Movement: Left and right arrow keys. Easy peasy.
- Computer Movement: Just some random wiggling back and forth.
Adding the Ball
A volleyball game needs a volleyball, right? So, I added a circle. A simple, plain circle. I made it bounce around the screen. Getting the physics right was a bit tricky. I wanted it to be somewhat realistic, but not too realistic. Just enough bounce to be fun.
I spent a good chunk of time tweaking the ball’s speed and how it bounces off the walls and the players. It’s surprisingly finicky to get it feeling just right!
Collision Detection (The Hard Part)
This is where things got a little messy. I needed to figure out how to make the ball bounce off the players. That means collision detection. I’m not gonna lie, this part took a while. Lots of trial and error. Lots of Googling. Eventually, I got something that worked, sort of. It’s not perfect, but the ball bounces! Sometimes in unexpected ways, but it bounces!
Keeping Score
To make it an actual game, I added a scoreboard. Just a simple text display at the top, showing the score for each player. Every time the ball hits the ground on one side, the other player gets a point. Basic stuff.
The End Result (For Now)
So, after a few hours of coding and debugging, I have a… well, it’s a volleyball game. It’s definitely not going to win any awards, but it’s playable! You can move your little rectangle, the computer moves its rectangle, and the ball bounces around. Sometimes it even makes sense!
It’s very basic, very rough around the edges, but it’s something. And that’s the cool part about coding. You can start with nothing and end up with a working (sort of) game. It’s a great feeling, even if the game itself is a bit… underwhelming. I had a lot of fun. Next to try improve the AI.
