Html5Gaming
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PhoneGap v1.3 brings better cross-platform app coding to Windows Phone
Nitobi's PhoneGap project helps app developers to code for multiple mobile OSs simultaneously, thanks to the open standard wonders of HTML5, JavaScript and CSS. It's supported Windows Phone since the beginning, but v1.3 builds on that friendliness by opening up the API's full feature set and hence every limb and organ of a Mango handset, from the compass right through to storage and notifications. New plug-ins yield extra goodies, like Live Tile updates, BingMaps Search and social networking integration. Plus, in the interests of fairness, the full list of improvements (at the source link) contains some nuggets for Android, iOS and BlackBerry coders too.
Apple approves JavaScript iOS games that don't use a browser
Look Ma, no WebKit! Your inner geek and nerd should give each other a little hug this morning as you read about the latest rather cool accomplishment of Dominic Szablewski, creator of the Impact JavaScript HTML 5 game engine. He's just released two free games, Biolab Disaster and Drop, which are not, as Szablewski says, the first JavaScript games to be released in the App Store. "Tools like PhoneGap or Titanium make it easy to bundle some HTML pages and JavaScript together in an app and display them in a UIWebView, which is basically just a browser window," he says. However, his games are different because they don't use a browser window to display them. "They don't use PhoneGap or Titanium. They don't even use a UIWebView. Instead, they bypass the iPhone's browser altogether and use Apple's JavaScript interpreter (JavaScriptCore) directly. All graphics are rendered with OpenGL instead of in a browser window and all sound and music is played back with OpenAL," Szablewski says. What Szablewski has done wasn't particularly easy, and as games, his offerings aren't up there with Angry Birds. But his work could open the way for other developers to write more apps with a minimum of fuss. Read his blog for full details of the process.
HTML5: seriously, it's not just for video
In a way, HTML5 has been reduced to a buzzword. You hear a lot of noise about how great it is for video, and how the web standard is an alternative to Flash content, but you don't see a whole lot of examples of that. We thought we'd take a moment and round up some of the cooler, more exciting instances of HTML5 online -- sites and experiments that go way beyond just playing someone's home movies. We're talking 8-bit gaming, some really crazy video effects, and a handful of incredibly interesting ways designers are maximizing the potential of the everyone's favorite new toy. Check out the links below, and prepare to readjust your expectations of HTML5. Note: Your best experiences for the links below will be in Chrome or Safari. You can get some of this working in Firefox, but as Chris Ziegler just remarked, "It's mega slow." These will absolutely blow your mind. Mr.doob's Chrome experiments -- Ball Pool and Google Gravity. Here's a roundup of experiments from Ben Joffe, including a rudimentary 3D shooter, a 3D functions plotter, and an HTML5 color picker. Some of my personal favorites, KesieV's Akihabara game room. The Legend of Sadness is where it's at. Exploding, real-time video. WPilot -- a multiplayer shooter. Like Asteroids meets Quake. A giant, color-cycling canvas. Weirdly addictive to play with. 3D molecules. 'Nuff said. Mega Man intro. In HTML5. If you guys have suggestions or examples you'd like to show off, let us know in comments!
Quake II GWT port proves HTML5 isn't just for video
There's no question that HTML5 is good for more than just video, but if anything will put that misconception to rest, it's Quake II running in a browser. Apparently built by a trio of Google developers in their spare time, the Quake II GWT port uses a HTML5 canvas and WebGL for graphics acceleration (also seen demoed on the N900), which seem to get the job done remarkably well -- although it's still a long ways from running on certain non-Flash-equipped devices. Then again, this project was revealed on April 1st, but quite a few folks have already reported success in getting it up and running -- so, unless there's a global conspiracy to dash our hopes and dreams (always a possibility), it seems to be the real deal. Head on past the break to check it out in action.
