Archive for the ‘Games’ Category

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HTML5 for Games: Gap Analysis

December 14, 2011

HTML5 logoWe just published the final version of a report on the “HTML.next for Games” event (PDF) we ran this September (a earlier version is available in HTML).

HTML5 enables the development of games that run across devices, and are both easy to deploy and easy to maintain. Several features that are not yet part of the Web platform would be directly useful for games development, though. The workshop was the occasion to engage with the games community and to start listing features of interest. Workshop participants (including people from Bocoup, Google, Mozilla, RIM, Tecnalia, Wooga) were passionate about games and Web technologies. During the workshop, more than 20 features that would enable the development of better games using regular Web technologies were reviewed, refined and classified:

  • 12 new features were identified, such as the need for a Joystick API, a mouse lock mechanism, an orientation lock mechanism, or high performance timers
  • Standardization has already started for 5 features such as accurate sound triggering or real-time peer-to-peer communications.
  • A few other features mentioned require more discussion, or were seen as out of scope for standardization in W3C.

This report describes the main use case for each of the features of interest and includes a short gap analysis of today’s (end of November 2011) Web platform from the point of view of game development. Where applicable, the W3C working group and links to possible draft proposals are mentioned.

To ensure that games community needs are known and properly addressed in W3C, the W3C Games Community Group was created at the end of the workshop. This group is dedicated to tracking the implementation of Open Web Platform features directly relevant for games development, and communicating how to build games on the Open Web Platform to the general public.

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W3C Games Community Group Summit

October 21, 2011

More than 30 participants and counting! The Games Community Group, created in W3C as an outcome of the games workshop in Warsaw, got off to a flying start.

The group will hold a W3C Games Community Group Summit in San Francisco, on 3 November 2011, from 10AM to 1PM, hosted by Zynga. This event, open to anyone, follows the New Game Conference, to be held on 1-2 November. It will be the occasion to refine the scope of the group, nominate a chair, agree on a general roadmap for the group and a list of expected deliverables, and kick-off discussions on additional technical topics, as done in Warsaw. Hope to see you there!

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Report on Games workshop published

October 10, 2011

W3C HTML5 logo

Two weeks ago, we had the occasion to join the games community during onGameStart, the first HTML5 Games conference. Speakers at the conference explored many facets of games development using Web technologies, things that work, things that don’t. To explore game developers needs further and gather inputs for HTML.next, we organized a workshop the day after the conference. The workshop report is now available.

Workshop participants included people from Bocoup, Google, Mozilla, RIM, Tecnalia, and Wooga, all passionate about games and Web technologies. During the workshop, more than 20 features that would enable the development of better games using regular Web technologies were reviewed, refined and classified, leading to the identification of 11 new features of particular interest for the games community, namely:

To push for the inclusion of these features within W3C working groups charters, track standardization progress in W3C, and discuss potential other features directly relevant to the development of games using Web technologies, a Games Community Group was proposed and created at the end of the workshop. This group is also to communicate how to build games on the Open Web Platform to the general public.

A community group is a discussion forum open to anyone, without fees, particularly well suited to serve as coordination point for a particular community within W3C. Are you interested in the progress of the Web platform for games development? Join the Games Community group!

Building on the success of this first workshop, we will run a W3C Games Community Group Summit on 3 November 2011, next to the New Game Conference in San Francisco. Stay tuned on the Open Media Web Blog for announcement!

Check the full workshop report for details. Also, if you want to learn more about building games with Web technologies, check and register for the online training course on Game development in HTML5.

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New training course on Game development in HTML5

October 6, 2011

W3C is pleased to announce a brand new W3C online training course dedicated to “Game development in HTML5”. The objective of this course is to have students use open Web technologies such as HTML5, CSS3 & JavaScript to create browser based multiplayer games.

W3C HTML5 logoIn this course, students will learn:

  • about the current state of JavaScript games
  • what are the HTML5 elements useful in game development
  • how to use HTML5 animation and CSS3 transitions
  • about collision detection and basic physics
  • how to implement multiplayer gameplay
  • how to deploy your game in the appstores

A snapshot of the course content is available in the course description below.

Taught by Michal Budzynski, the course will last 4 weeks, from 31 October to 27 November 2011.

To ensure your place on the course, do enroll now! The full price of the course is €225 but we have a limited number of seats available at the early bird rate of €145, open until 22 October 2011. Enroll now and benefit from the early bird rate!

Who should attend?

