It is almost impossible to imagine our modern world without technologically advanced gadgets. Our phones, computers, TVs have become a significant part of our life which influence us in every aspect of it. And as technology took over, we started to use these gadgets not only for our jobs and studies but also for entertainment too. Before we move on to HTML5 game development, we should mention the importance of gaming for the readers. Now we live in a world where gaming is a vast industry where billions of dollars escalate every day. Game developers create more advanced and complicated games, and now we have Virtual Reality (VR) in our hands.
There are some specific languages to develop these games. And they differ for their structure, complexity, and other aspects. 2D game development has reached a new level with the help of the variety of these languages. Other than the iconic languages like Java, C++, and C, we can use web languages like Javascript or HTML5, to create and develop games. In our article, we will look at the things you should know about HTML5 and some useful tutorials to learn it in 2019.
Things you should know about HTML5 game development
In the application development area, we can surely say that HTML5 is not prestigious to be a great language, because it is already one. It has passed many good years in the game development arena. And it is fair to say that by attracting more and more people, it is already becoming the web technology of choice. The upward trend it follows will continue on the same velocity as its increasing popularity makes developers apply to HTML5 development language. The reviews based on the personal experiences of the people who use this language are almost always positive. As you read these opinions, you start to be sure why HTML5 game development is the most favorite for more game developers recently.
Well, in case you want to build a game that functions well across various platforms, HTML5 is a way you should try. Below we will mention some of the crucial benefits of using HTML5 and why you should utilize it if you are a 2D game creator. After that, we will look at the essential names of tutorials that may help the developers to improve their knowledge base.
Cross Browser and cross-platform compatibility
As we have mentioned before, the usage of HTML5 has no limits. It has an attractive feature of functioning in different browsers and platforms. In the popular browsers like Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera Mini, it has already proved its compatibility. And if you are interested, there is no problem with mobile browsers we use daily too. You can easily create mobile platform games with the help of HTML5 game development. It is functioning brilliantly in the Android Browser, Safari IOS, Blackberry Bowser, Opera Mobile, and the other names that come to your mind. It incurs less cost than the cost of creating apps for each OS as it works smoothly on mobile operating games.
You can develop multiple apps using HTML5 just once. And by this, we can fulfill the requirements if we want to have the app on various platforms. As complicated as it may sound, this is one of the most crucial features one development language should have.
Being suitable for emerging markets
It is a feature that you should take into account in the first place if you want to develop a promising product. To make this one bright, we will apply it to a single example. If there is a region we can anticipate that will build its connections, we can call it an emerging market. 5-6 years ago, Mobile Subscription had made some predictions about the continent Africa. According to them, Africa was the second most connected region in the world at that time, and it would reach 1 billion until 2015. Therefore we can surely say that Africa is one of the most emerging markets in the world.
To sustain this kind of market requires various devices, so app development for every one of them would be a problem. Having a feature like this only contributes to the growth and the rating of HTML5 game development. Experts always emphasize this feature in the first place, so do not ignore it if you are a developer.
Remote updates
One of the first features that slow down the whole process is controlling the changes manually. The 2D game creator may lose time on this while working on different web game development languages. But with HTML5, there is no need for this. A feature that makes HTML5 game development, so the individual is the automatic remote changes. For example, if you want to work on mobile game development, and your version of HTML5 is out of date, you will already see the updated version. It is a win-win situation for all parties. Game developers do not need to take time for the procedure of updating and HTML5 gains reputation, respect, and new workers.
Engines like Boon
When we talk about app development and the creation of gaming engines, HTML 5 handles it quite well. They have developed high-quality game engines that can open up a whole new world in front of us. Different HTML5 Frameworks like Phraser, Construct 2, Turbulenz, ImpactJS, and Booty 5 have done a great job with the burden of the game developing process.
The attitude of the developers
When you evaluate something, it is crucial to learn about the opinions of people who work on it. Different surveys about HTML5 have shown nearly the same result. Video game programming and development is a complicated process, and the language used in the event is the main component. For example, in 2014, there were different surveys taken from more than 3500 developers. More than half of them in the mobility domain answered that HTML5 is already an ERT (Enterprise-Ready Technology). And they emphasized that they think in a maximum of six months it will be mature enough to handle the whole gaming domain. What it means is that HTML5 has also matured to be fit enough for the consumer space. Alongside Javascript, HTML5 game development is the best choice for building cross-platform games and apps.
Why choose HTML5 frameworks and game engines?
In the game development process, some tedious tasks are hard to do without game engines. That is why people call game engines another level of abstraction. It is time-consuming to develop a new game fully-functional game for various circumstances, and HTML5 Game Engines handle the time problem. To create puzzle, shooting, sports, strategy, slot games, you need to take care of some technical details. These details are maps, animation, physics, audio, graphics, and so on. And you can fully trust HTML5 Game Engines. There are some Engines and Frameworks by HTML5 that are worth mentioning:
Phaser: 2D game creators can use this brilliant light-weight framework for making games for mobile browsers and desktops. Smartphone game development is secure with Phaser, once you learn it well.
