How to Make a Browser Game?

A browser game is a type of video game that is played with a web browser through the World Wide Web. Browser games can be carried out using standard web technologies or browser plug-ins. The creation of such games generally involves the use of conventional web technologies such as frontend and other technologies. Browser games span all genres of video games and can be solo or multiplayer. 

The best example on browser games are casino game. These awesome online casinos can be played through your web browser. Browser games are also convenient and can be played on multiple devices, web browsers, and various operating systems. 

Browser games are available in many genres and themes that appeal to regular and casual gamers. In addition to the online platform, many browser games have become notable titles or franchise companies that are physically sold in stores, on online markets like Steam or XBLA, or decentralized distribution platforms like itch.io.

A big part of the gaming industry is coming from those exact browser games and as we stated above, a lot of them are casino-related. There are tens of thousands of different online slots themes that are developed by dozens and hundreds of companies. If it wasn’t so popular, you think there would be so many developers out there fighting for a piece of this huge cake that’s called “browser games”? 

What is an HTML5 game?

Let us start with basic things first. What is HTML5? This is a delicate question. There is an official definition of HTML5 that mentions only the latest version of HTML (the mark-up language used worldwide to create websites) and the most famous description (what most people understand by HTML5), which are all the “new” features of they are web technologies that have emerged in recent years (JavaScript APIs such as canvas or Web Audio, semantic HTML tags, etc.).

We will use pieces of both for our purpose. HTML5 is HTML in its modern version, which contains a wide range of new functions that make web technologies an open standard with infinite possibilities to combine HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

If we have HTML with all these superpowers that go beyond just building a website, we can create games, among other things. These are HTML5 games.

Building Blocks of the Game

The basic components of an HTML5 game are those of a webpage:

  • HTML
  • CSS
  • JavaScript

Similar to HTML5, when people talk about CSS3, they generally mean the new things that come with the latest CSS specs, but similarly, CSS3 is just the latest CSS. If we ignore the semantics of these definitions for a second and think of over-the-top versions of these terms, we may need to create HTML5 games as well:

HTML5 (JavaScript API)

CSS3

With the above features, you can create fantastic games that can be run in modern web browsers on mobile devices and computers. However, some games may require more features so that you can add more building blocks.

How to Distribute a Browser Game

The easiest way to spread a browser game is to market it! When created as a website, you can easily insert and publish it on one page.

If you want to distribute it among proprietary platforms, you must go through a process called tuning. You create a native app for the platform you want to distribute it on (iOS, Android, etc.) and place your game on it so that this app behaves like a web browser and “runs” your game.

Phonegap is a popular tool for this purpose that supports multiple platforms. It also gives you access to advanced phone APIs so you can access phone contacts or calendars through your HTML5 game.

For desktop platforms like Windows, Mac, or Linux, there is a tool called WebKit Node that you can use to package your HTML5 games for those platforms.

Framework for Browser Games

Most games share certain concepts, namely sprites (graphic elements representing enemies, players, elements of your game), scenes or scenes, animations, sound, loading visual resources, etc. Because most game developers want to focus on their real game and not when creating this whole level of abstraction, it is recommended to use an HTML5 game framework.

Choosing the game engine to use is an important decision. So make sure you do the right research before making your choice. Regardless of the engine you choose, you must familiarize yourself with the code and interior if you want to use it correctly. Therefore, they should not be treated as black boxes.

Riya Choudhary
Riya is a tech enthusiast who is managing geeksgyaan. She lives on the Google side of the world. Apart from her work life, she loves to Travel and Read Novels.

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