Space Clutter! - A game prototype demonstrating grid formations, wave patterns, and MoveUntil actions

A full game under development, using Actions Pattern Demo - Showcasing various movement patterns and formation arrangements

ArcadeActions extension library for Arcade 3.x

🚀 Quick Appeal

So much of building an arcade game is a cluttered way of saying "animate this sprite until something happens", like colliding with another sprite, reaching a boundary, or an event response. Most of us manage this complexity in the game loop, using low-level movement of game objects and complex chains of if-statements. But what if you could write a concise command like "keep moving this sprite, wrap it the other side of the window if it hits a boundary, and raise an event when it collides with another sprite"?

import arcade
from actions import MoveUntil, Action

class AsteroidDemoView(arcade.View):
    def __init__(self):
        super().__init__()
        # Minimal, explicit setup
        self.player = arcade.Sprite(":resources:/images/space_shooter/playerShip1_green.png")
        self.player.center_x, self.player.center_y = 400, 100

        self.asteroids = arcade.SpriteList()
        # Position asteroids in a simple pattern with different velocities
        positions = [(200, 450), (400, 400), (600, 450)]
        velocities = [(3, -2), (-2, -3), (4, -1)]
        
        for (x, y), (vx, vy) in zip(positions, velocities):
            rock = arcade.Sprite(":resources:/images/space_shooter/meteorGrey_big1.png")
            rock.center_x, rock.center_y = x, y
            self.asteroids.append(rock)
            
            # Each asteroid moves independently with its own velocity
            MoveUntil(
                velocity=(vx, vy),
                condition=self.player_asteroid_collision,
                on_stop=self.on_player_collision,
                bounds=(-64, -64, 864, 664),
                boundary_behavior="wrap",
            ).apply(rock)

    def player_asteroid_collision(self):
        """Return data when player hits any asteroid; None to keep moving."""
        hits = arcade.check_for_collision_with_list(self.player, self.asteroids)
        return {"hits": hits} if hits else None

    def on_player_collision(self, data):
        """React to collision."""
        print(f"Game over! {len(data['hits'])} asteroid(s) hit the player.")
        # ... reset player / end round / etc. ...

    def on_update(self, dt):
        Action.update_all(dt)
        self.player.update()
        self.asteroids.update()

    def on_draw(self):
        self.clear()
        self.player.draw()
        self.asteroids.draw()

This example shows how animation actions can be logically separated from collision responses, making your code simple and appealing. If writing high-level game code appeals to you ... it's why you chose Python in the first place ... read on!

📚 Documentation Overview

Essential Reading

1. API Usage Guide - START HERE - Complete guide to using the framework
2. Testing Guide - Testing patterns and best practices
3. PRD - Project requirements and architecture decisions

🚀 Getting Started

🛠️ Installation

For Library Users:

# Basic installation for most games; adjust the commands below depending on your Python package manager. 
pip install arcade-actions

# With optional state machine support (platformers/character action games)
pip install arcade-actions[statemachine]

# With state machine diagram generation 
pip install arcade-actions[statemachine_diagrams]

For Contributors:

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/bcorfman/arcade_actions.git
cd arcade_actions

# Install for development (includes all optional dependencies and dev tools)
make devinstall

# Run tests
make test

# Run linter
make lint

# Format code
make format

Quick Start by Game Type

Simple Arcade Games (no physics):

1. Read the API Usage Guide to understand the framework
2. Study working demos to see Actions in practice
3. Start with simple helper functions (move_until, rotate_until)
4. Build up to sequences for complex behaviors

Platformers / Physics Games:

1. Install with state machine support: uv add arcade-actions[statemachine] (see Installation section above)
2. Start with examples/pymunk_demo_platformer.py - reference implementation
3. Study the patterns:
   • InputState with @dataclass
   • DUMB View / SMART State Machine architecture
   • Centralized physics in state machine
   • cycle_textures_until for animations
4. Follow the architecture guide (see Decision Matrix below)

📖 Documentation Structure

docs/
├── README.md                # This file - overview and quick start
├── api_usage_guide.md       # Complete API usage patterns (START HERE)
├── testing_guide.md         # Testing patterns and fixtures
└── prd.md                   # Requirements and architecture

🔧 Core Components

✅ Implementation

Base Action System (actions/base.py)

• Action - Core action class with global management
• Global management - Automatic action tracking and updates

Configuration (actions/config.py)

• Configurable debug logging: Fine-grained, level-based diagnostics with per-Action filtering for focused output
• Debug levels: Level 0 (off), Level 1 (summary counts), Level 2 (lifecycle events), Level 3+ (verbose per-frame details)
• Action filtering: Observe specific action classes or all actions for targeted debugging
• Environment variables: ARCADEACTIONS_DEBUG=2, ARCADEACTIONS_DEBUG_ALL=1, ARCADEACTIONS_DEBUG_INCLUDE=MoveUntil,CallbackUntil
• Programmatic API: set_debug_options(level=2, include=["MoveUntil"]) or observe_actions(MoveUntil, CallbackUntil) in your app startup

Instant Action System (actions/instant.py)

• MoveBy - Relative Sprite or SpriteList positioning
• MoveTo - Absolute positioning

