Welcome to Stack Invaders, a Space-Invaders inspired arcade shooter where every stage celebrates a different programming language. Blast through themed enemy waves, collect power-ups, and face bosses that weaponize iconic keywords!

• Requirements: Python 3.10+ and Pygame. Install dependencies with:

  pip install pygame

• Run the game:

  python main.py

• Audio tip: The game gracefully continues without sound if the mixer fails to initialize, but for the full experience ensure your system audio is available.

• Move: ←/→ or A/D
• Shoot: SPACE
• Pause / Back: ESC
• Objective: Clear successive enemy waves to summon each stage boss. Defeat the boss to advance to the next language-themed arena.

• Double Shot: Temporarily fires an additional projectile with every attack.
• Shield: Surrounds the ship with a protective barrier against a hit.
• Slow Time: Slows incoming threats, giving breathing room to dodge.

• Keep moving horizontally to dodge barrages from bosses and spiraling projectiles.
• Time your shots to maximize damage windows when enemies change direction.
• Watch for keyword-labeled bullets—boss specials are faster and hit harder.

Stages live in the STAGES list within main.py. Duplicate an existing block and tweak:

1. name, color, and enemy grid (enemy_rows, enemy_cols).
2. Difficulty knobs (enemy_speed, enemy_drop, enemy_shoot_chance, enemy_hp, player_projectile_speed).
3. Boss definition (boss dict) with its HP, patterns, specials, and sprite. Remember to supply any custom sprites or icons in assets/.

• Enemy visuals: Update the enemy_sprite path in a stage to use a custom image.
• Boss patterns: Extend Boss.fire_pattern to add new attack types. Create a new branch in the method and append projectiles to enemy_bullets for your pattern.

Player.apply_power handles boosts. Add new cases and spawn them from PowerUp or wave logic to prototype unique mechanics (e.g., rapid fire or score multipliers).

• Store assets under assets/ to avoid load failures.
• Reuse helper functions try_load_image and try_load_sound to provide fallbacks when files are missing.

Stackinvaders/
├── assets/         # Sprites, audio, and sound effects
├── main.py         # Game loop, entities, stage logic
├── README_EN.md    # English guide
└── README_PT.md    # Guia em português

Have fun hacking on Stack Invaders, and share your favorite language boss combos! 🚀