Making video games is hard work that requires technical skills, a lot of planning, and—most critically—a commitment to completing the project. With this hands-on guide, you’ll learn step-by-step how to create a real 2D game from start to finish. In the process, you’ll use Impact, the JavaScript game framework that works with HTML5’s Canvas element.
Not only will you pick up important tips about game design, you’ll also learn how to publish Impact games to the Web, desktop, and mobile—including a method to package your game as a native iOS app. Packed with screen shots and sample code, this book is ideal for game developers of all levels.
Set up your development environment and discover Impact’s advantages
Build a complete game with core logic, collision detection, and player and monster behavior
Learn why a game design document is critical before you start building
Display and animate game artwork with sprite sheets
Add sound effects, background music, and text
Create screens to display stats and in-game status
Prepare to publish by baking your game files into a single file
For more than 13 years, Jesse Freeman has been on the cutting edge of interactive development with a focus on the Web and mobile platforms. As an expert in his field, Jesse has worked for VW, Tommy Hilfiger, Heavy, MLB, the New York Jets, HBO, and many more. Jesse was a traditional artist for most of his life until making the transition into interactive art, and he has never looked back.
Jesse is a Technical Architect/Technology Evangelist at Roundarch and is an active leader in New York's developer community. He is also active in the online community as a writer for several development sites including Adobe Developer Connection, O'Reilly Media, Inc., and Activetuts+. He can be found on twitter at @jessefreeman. Jesse also speaks at conferences and does workshops, which you can find schedules for on his website at http://jessefreeman.com.
Comments about oreilly Introducing HTML5 Game Development:
The Introduction to HTML5 Game Development has been one of the most easygoing readings I've had in the recent times. Written by Jesse Freeman, the book has language which is simple and crisp, without being over-the-top technical. It comes with well written examples and steps to take you through the process of game development.
When I first read the introduction, I was curious to know more about the contents. The book was small with just over a 100 pages, so I was sure that reading it would not take me more than a day or two to complete it.
The book takes you through all the steps that are typically followed in a game development cycle. The good part is that it covers the entire cycle with a single game giving more emphasis on learning techniques rather than writing game logic. Infact I was very glad to learn about the process of creating sprite sheets in Adobe Photoshop using scripts (something I had never attempted before).
The book speaks extensively about the Impact JavaScript Engine for HTML5. The Impact engine has many pluses including running on almost all HTML5 capable desktop and mobile browsers. The only minus is, the engine is not open source and there is no trial version available. The engine is priced at $99.
Personally, I have never been a fan of any engine or framework that is not community driven, but some of the games created by Impact are very impressive. Developers who want to invest in writing high quality games across browsers should consider it. There is information in the book on setting up the development environment to get you started.
Overall, the book is well written but more suitable for developers who have some knowledge of writing games.
4/6/2012
(2 of 2 customers found this review helpful)
4.0
Misleading title; Introduction to Impact
By Matt
from Ammon, ID
About Me Developer
Pros
Helpful examples
Well-written
Cons
Best Uses
Novice
Student
Comments about oreilly Introducing HTML5 Game Development:
The name is very misleading. This is an introduction to the Impact game development framework, not an introduction to HTML5 game development.
If you are looking for an introduction to using the Impact framework, this book is a well written guide with plenty of code examples and game design tips.
If you are not interested in the Impact framework (which has a $100 price tag at the time of this review), this book offers some good game design tips but the code examples are useless.
I would recommend this book to a friend if they were interested in the Impact framework.
I received a free copy of this book as part of the O'Reilly Blogger Review program.
3/6/2012
5.0
This is one of my favorites
By @RFunk82
from New York
About Me Developer
Pros
Accurate
Concise
Easy to understand
Helpful examples
Well-written
Cons
Best Uses
Intermediate
Novice
Student
Comments about oreilly Introducing HTML5 Game Development:
I just started developing in JavaScript and I already love ImpactJS. This book is reasy to understand and follow. I love the gaming techniques it shows.
