Step 6 - Add a Camera#

We can have our window be a small viewport into a much larger world by adding a camera to it.

First we need to create a new variable in our __init__ method:

06_camera.py - Create camera variable#
        # A Camera that can be used for scrolling the screen
        self.camera = None

Next we can initialize the camera in the setup function:

06_camera.py - Setup Camera#
        # Set up the Camera
        self.camera = arcade.Camera(self.width, self.height)

Then to use our camera when drawing, we can activate it in our on_draw function:

06_camera.py - Use camera when drawing#
        # Activate our Camera
        self.camera.use()

Now at this point everything should be working the same, but the camera can do a lot more than this. We can use the move function of the camera to scroll it to a different position. We can use this functionality to keep the camera centered on the player:

We can create a function to calculate the coordinates for the center of our player relative to the screen, then move the camera to those. Then we can call that function in on_update to actually move it. The new position will be taken into account during the use function in on_draw

06_camera.py - Center camera on player#
    def center_camera_to_player(self):
        screen_center_x = self.player_sprite.center_x - (self.camera.viewport_width / 2)
        screen_center_y = self.player_sprite.center_y - (
            self.camera.viewport_height / 2
        )

        # Don't let camera travel past 0
        if screen_center_x < 0:
            screen_center_x = 0
        if screen_center_y < 0:
            screen_center_y = 0
        player_centered = screen_center_x, screen_center_y

        self.camera.move_to(player_centered)

    def on_update(self, delta_time):
        """Movement and game logic"""

        # Move the player with the physics engine
        self.physics_engine.update()

        # Position the camera
        self.center_camera_to_player()

Source Code#

Add a Camera#
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"""
Platformer Game
"""
import arcade

# Constants
SCREEN_WIDTH = 1000
SCREEN_HEIGHT = 650
SCREEN_TITLE = "Platformer"

# Constants used to scale our sprites from their original size
CHARACTER_SCALING = 1
TILE_SCALING = 0.5

# Movement speed of player, in pixels per frame
PLAYER_MOVEMENT_SPEED = 5
GRAVITY = 1
PLAYER_JUMP_SPEED = 20


class MyGame(arcade.Window):
    """
    Main application class.
    """

    def __init__(self):

        # Call the parent class and set up the window
        super().__init__(SCREEN_WIDTH, SCREEN_HEIGHT, SCREEN_TITLE)

        # Our Scene Object
        self.scene = None

        # Separate variable that holds the player sprite
        self.player_sprite = None

        # Our physics engine
        self.physics_engine = None

        # A Camera that can be used for scrolling the screen
        self.camera = None

        arcade.set_background_color(arcade.csscolor.CORNFLOWER_BLUE)

    def setup(self):
        """Set up the game here. Call this function to restart the game."""

        # Set up the Camera
        self.camera = arcade.Camera(self.width, self.height)

        # Initialize Scene
        self.scene = arcade.Scene()

        # Create the Sprite lists
        self.scene.add_sprite_list("Player")
        self.scene.add_sprite_list("Walls", use_spatial_hash=True)

        # Set up the player, specifically placing it at these coordinates.
        image_source = ":resources:images/animated_characters/female_adventurer/femaleAdventurer_idle.png"
        self.player_sprite = arcade.Sprite(image_source, CHARACTER_SCALING)
        self.player_sprite.center_x = 64
        self.player_sprite.center_y = 96
        self.scene.add_sprite("Player", self.player_sprite)

        # Create the ground
        # This shows using a loop to place multiple sprites horizontally
        for x in range(0, 1250, 64):
            wall = arcade.Sprite(":resources:images/tiles/grassMid.png", TILE_SCALING)
            wall.center_x = x
            wall.center_y = 32
            self.scene.add_sprite("Walls", wall)

        # Put some crates on the ground
        # This shows using a coordinate list to place sprites
        coordinate_list = [[512, 96], [256, 96], [768, 96]]

        for coordinate in coordinate_list:
            # Add a crate on the ground
            wall = arcade.Sprite(
                ":resources:images/tiles/boxCrate_double.png", TILE_SCALING
            )
            wall.position = coordinate
            self.scene.add_sprite("Walls", wall)

        # Create the 'physics engine'
        self.physics_engine = arcade.PhysicsEnginePlatformer(
            self.player_sprite, gravity_constant=GRAVITY, walls=self.scene["Walls"]
        )

    def on_draw(self):
        """Render the screen."""

        # Clear the screen to the background color
        self.clear()

        # Activate our Camera
        self.camera.use()

        # Draw our Scene
        self.scene.draw()

    def on_key_press(self, key, modifiers):
        """Called whenever a key is pressed."""

        if key == arcade.key.UP or key == arcade.key.W:
            if self.physics_engine.can_jump():
                self.player_sprite.change_y = PLAYER_JUMP_SPEED
        elif key == arcade.key.LEFT or key == arcade.key.A:
            self.player_sprite.change_x = -PLAYER_MOVEMENT_SPEED
        elif key == arcade.key.RIGHT or key == arcade.key.D:
            self.player_sprite.change_x = PLAYER_MOVEMENT_SPEED

    def on_key_release(self, key, modifiers):
        """Called when the user releases a key."""

        if key == arcade.key.LEFT or key == arcade.key.A:
            self.player_sprite.change_x = 0
        elif key == arcade.key.RIGHT or key == arcade.key.D:
            self.player_sprite.change_x = 0

    def center_camera_to_player(self):
        screen_center_x = self.player_sprite.center_x - (self.camera.viewport_width / 2)
        screen_center_y = self.player_sprite.center_y - (
            self.camera.viewport_height / 2
        )

        # Don't let camera travel past 0
        if screen_center_x < 0:
            screen_center_x = 0
        if screen_center_y < 0:
            screen_center_y = 0
        player_centered = screen_center_x, screen_center_y

        self.camera.move_to(player_centered)

    def on_update(self, delta_time):
        """Movement and game logic"""

        # Move the player with the physics engine
        self.physics_engine.update()

        # Position the camera
        self.center_camera_to_player()


def main():
    """Main function"""
    window = MyGame()
    window.setup()
    arcade.run()


if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()