Course is prepared for both – Web Developers interested in creating games and Game Developers who wants to create games for Web browsers.

Prerequisites

Basic knowledge of HTML, JavaScript & CSS.

How does this work?

The online course is delivered as a series of 4 modules, one per week. Each module presents information as one or more lectures and includes an assignment and some other activity. The material for the week is made available on each Monday morning (at the latest). You should aim to complete the week’s work by the following weekend although assignments will be accepted up until the end of the course.

You can participate in the course from any time zone. When you choose to work on the material and assignments is entirely up to you. It is anticipated that you will need to spend around 2-3 hours per week on the course (as an average).

Interaction between participants is strongly encouraged through the discussion forum. The discussion forum is open at all times and the teachers will usually respond in good time, especially during (European) office hours.

All course material is presented in English. Assignments must also be submitted in English. Participants may post messages to the discussion forum in any language.

How Do I get a Certificate of Completion?

The course includes 4 practical tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) that all need to be completed satisfactorily if you are to receive a certificate of completion.

What do I need?

All material is delivered via the Web and so is accessible on any browser. The course is hosted by a Moodle platform. Participants are allocated an account on the training system and this grants access to course materials and the a dedicated discussion forum. Register now!

About the trainer: Michal Budzynski

Michal Budzynski photo Michal is a JavaScript developer from Poland with strong game development background, currently working for GG Network (owner of Gadu-Gadu, the biggest Polish instant messaging client). He has created one of the most popular Canvas HTML5 game tutorials – html5gametutorial.mibbu.eu. He recently organized onGameStart, the first HTML5 games event, in his home country Poland.
Michal is also creator of the first PhoneGap implementation for Samsung Bada system. As a Javascript trainer he has run technical workshops in many countries such as France, Bulgaria, Poland, Italy or Brazil. JavaScript is not just his job – it’s his lifestyle. Follow Michal @michalbe

Course description: “Game Development in HTML5”

During the workshop you will learn how to use Open Web Technologies such as JavaScript, CSS3 & HTML5 to create browser based multiplayer games. We will discuss and compare different methods of real-time animation, implementing game loop, structure of the code or communication between the players. Logic of our games will be based on an engine we will write – it will be able to animate sprites, detect collisions, add basic physics to our characters and much more. Finally, you will learn how to run your game as a desktop application outside the browser on MacOSX, Linux & Windows, or as a native application on your mobile device. And how to sell it in the appstores.

Each week ends with a practical assignement.

Week 1: Introduction to HTML5/JavaScript game development

We will remind basics of JavaScript & HTML5, learn how to manipulate Document Object Model and draw on canvas element. We will test different methods of implementing game loop and user controls. An history of JavaScript games will also be presented.
Week 1 assignment: “Create single object on a scene and control it using mouse or/and keyboard.”

Week 2: Let’s make it move!

We will discuss different methods of sprite animation using HTML5 and remind information about basics of physics from high school. We will also learn how to detect collisions between objects.
Week 2 assignment: “Create animated character that could jump on the platforms on the scene.”

Week 3: Connecting with other players

We will review methods for connecting players. Then, we will check if it is possible to connect two browsers without worrying about the server side scripts. We will also learn how to implement multiplayer gameplay in our games.
Week 3 assignment: “Add multiplayer support to your game.”

Week 4: Deploying your game

Last but not least – we will explore the power of JavaScript, CSS3 & HTML5 outside the desktop browser. We will add native features of your mobile phone like accelerometer or vibrations and publish your game in the app stores.
Week 4 assignement: “Create package with your game for mobile devices using described frameworks or publish it as a desktop application for different operating systems.”

Terms and conditions

The training course is offered subject to the following terms and conditions.

  • W3C will deliver the course in line with the published description for the advertised fee.
  • Payment must be made, in full, at the time of registration.
  • Payment is processed using either a credit card or a PayPal account.
  • Participants may withdraw from the course at any time after registration.
  • Refunds will only be made if the participant withdraws within the first week of the online course.
  • W3C intends to continue to make the course material available to registered participants for at least 2 months after the course has ended.
  • All material, including that produced by participants, in assignments and correspondence is copyrighted property and cannot be copied, duplicated, posted on another Web site, or otherwise used without the original author’s consent. Conversations and posted messages are private and cannot be copied, duplicated, forwarded, or conveyed to anyone else without the original author’s permission.

Questions?

Please write to training@w3.org . Thx.

