🎯 Build “Target Collector” Using Amazon Q CLI and Pygame on Linux

Adwitya Chakraborty — Sun, 15 Jun 2025 13:24:46 +0000

Remember those fast-paced arcade games where every second counts?
Let’s recreate that thrill with Target Collector, a simple reflex-based game built using Python, Pygame, and the AI-powered Amazon Q CLI.

With Amazon Q CLI, you can generate and modify code in your terminal using plain English prompts — and combining that with Pygame makes the development process smoother and more interactive, especially on a Linux system.

🛠️ What You'll Need
To build Target Collector, I used the following tools:

Amazon Q CLI – An AI command-line coding assistant
Python 3.8+ – The language driving our game
Pygame – A powerful library for building games in Python
Linux (Ubuntu/Debian) – Recommended environment for easy setup

⚙️ Setting Up the Development Environment (Linux)
Step 1: Install Dependencies
Open your terminal and run:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y python3 python3-pip python3-venv git

Step 2: Install Pygame

pip3 install pygame

💻 Installing Amazon Q CLI on Linux
Amazon provides a .deb installer for easy setup.

Step 1: Download the Installer


wget https://desktop-release.q.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/latest/amazon-q.deb

Step 2: Install Using dpkg

sudo dpkg -i amazon-q.deb

Step 3: Fix Any Dependency Issues

sudo apt-get install -f

Step 4: Verify Installation

q --version

You should see the Amazon Q CLI version printed in your terminal.

Step 5: Launch the Interactive Chat

q chat

You're now ready to build with the help of Amazon Q!

🧠 Building the Game with Amazon Q CLI
With everything set up, I started developing the game by feeding prompts into Q CLI. Here's how the game came together, one feature at a time.

🎮 Game Concept
In Target Collector, you control a blue dot using arrow keys. Yellow targets appear randomly on the screen. You must reach each one within 5 seconds. If you do, your score increases. If not — game over!

🧱 Step-by-Step Prompts and Features

Creating the Game Window and Player Movement Prompt:

“Create a game using Pygame where the player is a blue circle that moves with arrow keys in a 600x400 window.”

Q CLI Outcome:

Set up the window

Added player movement

Rendered the player as a blue circle

2. Spawning Targets Randomly
Prompt:

“Add yellow target circles that spawn at random positions and must be collected within 5 seconds.”

Outcome:

Targets appear randomly

A timer starts as soon as one spawns

Game ends if the player doesn’t collect it in time

3. Visual Timer
Prompt:

“Show a timer bar at the top of the screen that shrinks over 5 seconds.”

Outcome:

Timer bar dynamically decreases

Immediate visual feedback on how much time is left

4. Scoring System
Prompt:

“Display a score at the top-left that increases each time a target is collected.”

Outcome:

Score starts at 0

Increases with each successful target

Updates in real-time on screen

5. Game Over and Restart
Prompt:

“On game over, show a message with the final score and allow the player to press R to restart.”

Outcome:

Game over screen with final score

Option to press R to reset the game

✅ Final Feature Summary

🕹️ Smooth arrow-key movement
🎯 Randomly spawning yellow targets
⏳ Shrinking timer bar
🔢 Real-time score display
💀 Game over screen + restart support

🤖 Why I Used Amazon Q CLI
Amazon Q CLI acted like a real-time coding assistant. Instead of Googling syntax or writing logic from scratch, I used prompts to guide development:

It helped generate structured code quickly
I got instant suggestions and bug fixes
It allowed for rapid prototyping and iteration

Perfect for solo developers or beginners looking to learn as they build.

🚀 Wrapping Up
With just Python, Pygame, and a few well-thought-out prompts in Amazon Q CLI, I built a complete, playable version of Target Collector in record time.

Want to take it further? Try adding:

A countdown sound effect
Dynamic difficulty (timer shrinks faster over time)
Persistent high scores stored in a file

📂 Try It Yourself
You can run the game like this:

python3 target_collector.py

Use the arrow keys to move. Collect yellow targets before time runs out. Press R to restart after the game ends.

Thanks for reading!
If you liked this post, consider leaving a 👏 or commenting on what game you’d like to build next using AI + Python. Let’s make coding fun again!

DEV Community: Adwitya Chakraborty

🎯 Build “Target Collector” Using Amazon Q CLI and Pygame on Linux