I'm currently at a crossroads. I'm somewhat versed in Python (2.7) and would really like to start getting into GUI to give my (although mini) projects some more depth and versibility.
For the most part, my scripts don't use anything graphical so this is the first time I'm dipping my toes in this water.
That said, I've tried using pygame and tkinter but seem to fail at every turn to get something up and running (although I had some slight success with pygame)
Am I correct to understand that for both I need X started in order to generate any type of interface, and with that, so I need X to get any type of input (touchscreen presses)?
Thanks in advance!
In order to use tkinter, you must have a graphics system running. For Windows and OSX that simply means you need to be logged in (ie: can't run as a service). For linux and other unix-like systems that means that you must have X running. 
Neither tkinter nor any of the other common GUI toolkits will write directly to the screen.
Python GUI without 'video system'