Conditional Actions (actions/conditional.py)

• MoveUntil - Velocity-based movement until condition met (optional PyMunk physics integration)
• FollowPathUntil - Follow Bezier curve paths with optional automatic sprite rotation (optional PyMunk physics steering with use_physics=True)
• RotateUntil - Angular velocity rotation (optional PyMunk physics integration)
• ScaleUntil - Scale velocity changes
• FadeUntil - Alpha velocity changes
• CycleTexturesUntil - Cycle through a list of textures at a specific frame rate with simulation time duration support
• BlinkUntil - Toggle sprite visibility with optional enter/exit callbacks for collision management
• CallbackUntil - Execute callback functions at specified intervals or every frame until condition is met
• DelayUntil - Wait for condition to be met
• TweenUntil - Direct property animation from start to end value
• GlowUntil - Render full-screen Shadertoy effects with camera offset support
• EmitParticlesUntil - Manage per-sprite particle emitters with anchor and rotation following

Composite Actions (actions/composite.py)

• Sequential actions - Run actions one after another (use sequence())
• Parallel actions - Run actions in parallel (use parallel())
• Repeat actions - Repeat an action indefinitely (use repeat())

Boundary Handling (actions/conditional.py)

• MoveUntil with bounds - Built-in boundary detection with bounce/wrap behaviors

Formation Management (actions/formation.py)

• Formation functions - Grid, line, circle, diamond, V-formation, triangle, hexagonal grid, arc, concentric rings, cross, and arrow positioning
  • Zero-allocation support: pass sprites= to arrange existing sprites without allocating
  • Contract: exactly one of sprites or creation inputs (count or sprite_factory) is required
  • Grid rule: when sprites is provided, len(sprites) must equal rows * cols
  • See examples/formation_demo.py for a quick start

Movement Patterns (actions/pattern.py)

• Movement pattern functions - Zigzag, wave, spiral, figure-8, orbit, bounce, and patrol patterns
• Condition helpers - Time-based and sprite count conditions for conditional actions
• See examples/pattern_demo.py for a quick start

State Machine Integration

ArcadeActions integrates seamlessly with the external python-statemachine library for complex state-driven game logic.

Complete Example: See examples/pymunk_demo_platformer.py for the reimagined Arcade 3.x implementation showing:

• InputState with @dataclass
• State machine with guard conditions and named events
• Physics force application centralized in state machine
• CycleTexturesUntil for walk/climb animations
• Zero state flags - state machine as single source of truth

Additional Reference: The AmazonWarriors and Laser Gates projects demonstrate more complete and advanced patterns.

♻️ Zero-Allocation Gameplay (experimental)

ArcadeActions now provides an optional zero-allocation workflow to eliminate per-wave sprite creation.

1. Use the new SpritePool (in actions.pools) to pre-allocate sprites once at boot:

from actions.pools import SpritePool
from actions import arrange_grid
import arcade

def make_block():
    return arcade.Sprite(":resources:images/items/star.png", scale=0.8)

pool = SpritePool(make_block, max_size=300)
blocks = pool.acquire(150)                                    # borrow invisible sprites
arrange_grid(rows=30, cols=5, sprites=blocks, start_x=0, start_y=0)  # position only
pool.assign(blocks)                                           # return to pool (hidden & neutral)

2. During gameplay, acquire → arrange → release without allocating:

shield = pool.acquire(width * 30)
arrange_grid(rows=30, cols=width, sprites=shield, start_x=WINDOW+50, start_y=TUNNEL_H)
# ... gameplay ...
pool.release(shield)

SpritePool API:

• acquire(n) -> list[Sprite] — borrow invisible, un-positioned sprites
• release(iterable[Sprite]) — return sprites to the pool (hidden, detached, reset)
• assign(iterable[Sprite]) — load externally-created sprites into the pool once

Arrange functions contract:

• Provide exactly one of sprites or creation inputs (count/sprite_factory)
• When using sprites with arrange_grid, len(sprites) == rows * cols is required

Easing Effects (actions/easing.py)

• Ease wrapper - Apply smooth acceleration/deceleration curves to any conditional action
• Multiple easing functions - Built-in ease_in, ease_out, ease_in_out support
• Custom easing - Create specialized easing curves and nested easing effects

Optional Physics Integration (actions/physics_adapter.py)

• PyMunk Physics Support - Optional integration with arcade.PymunkPhysicsEngine for physics-driven movement
• Zero API Changes - Existing code works unchanged; physics is opt-in via Action.update_all(dt, physics_engine=engine)
• Automatic Kinematic Sync - NEW: Kinematic bodies automatically synced (eliminates manual set_velocity() loops)
• Automatic Routing - MoveUntil and RotateUntil automatically use physics when engine is provided
• Physics-Based Path Following - FollowPathUntil with use_physics=True uses steering impulses for natural physics interaction
• Fallback Behavior - Actions work normally without a physics engine (direct sprite attribute manipulation)
• Complete Example - See examples/pymunk_demo_platformer.py for state machine + physics + actions integration
• See the API Usage Guide for detailed examples

📋 Decision Matrix: When to Use What

Basic Actions & Composition

State Machine Integration

Physics Integration

Architecture Decision Guide

View Architecture Pattern