Python in game development?

[Martijn Faassen]

Paul Prescod <paul at prescod.net> wrote:
> Martijn Faassen wrote:
>> 
>> ...
>>
>> >From a game programming perspective, you can probably consider Python to
>> be dirt-slow, though. The trade-off is a lot of power for speed, but
>> that power can help you gain back speed because you can be a lot smarter.

> Python is dirt-slow if you are going to write a whole game in it.

I wonder, in fact. :) Depends on the game and how smartly you offload
the speed critical bits to C.

> But is
> it really much slower than the embedded scripting languages these games
> sometimes have?

Depends, probably not. See my other reply. I know game programmers have
a very speed oriented mind set, and to leave absolutely no impression
that Python's fast compared to C or assembler, I used the word 'dirt-slow'.

A custom scripting language in a game can be faster at what it is designed
for. Often it's probably also extremely frustrating if you want to do
anything else, I imagine. And people *will* want to do something else with
it. 

That said, I think Python can definitely be used in a game engine and that
it wouldn't be too slow for many purposes. Include babbling about
'premature optimization' and 'reinventing the wheel' here as arguments
for the use of Python in games.

Regards,

Martijn
-- 
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