Why HTML5 Games Are Changing The Gaming Industry

Browser games have been around for a long time now. To many of us, our first exposure to browser games was in the form of flash games. Popular flash games like Bejeweled and The Crimson Room, kept us entertained.  

But as time has rolled by, Flash became phased out. It is now a relic of the past. People have stopped creating games using it and have started using better technologies. Not many would have been shocked when a while back; Adobe announced that they were completely ending support for Flash by the end of 2020.  

One of the better technologies that have replaced Flash is HTML5. HTML5 is far advanced than Flash in every way. This is primarily because of its community of developers, who keep improving the technology, adding better functionalities to it.  

In recent years, HTML5 has started carving a niche for itself in the gaming sphere. Particularly in the browser games sphere, where it is dominant. 

This is because of the many distinct advantages that HTML5 has. Below we list what some of them are:  

Accessible Anywhere, Anytime 

Games developed with HTML5 can be played on any device with a supporting browser. The HTML5 game development company behind the game only has to make minor platform-specific changes, like tailoring the game towards different control schemes. 

Let’s look at the hit game ‘Six Cats Under,’ to illustrate this. Players can enjoy this HTML5 based game on either mobile or desktop. On desktop, the controls favor a point and click system using the mouse. On mobile, meanwhile, the controls rely on the touchscreen. Due to HTML5’s impeccable cross-platform support, the developers behind Six Cats Under can replicate the same experience on both platforms. 

What’s more? HTML5 games, though they are browser games can now even be played offline. HTML5 games can cache data on the device, rather than always relying on an internet connection. As a result, players can play these games just as if they are installed natively. 

In short, many HTML5 games do not require the players to be on a certain device or platform. In some instances, they don’t even need an internet connection. Due to all this, players can play these games anywhere, anytime. 

Better Games on Browsers  

Flash games were around for a while. And during Flash’s reign, the games built with it were really popular.  

But one has to admit that Flash was a technology with many limitations. Most games created with it were simple casual games. Though there were some big games, they were few of them, and they too had limited features. 

HTML5 on the other hand can be used to create games of all types. It is equally suited for creating simple 2D casual games like 2048, as well as 3D games like HexGL. 

This is largely thanks to WebGL2.0 and Audio APIs. The former has advanced rendering abilities and other graphics features. The latter, likewise, helps HTML5 game development companies, to transform in-game audio into immersive experiences.  

Easy Distribution  

HTML5 game development companies can rely on many methods of distribution, compared to those who develop other types of games.  

The main method of distribution is through URLs. Everyone who clicks the game’s URL is immediately taken to the game, without having to download anything extra. Since URLs are pieces of text, developers can share them easily with users. Users are also more likely to share the game with each other due to this simplicity.  

Online stores are another popular method of distribution. There are several dedicated HTML5 game stores on the web. Many of them have thousands of daily visitors. Both small and big HTML5 game development companies can take advantage of this exposure and gain users for their games. 

Turning the HTML5 game into a native game opens up other methods of distribution. Under this method, developers turn games into native games for Android, iOS, Windows, and other platforms. They can then be uploaded to app stores and web stores of these platforms. 

Updating and Maintenance  

For most games released today, their developers give updates post-release. This may be bug fixes or additional content. Some developers go the extra mile and continuously update the game with regular content. 

In other platforms, to get the updates players have to manually do it from their device. With HTML5, however, this is not the case. HTML5 game developers merely have to update the game on the server. The resulting changes will immediately be available for every user, without the users having to do anything on their part. 

Top Development Frameworks   

There are numerous development frameworks and tools available for HTML5 game development at the moment. Many of them are extremely advanced.  

Among these top frameworks are Unity, Phaser, PlayCanvas, Cocos2d-JS, and Pixi.JS. All these development tools have their unique features using which top HTML5 game development companies have created stunning games. 

Conclusion  

HTML5 game development is going to get popular in the coming years. Due to the reasons listed above, we will see better games developed using the technology.  

The flexibility of HTML5 will remain its chief asset. Since it can be used to develop games of all genres for all platforms, it is unlikely to go the way Flash has gone, anytime soon. 

Guest article written by: Sagar is working at Juego Studios a Game Development Company. He writes a blogs about technology, gaming and art and design. In his free time.