New HTML5 gamedev book, Pro HTML5 Games. Ever wanted to create an RTS?

 

As you can see by the volume of posts here on GameFromScratch.com, I took a bit of a holiday during the, um, holidays.  During that time I did do a fair bit of reading.  One book that came up on Safari is Pro HTML5 Games  ( Safari link if you also subscribe ) that got my attention.  Now, there are a ton of HTML5 game books on the market, of which I’ve read quite a few, but this one is kinda special.  It actually shows how to create a Real Time Strategy ( RTS ) game in HTML5.  I don’t believe there has been a book on creating an RTS since the title Real-Time Strategy Game Programming way back in 1999.  A book I owned by the way and it was awesome… or at least according to my memory of 1999 it was.

 

Anyways, I haven’t completely finished the book, mostly jumped in and read a chapter here and there, but it is certainly an interesting title.  When I finish it, I might do a proper review.  Unlike most HTML books, this one is entirely about creating a single game… obviously an RTS title.  As a result, it covers pretty much every step along the way, as you can see from the detailed Table of Contents below:

 

 

 

Chapter 1: HTML5 and JavaScript Essentials

The canvas Element
The audio Element
The image Element
Animation: Timer and Game Loops
Summary

Chapter 2: Creating a Basic Game World

Basic HTML Layout
Creating the Splash Screen and Main Menu
Level Selection
Loading Images
Loading Levels
Animating the Game
Handling Mouse Input
Defining Our Game States
Summary

Chapter 3: Physics Engine Basics

Box2D Fundamentals
More Box2D Elements
Tracking Collisions and Damage
Drawing Our Own Characters
Summary

Chapter 4: Integrating The Physics Engine

Defining Entities
Adding Box2D
Creating Entities
Adding Entities to Levels
Setting Up Box2D Debug Drawing
Drawing the Entities
Animating the Box2D World
Loading the Hero
Firing the Hero
Ending the Level
Collision Damage
Drawing the Slingshot Band
Changing Levels
Adding Sound
Summary

Chapter 5: Creating the RTS Game World

Basic HTML Layout
Creating the Splash Screen and Main Menu
Creating Our First Level
Loading the Mission Briefing Screen
Implementing the Game Interface
Implementing Map Panning
Summary

Chapter 6: Adding Entities to Our World

Defining Entities
Defining Our First Entity: The Main Base
Adding Entities to the Level
Drawing the Entities
Adding the Starport
Adding the Harvester
Adding the Ground Turret
Adding the Vehicles
Adding the Aircraft
Adding the Terrain
Selecting Game Entities
Highlighting Selected Entities
Summary

Chapter 7: Intelligent Unit Movement

Commanding Units
Sending and Receiving Commands
Processing Orders
Implementing Aircraft Movement
Pathfinding
Defining Our Pathfinding Grid
Implementing Vehicle Movement
Collision Detection and Steering
Deploying the Harvester
Smoother Unit Movement
Summary

Chapter 8: Adding More Game Elements

Implementing the Basic Economy
Purchasing Buildings and Units
Ending a Level
Summary

Chapter 9: Adding Weapons and Combat

Implementing the Combat System
Building Intelligent Enemy
Adding a Fog of War
Summary

Chapter 10: Wrapping Up the Single-Player Campaign

Adding Sound
Building the Single-Player Campaign
Summary

Chapter 11: Multiplayer with WebSockets

Using the WebSocket API with Node.js
Building the Multiplayer Game Lobby
Starting the Multiplayer Game
Summary

Chapter 12: Multiplayer Gameplay

The Lock-Step Networking Model
Ending the Multiplayer Game
Implementing Player Chat
Summary

 

 

If this book sounds interesting, be sure to check it out.  Keep an eye here for a possible upcoming review.

General Programming Book


Scroll to Top