How to Use This Book

This book is divided into three main parts. Each part has a specific goal.

Part I: HTML5 Game Development

If you have limited HTML5 development experience or would like a refresher, then Part I is the place to start. It covers HTML5 starting with the essentials and completing with a basic pong game running in the browser with no dependencies. Along the way, HTML5 development strategies and techniques are discussed.

Part II: HTML5 Game Engines

Part II implements four different games using four different game engines. The engines and games covered include:

1. The Crafty (http://craftyjs.com/) game engine is used to create Crafty Pong based on the basic HTML5 pong game developed in Part I. Unlike Part I, the engine-powered version uses graphics, sounds, touch controls, mouse controls, and animations.
2. EaselJS (http://www.createjs.com/#!/EaselJS) along with the CreateJS suite is used to create a basic Tic-Tac-Toe game. The engine itself is used to draw dynamic graphics and respond to events. The game also plays sounds.
3. The Impact (http://impactjs.com/) game engine is used to create MechaJet, a two-level action side-scroller. It features graphics, sounds, physics, animation, HUD, touch controls ... essentially the workings of a feature-complete HTML5 game.
4. The Turbulenz (http://turbulenz.com/) game engine is used to create Sky Marble, a puzzle-style physics game. It covers many of the complex areas of MechaJet plus adds 3D elements to the game.

Part III: HTML5 App Distribution

Once the app is built, the next step is to distribute it. Several of the games created in Part II are used as examples for distribution in Chrome Web Store, Apple iOS App Store, Google Play Store, Facebook, and finally distribution with Native Windows and Native Mac installers.

The book can be read from start to finish with each chapter building on top of the other. However, the book was also designed so that, if you have specific goals in mind, you can jump to that particular chapter to read about the presented example. Though the book may reference techniques from earlier chapters, all the examples were intentionally built independently to support this strategy.

Once your game with your choice of engine is finished, you can work through Part III on techniques to get your game into all the different app markets you wish to target. For example, if Impact is your engine of choice, consider this reading strategy:

Part I (if you want a refresher) → Part II (just Impact section) → Part III (the different markets you wish to cover).

Not all the examples are placed in all the app markets, but the techniques among the different engines are very similar. Finally, there is a section at the end of the book called Tools Appendix on page 175. HTML5 game development can require a very wide variety of tools. Rather than give each one a formal introduction, the minor tools were placed in this appendix.

All the source code and examples are available at the website http://HTML5GameEnginesBook.com/. All the code, graphics, and sound are licensed free for personal and commercial use (MIT and CC-BY-3.0). The game engines and other tools are distributed with respect to their licenses.