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Video: Web Game Development Tools

Mike Fleischauer
Mike Fleischauer
GameFromScratch Creator
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Welcome to the Web Game Dev Summit where game engine options for web-based games are explored. Native and compiled development approaches are discussed, with off-the-shelf engines like Unity and HTML5-specific engines as options. Godot Engine is highlighted as an open source engine with strong web support. Traditional game engines like Default, GameMaker Studio, and Babylon.js are mentioned, along with frameworks like PhaserJS and Cocos2DJS. JavaScript libraries for game development, audio support options, and considerations for choosing the right engine are also covered.

This talk has been presented at JS GameDev Summit 2022, check out the latest edition of this JavaScript Conference.

Read FAQ and transcription

FAQ

Sound.js and Howler.js are two popular audio libraries for web game development. They simplify dealing with audio complexities and browser eccentricities.

When choosing a game engine for web development, consider factors such as whether your game is 2D or 3D, your budget, the importance of open-source software, and your primary platform. For maximum platform support, Unity is a strong choice. For open-source preferences, Godot is recommended.

Notable 3D frameworks include Three.js and Babylon.js. For 2D frameworks, PhaserJS, MelonJS, and Cocos2DJS are popular choices.

Yes, it is more feasible to build your own game engine for web development than for other platforms, thanks to the availability of modular libraries and frameworks like Three.js for 3D and PhaserJS for 2D.

Good options for 2D web game development include Default, GameMaker Studio, Construct 3, and GDevelop. Default and GameMaker are more traditional engines, while Construct 3 and GDevelop offer visual programming interfaces.

For developers on a budget or who prefer open-source software, Godot is a strong choice for both 2D and 3D games. For 2D games, Default is also a good option as it is mostly open-source.

The two major approaches are the native approach, where you develop it like any other web-based application using JavaScript, and the compiled approach, where you treat the web browser as a virtual machine using technologies like WebAssembly and Emscripten.

Popular game engines that support web export include Unity, Godot, and Default. Unreal Engine used to support web export but has deprecated it, although third-party plugins are available.

For creating 3D web games, PlayCanvas and Babylon.js are recommended. PlayCanvas offers a full 3D World Editor and is browser-based, while Babylon.js is open-source and supported by Microsoft.

For 2D level design in web games, Tiled and LDTK (Level Design Toolkit) are highly recommended tools.

game development
Mike Fleischauer
Mike Fleischauer
25 min
08 Apr, 2022

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