From HTML5 websites

to HTML5 games

Pietro Polsinelli

@ppolsinelli

What is the

difference?

Some observations for those moving from (mobile, HTML5) web site / app development to (mobile,

HTML5) games

2

Thursday, January 31, 2013

“Reference” is the semiotical term.

(mobile, HTML5) web site / app (mobile, HTML5) game

Product, service – not the web content

The game content

The object you are talking about:

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Then one can go and ask “why fun”, well, fun is learning… see http://www.raphkoster.com

(mobile, HTML5) web site / app (mobile, HTML5) game

Conversion Solve the problem

Fun

Your aim:

Thursday, January 31, 2013

http://www.whatgamesare.com/2010/12/functions-vs-loops-finding-fun.html

(mobile, HTML5) web site / app (mobile, HTML5) game

Linear towards conversion. Pages can stay there for hours.

Evolving loops aimed at playing more. Time /rhythm is often a core factor.

Flow:

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Involvement often requires a background story.

(mobile, HTML5) web site / app (mobile, HTML5) game

Simplicity of: Controls Mechanics Message: “great product”

Simplicity of: Controls Mechanics (can be a problem) Message

What does “simple” mean:

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Games need depth.

(mobile, HTML5) web site / app (mobile, HTML5) game

Express, articulate the reference, which is well defined and unchanging.

Constitute the reference, which is required to change (levels or other means).

The complexity of the resulting solution:

“Depth is an informal term to describe whether a game has enough dimensions of play,

actions, rules or story content to be played over a long term. Depth is essential for

deep engagement.”

http://www.whatgamesare.com/2012/05/your-game-is-a-graph.html

Note. Let’s try to graph it:

This is a very, very simplified view.

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Still…

(mobile, HTML5) web site / app (mobile, HTML5) game

Perfect fit with its standards: content is king. Unfit by design. “Oh, you can do everything”

Relationship with HTML5 technology

Least common

mobile device:

Android with stock browser but it’s worse:

AndroidS with stock browser

Here very little works, and what does, actually doesn’t on some Android device, even when restricting to

updated OSs. Crucial implementations, like sound, are largely device dependant.

Launching a single “beep” can be a problem.

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Is there is a way out?

“Unfit by design” is related to geeky

commonplaces about games & fun.

“A game is essentially animations,

3D, things that go fast played in real

time”

Not necessarily.

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Restrict your game design

choices. Keep it technically

simple, invest in other stuff.

Players don’t care about 3D,

animations, complexity – they

only want to have fun.

Think of Twitter narratives in 140 characters.

Thursday, January 31, 2013

My advice:

- Minimal technology

- Maximal background effort

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Example: this game I

designed could is

technologically and

game-mechanically

quite simple:

http://goodmorning.

appsfuel.com/

Thursday, January 31, 2013

It’s a misleading

simplicity. Making it

addictive requires a

study, design, testing,

previous attempts.

The key here is “fun

because of hints of a

non trivial narrative

through a trivial game

mechanics.”

Addictive.

Art of Game Design http://artofgamedesign.com

Game Mechanics: Advanced Game Design

http://bit.ly/magooo

http://www.jorisdormans.nl/machinations/

Learn more about game design.

My twitter stream is dedicated to game

design: http://twitter.com/ppolsinelli

A blog on game design

http://designagame.eu

eu

Image sources:

http://www.visionmobile.com/blog/201

0/04/is-android-evil/