Now that Flash is largely being replaced with HTML5 elements (video, audio, canvas, etc.) are there any good examples of web-based games built on completely open standards (meaning Javascript, HTML and CSS)? I see a lot of examples of pure HTML5 implementations of what was once only in Flash (like stuff here: http://www.html5rocks.com/) but not many games, a domain which still seem dominated by Flash. I'm curious what's possible and what the limitations are.
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In the interest of exploring just how far you can take the newest crop of browsers, I and some colleagues cross-compiled the open-source Java port of Quake II to Safari/Chrome (it ought to work on Firefox at some point as well, though it didn't initially, largely for performance reasons). The project is here: http://code.google.com/p/quake2-gwt-port/ It still requires some care and feeding to get it up and running (e.g., WebGL still isn't enabled by default in any shipping browser), but we uploaded a video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhMN0wlITLk (sorry it's so dark -- gamma issues remain) and you can see our Google I/O talk here: http://code.google.com/intl/fr-FR/events/io/2010/sessions/gwt-html5.html I don't know how long it's going to be before we can realistically depend on all these new browser features (WebGL, WebSocket, audio/video, local storage, et al), but if it all comes together it could make a huge difference in the ability to ship games directly on the web. But there are still a lot of hurdles that remain (e.g., don't hold your breath for Microsoft to implement WebGL in IE10). |
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There is a lot of hype around HTML5 but to say that Flash is largely being replaced by it is an overstatement. While video and audio tags may gain traction, gaming will be one area that holds out for a long time, not just because of better tooling and performance, but also because there is a business infrastructure built around distributing Swf files, that wouldn't easily adapt to HTML and js. The html5 games I have seen using canvas are roughly where flash was 7 years ago, and by the time ie9 is widely distributed enough that canvas is a viable option, Flash will have already introduced it's planned 3d and possibly hardware acceleration features. |
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Have a look at these websites: |
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EA's Lord of Ultima is probably the most visually impressive Javascript/HTML based game I've seen. Note: It a strategy game and not an action title so while it has a nice smooth scrolling map, there isn't anything beyond clicking on buttons as far as direct interactivity goes. |
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"I'm curious what's possible and what the limitations are." The limitations are browser-based. If you're using something hot like the Webkit nightlies, there's basically nothing that flash can do that the browser can't do natively, such as:
AFAIK that's all possible in Google Chrome as well (and if it's not, it will be soon). Sounds like a complete gaming environment to me :) (I included links to all this stuff in my first draft but StackExchange wouldn't let me post them since I'm new; sorry!) |
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Coincidentally, there was a question on Slashdot today about html5/javascript gaming: http://ask.slashdot.org/story/10/07/14/0632238/JavaScriptHTML-5-Gaming It mentions specifically Galactic Plunder, a side-scrolling space shooter: |
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Even though controls are screwed up/need work, I am fond of Akihabara - http://www.kesiev.com/akihabara/ |
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Google Pacman has to be one of the more impressive JS/HTML games I've seen (granted, it's the only one I've seen, but it's still really impressive :) |
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There are excellent tutorials for the Akihabara Libraries put together by Darius Kazemi and Darren Torpey at: Akihabara Tutorials |
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A jquery ui guy is building a game engine called Aves using javascript/html. This video describes some of the challenges he ran into during development. He talked a lot about how slow canvas was and that it isn't currently hw accelerated. You could also find a whole bunch of games developed using the Effect Games engine. Although the engine looks fairly sandboxed into his site with all tooling and assets existing there. IMO the greatest limitation of developing a js/html game is sound. The tag performs differently event wise across safari/firefox/chrome all of which must be latest version. Last I checked safari worked only with MP3 and firefox only works with OGG. Although its completely feasible to overcome this with a combo of serverside logic. I currently hobby in writing Flash games and can't see that domain being overcome by HTML5(js/css/html) until portals start accepting them or the web app stores go online. |
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FreeCIV: http://www.freeciv.net/ Plus: They are doing HTML advocacy. |
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A really interesting HTML5 development framework I recently stumbled upon is Sencha. It's mainly for handheld/touch devices, but what's not gonna be touch-based a couple years from now? Here are some intriguing demos, including a card game: |
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Here are some HTML5 games on Effects Games... there are even projects there you can jump in an get involved. Been killing time between compiles mostly with their Crystal Galaxy Demo |
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This game was painstakingly created with blood, sweat, tears, and HTML5. The core matrix transform library was spun out as Matrix.js. Additionally many of the core language extensions, sprites, sounds, and canvas libraries are working their way into The Pixie Game Platform. No Flash, all HTML5 Canvas and Audio. Works best in Chrome. |
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