Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Upbge VS Pygame

Compare Upbge VS Pygame and see what are their differences

Upbge logo Upbge

A game-engine fully integrated in Blender

Pygame logo Pygame

Pygame is a set of Python modules designed for writing games.
  • Upbge Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-09-27
  • Pygame Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-06-17

Upbge features and specs

  • Integration with Blender
    UPBGE is built on top of Blender, allowing users to leverage Blender's powerful modeling, texturing, and animation tools within the game engine.
  • Open Source
    As an open-source project, UPBGE is free to use and modify. This allows for a high degree of customization and community-driven development.
  • Python Scripting
    UPBGE supports Python scripting, which provides flexibility and depth for game logic and allows developers to automate tasks and create complex behaviors.
  • Cross-Platform
    Games developed with UPBGE can be deployed across multiple platforms, enhancing their accessibility and potential reach.
  • Active Community
    The UPBGE community is active and growing, providing valuable resources, tutorials, and support for developers.

Possible disadvantages of Upbge

  • Learning Curve
    While UPBGE is accessible, mastering both Blender and the game engine's functionalities requires time and effort, especially for beginners.
  • Performance Limitations
    UPBGE may not match the performance capabilities of more established game engines like Unity or Unreal when handling large, complex projects.
  • Smaller User Base
    Compared to other major game engines, UPBGE has a smaller user base, which means fewer resources and third-party integrations are available.
  • Documentation
    While there are resources available, UPBGE's documentation may not be as comprehensive or up-to-date as more mainstream engines, complicating the development process.
  • Feature Set
    Although UPBGE offers a wide range of features, it may lack some advanced tools and technologies found in other established game engines.

Pygame features and specs

  • Easy to Learn
    Pygame is beginner-friendly, making it accessible to those new to game development and programming. Its simple syntax allows for quick learning and development.
  • Comprehensive Documentation
    Pygame offers extensive documentation and tutorials, which are extremely helpful for new developers. The community-contributed examples and guides also aid in the learning process.
  • Cross-Platform
    Games developed with Pygame can run on multiple platforms including Windows, Mac, and Linux, which makes deployment much easier.
  • Active Community
    Pygame has a vibrant and active community, which means you can find plenty of resources, forums, and user-contributed codes to help you with your projects.
  • Built on Python
    Being built on Python, Pygame leverages Python's clarity and simplicity, and integrates well with its extensive libraries and frameworks, making it highly versatile.

Possible disadvantages of Pygame

  • Performance Constraints
    Pygame is not the most performance-optimized game development framework. For high-performance or graphics-intensive games, a more optimized engine might be necessary.
  • Limited 3D Support
    Pygame is predominantly designed for 2D games, lacking advanced 3D graphics support. Developers looking to create 3D games might need to look into other frameworks or engines.
  • Less Modern Functionality
    Some features provided by modern game engines, such as advanced physics engines or high-level scripting systems, are either missing or require additional libraries.
  • Lower Community Size Compared to Major Engines
    While Pygame has an active community, its community is smaller compared to major game engines like Unity or Unreal, meaning fewer resources and third-party tools.
  • Manual Memory Management
    Handling memory management, such as manually freeing up resources and optimizing performance, can become cumbersome for developers as Pygame does not automate this.

Analysis of Pygame

Overall verdict

  • Pygame is a good choice for those who want to start game development in Python, especially for 2D games. Its simplicity and large community support make it an attractive option for both beginners and intermediate developers. However, for more complex or 3D game development, other engines may be more suitable.

Why this product is good

  • Pygame is a popular library for game development in Python due to its simplicity and ease of use. It provides a wide range of modules for handling graphics, sound, and input, allowing developers to create 2D games efficiently. The library is well-documented and boasts a large community that contributes tutorials, forums, and examples, making it accessible for beginners. It is also cross-platform, which means games developed with Pygame can run on multiple operating systems.

Recommended for

  • Beginners learning game development
  • Developers creating 2D games
  • Python enthusiasts interested in game design
  • Educational purposes and teaching programming concepts

Upbge videos

UPBGE 0.3 Released -- Blender Game Engine's Spiritual Successor

More videos:

  • Review - Engine Review: Blender Game Engine em 2020? (UPBGE) #01

Pygame videos

2019 Pygame Projects

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Upbge and Pygame)
Game Engine
35 35%
65% 65
Game Development
23 23%
77% 77
3D Game Engine
41 41%
59% 59
Gaming Software
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Upbge and Pygame

Upbge Reviews

We have no reviews of Upbge yet.
Be the first one to post

Pygame Reviews

Top 6 Python Framework for Game Development | by Ankur Kumar | unikaksha | Medium
Pygame is the most popular game development framework. It’s a Python wrapper building video games based on the SDL library. The SDL library allows cross-platform access to the system’s multimedia hardware, such as audio, video, the mouse, keyboard, and joystick. Because SDL and Pygame are cross-platform, they help develop games and rich multimedia Python programs on any...
Source: medium.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Upbge seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 5 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Upbge mentions (5)

  • Ask HN: Yo wants to build a game, I'm lost. What can I do?
    Starting with 2d games is very good advice however if the child is mostly interested in 3d, well not the most helpful advice. Some people here forget that children are way more tolerant of not understanding things than adults are. They just want to get a quick taste not necessary dedicate their life to the study of game development. I think something like RPG in a Box https://rpginabox.com/ is nice if the child... - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Unity’s New Pricing: A Wake-Up Call on the Importance of Open Source in Gaming
    It's not as monolithic as you'd think. There are lots of engines out there but their communities aren't very vocal compared to Unity, Unreal, and especially Godot's community. Take a look at: https://itch.io/game-development/engines/most-projects And https://www.gamedeveloper.com/blogs/the-generous-space-of-alternative-game-engines-a-curation- If you look at both of these you'll see just how many engines there are... - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Should I focus on C# or Pygame?
    UPBGE which was formerly part of Blender is the only modern 3D engine I know of that supports Python for game development. Source: about 2 years ago
  • is there Can Blender be used to create virtual tours of interior spaces?
    Another would be https://upbge.org/ 3D game engine forked from the old Blender Game Engine and deployed with Blender itself. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Would be nice to subtract Substance and Photoshop from the workflow
    There still is a fork of the old one https://upbge.org/. Source: over 2 years ago

Pygame mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Pygame yet. Tracking of Pygame recommendations started around Mar 2021.

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