Impact: Now we are talking about a Javascript game engine. And we should mention that it allows you to develop unforgettable games for mobile browsers and desktops.
Construct 2: One feature that makes the game-building process very easy because there is no need for extra coding.
Now that we have mentioned the benefits and some game engines of HTML5 game development, we can move on to the best tutorials on it. In 2008, they released the first draft of HTML5 publicly. W3C approved that only after six years, and after that, HTML5 has become a new standard.
In this article, you will see the guideline to choose which tutorial is the best for you and why.
Udemy
Udemy has taken the lead for its tutorials in every possible direction and field. No matter if you want to be a project manager, data scientist, or a programmer or a software provider- there are tutorials for you. And year after year, it proves its value in giving people what they need in terms of knowledge and skills. They offer 46 lectures on HTML5 game development, which takes nearly 11 hours. In less than two weeks, if you take one hour a day to learn, you can have a strong introductory language in 2D game development.
While most of the Udemy courses take money, this particular tutorial is for free. It is like a brilliant gift for people who want to learn CSS and HTML before moving on to HTML5. For beginners, it is a unique experience. And Udemy says about this tutorial that “there is no need to assume any prior knowledge.” It is because they can go through the concepts from the beginners’ level of knowledge and point of view. They start from the basics and move on to more complicated and advanced details so that the users could have “the bigger picture” instead of mixed parts of the puzzle in their minds. And it is essential to mention that there is no need for you to have any programming background to start the tutorial.
edX
Although it is not as popular as Udemy recently, it still has a lot of accomplishments to its name. In programming, it teaches more than game development. You will learn new features in HTML5 and the ways you can use them in applications and games. Also, you will learn some basics of video game testing, which is crucial as well. Fortunately, this course is free too, but unlike Udemy, it takes six weeks. Ed X mentions that the course will take 6-8 hours of your weekly time. For under 100 dollars, you can get the certificate under completion. It costs 99 dollars if we are a little bit specific. So, let your app creations in 2D game development speak for themselves.
And the timeline is also indicative of the depth of the program. In the course, you will learn the basics of HTML5 game development, alongside audio and video tags and newest forms of HTML. If you are eager to learn about web graphics, in this course, you will learn how to draw and animate them.
In the course, you will learn the basics of HTML5 game development, alongside audio and video tags and newest & trending forms of HTML.
Microsoft Virtual Academy
If you want a free self-study introductory course, this offer is for you. This course is for the professional development of the students and school teachers to enhance their knowledge of 2D game development. No matter where you are in your career in the beginning, or the end- there are things that you can learn from that course. It is an introductory course as we said, and has got only ten lectures each taking 15 to 35 minutes. You will learn general app topics like application lifestyle in the class, where there is a guide for the steps to build an app.
We should also mention that you will see a little bit more specific topics like the essentials of CSS, how to build a user interface, and more. Keep in mind that they teach you like you are a beginner, so there is no need for concern about your knowledge when you start.
If you do not like spending too much time on app-building and want to move on quickly. For more specific topics like Android game development or IOS game development, you will see free courses too. It all depends on your level (beginner or intermediate).
After finishing the course we have mentioned above, you will learn the ways to use CSS and Javascript together with HTML5.
Codecademy
It is a high-level resource. We recommend you to give a try. Sign up process is free, but you will need a Google account or Facebook account or a simple email. But most probably as a modern person you have at least one of them, there should be no problem for you.
The introduction is pleasant and brief, and after that, they almost immediately give you simple tasks. Over these tasks, you start to improve your knowledge to a stable level. The course takes approximately ten hours. The specialized concepts take 2 to 4 hours if you want to learn the specifics.
Code School
It is one of the essential tutorials you can get recently. They have specific features and offers one free level of their course on HTML5 game development. You can give it a test look and see if there are free offers that its counterparts do not have.
One of the most exciting topics in this field is the comparison of HTML5 and its previous, simpler version- HTML. In the course named “overview and updates,” you will see that type of comparisons. And they must give a general overview of CSS3 and HTML5.
When you want to unlock the full course, there are some things you should do. You will have access to their “code TV,” which includes some breakdowns of concepts. Each one of these breakdowns takes less than 15 minutes and will make your journey of learning more accessible.
These were some of the HTML5 game development tutorials that you should know about. Some of the statistics are from the sources that show facts of 2016-17, so there can be some deviations. But in 2019, they are still the best tutorials the 2D game developers apply. Millions of people who are eager to learn web programming languages to develop games utilize and learn from them. Critics, users, and students who take advantage of these tutorials evaluate and praise them in their reviews and personal opinions.
But one thing you should remember about the tutorials is that they are for self-study. It means that these tutorials demand your full focus, attention, and determination to learn. If you are not the type of person that can improve himself over a short period on tutorials, choose some real courses. There are hundreds of them too that will give you a certification of qualification after completing them. As HTML5 game development is a growing field, you will find hundreds of tutorials and courses available for you. But because technology has taken over, there are more natural ways to learn things. The only thing you need is a credit card balance a decent computer. So why not give a try to these well-known tutorials?