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Workshop on HTML.next for gaming

September 14, 2011

The Open Media Web project team is proud to organize a: W3C HTML5 logo

Workshop on HTML.next for gaming
Saturday 24 September 2011 — 09:00 – 13:00

Warsaw, Poland
co-located with OnGameStart

The workshop will explore game developers needs and gather inputs for HTML.next, the next version of HTML, that would enable the development of fully immersive games using regular Web technologies. Main topics of discussion (see below for more detailed topics of interest) will be about:

  • New standards for cooler games?
  • New features for better performances?
  • New ideas for HTML.next?

Come to discuss and share your ideas about the next cool things to happen. And expect HTML5 goodies!
Participation is free!

Background

HTML5 enables the development of richer and ever more interactive applications. As far as gaming is concerned, the situation evolved from a world of hacks and plug-ins to a situation where one can envision the production of a multi-player first-person-shooter game using canvas, Web Workers, Web Sockets, on-going standardization efforts on audio, real-time communications and various other Web and device APIs.

However rich this new Web platform may become, games require precise control over:

  • devices used for interaction (keyboard, mouse, joystick, touch screens, gestures, cameras, etc.)
  • rendering surfaces (ability to go fullscreen, to take screenshots, 3D APIs, audio synthesis, etc.)
  • processing power (multi-threading, memory management, use of hardware acceleration, etc.)

Precise control is tough, either because the right API is missing, or because the specification does not address all needs, or simply because the API is not precise enough to prevent interoperability issues.

Goal and Scope

The goal of this workshop is to meet and engage in discussions with developers of the games community, and gather inputs for HTML.next, the next version of HTML, that would enable the development of fully immersive games using regular Web technologies.

Topics of interest include suggestions for new APIs, as well as scenarios and requirements to improve existing functionalities. For example:

  • Going fullscreen
  • Access and control of viewport settings (e.g. pixel density)
  • Possible improvements to multi-threading execution
  • Hit-testing API
  • 3D or pseudo-3D rendering (WebGL, declarative 3D, depth control)
  • Specific needs for animations, movements
  • Performance measurement (number of frames per second?)
  • Web application packaging for offline Web apps (HTML5 AppCache, W3C widgets)
  • Caching resources, pre-loading (e.g. for sprites and sound)
  • Taking screenshots
  • Joystick and mouse control
  • Multi-player games, peer-to-peer connections
  • More efficient DOM tree operations.

The outcome of the discussions will be fed into existing W3C working groups where appropriate (HTML, Device APIs, Web Applications, Web Real-Time Communications, Audio, etc.), as well as into the list of ideas for HTML.next where appropriate. Depending on the level of interest at the workshop, the creation of a Games Community Group could be envisioned to pursue discussions.

Agenda

The workshop will be run as a barcamp to encourage live discussions among participants.

09:00 – 10:00 Francois Daoust: “W3C, HTML5, HTML.next”

  • How W3C Web standards come to life
  • HTML5 specs progress report
  • What is HTML.next?
  • How to ensure the next Open Web Platform is the right one for you

10:00 – 12:30 Barcamp Session

Actual content for this session should be provided by participants. What we’re typically looking at is to repeat the following pattern to multiple technical topics:

  • One or more specific game scenarios that cannot be done today with regular Web technologies, or that cannot be done efficiently enough today.
  • An analysis of what is missing
  • What a possible solution could look like
  • Areas that could affect the design of the solution and that would need to be investigated (security, privacy, accessibility, complexity, portability, integration with other APIs, etc.)
  • Relevant group(s) in W3C for this work, if any

Please prepare accordingly. To help organize the event, please get in touch with Francois Daoust with topics you’d like to present or hear about in particular.

Topics on the agenda for this session so far:

  • Accurate sound triggering – Darius Kazemi (Bocoup)
  • Mouse lock for 3D games – Seth Ladd (Google), Darius Kazemi (Bocoup)
  • An asset loading and smart caching solution – Darius Kazemi (Bocoup)
  • Real-time communications for multi-player games – Francois Daoust (W3C)
  • […]

12:30 – 13:00 Wrap-up Session

  • Summary of discussions
  • Inputs identified
  • Next steps?

Expression of Interest

Planning to attend the workshop? Great! Please let Francois Daoust know about it!

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Spacewar in HTML5

March 2, 2011

Hello spacewar in HTML5 – what took you so long? Interesting motivation too – HTML5 seen as more future-proof than Java