For Educators & Researchers
Python Arcade was created by Paul V. Craven while teaching at Simpson College.
In addition to the main Arcade 3.0 documentation you are currently reading, there are further resources to help academic users. These include:
A companion Arcade Book by Arcade’s creator
Potential 2.6.X maintenance releases to support curricula using Arcade 2.6
Citation Template
Arcade provides a citation template in BibTeX format.
To learn more about using this template, please consult the following:
the documentation of your reference management tool
any style guides you are required to follow
Version Considerations
Most users will be better off using Arade 3.0.
The main case for continuing to use 2.6.X
releases is reliance on teaching
materials which have not yet been updated, including the Arcade Book.
Arcade Book
The creator of Arcade wrote an Arcade book which covers Python basics in greater depth than the main Arcade documentation.
It may be some time until the Arcade book is updated for Arcade 3.0. Doing so requires a separate effort after the 3.0 release due to the the scale and number of changes since Arcade 2.6.
Similarities to this Documentation
Both the book and the documentation you are currently reading provide:
all-ages learning resources
gentle introductions to Python and Arcade
Differences from this Documentation
The book caters more heavily to beginners and educators by providing the following in a traditional chapter and curriculum structure:
Embedded videos covering concepts and past student projects
Lab exercises to help apply chapter material through practice
Translations in Swedish / Svenska and German / Deutsche
It also offers gentle, beginner-friendly introductions to topics which can intimidate even the graduates of college-level computer science programs:
Editors and development environments
Industry-standard version control tools
CS topics applicable at college-level and beyond
2.6.X Maintenance?
The Arcade team is exploring additional maintenance-only releases for 2.6.X.
The goals for these still-hypothetical releases would be:
Security updates
Compatibility with newer Python versions
Highly limited bug fixes
Since the Arcade team’s focus is on improving Arcade 3.0, no new features will be added unless at least one of the following is true:
It is required for a security or compatibilty improvement
The effort required is minimal
Raspberry Pi and other SBCs
For educators, Single-Board Computers (SBCs) such as the Raspberry Pi 4 and 5 are not always the most cost-effective option.
However, they may be an attractive option when at least one of the following applies:
You have an educational discount
You have grant or non-profit funding
Surplus hardware isn’t an option
SBC Purchasing Rules of Thumb
Note
These rules help non-experts steer toward Arcade-copatible devices.
You can find more in-depth descriptions of the required OpenGL ES versions and more under the SBC Requirements heading.
ARM64 and AMD64 are Easiest
The known-working Raspberry Pi 4 and 5 are both ARM64 devices. If you are considering other boards due to price or availability, stick to the following CPU architectures:
ARM64
AMD64 (same as most non-Mac desktop CPUs)
No RISC-based SBC has been verified as compatible. Although some may work, SBCs based on RISC-V CPUs are likely to lack:
introductory tutorials
beginner-friendly documentation
Credit Card Rule
As of October 2024, all compatible and widely-available SBCs are larger than credit cards:
3.375 inches by 2.125 inches
85.60 mm by 53.98 mm
If you try to use this rule:
Compare to the actual circuit board’s size, not the size of the package
Use an old hotel key card, expired credit card, or expired debit card
It’s unlikey that an SBC board will have magnets. However, the package might include them in motors (in kits) or as part of the box itself. Using an old card stops you from accidentally wiping a magnetic strip you need.
Although this errs on the side of caution, it also:
quickly rules out incompatible Raspberry Pi models
should apply to other SBCs as well