This is a version of a common type of starter program I use for many projects.

It requires PyGame.

The basic idea is that there will be a visible representation of an IBM PC VGA terminal, a DEC VT100 style character set, and so forth. It is a common starting program to replicate any of the BSDGAMES such as Robots, Life, Hack, or any program that requires a portable terminal or where access to the console is not superconvenient (ex. when using an IDE).

There are four basic components:

• main.py
• game.py
• window.py
• the character set

Additionally a small logo can be used, but if you comment out the logo line it still works.

• I use a few different ones depending on the situation. I find that the ones included here are some of the best and/or most useful.
• Example Logo:

The best source for old character sets is The Ultimate Oldschool PC Font Pack. I usually use an IBM_PC_VGA_8x16_PLUS TTF font. They're easy to work with in Python, Java, and C++. If you can't use TTF on the web there are woff and other versions available too. The plus means you can use unicode and/or ANSI codes which is often the only way to print IBM PC special characters. Perfect for those writing a ZZT clone!

The clacon font is also very good: http://webdraft.hu/fonts/classic-console/