The underestimated power of HTML5 Gaming

One of the very interesting topics that came up as a point of conversation this week was centered around HTML5 and how it can be a potential tool to deliver performant games. And I would understand the reason why HTML5 would be an under-estimated technology, primarily because the medium itself, HTML, has never been a strong medium for the delivery of Multimedia content in the past. But with HTML5, things have changed quickly. Granted, that native games would perform much better (when talking about mobile devices, or even gaming consoles).

To understand the evolution of HTML5 gaming, lets go back to 2012. I remember I got impressed by an HTML5 game called “Save the Day”, that was developed by Denki. According to Denki:

“IN 2012 NO ONE BELIEVED IT WAS POSSIBLE TO DELIVER A CONSOLE-QUALITY ARCADE EXPERIENCE IN A BROWSER USING HTML5. DENKI’S CHALLENGE WAS TO PROVE THEM WRONG.”

This was one of those games that instantly demonstrated the power of HTML5 for purposes of gaming. And since then, a lot has evolved.

One of the technologies powering Game Jam platform and ct.js is PIXIJS. PIXIJS allows you to “Create beautiful digital content with the fastest, most flexible 2D WebGL renderer”. PIXIJS has been used for some interesting games and multimedia projects as demonstrated from their portfolio online. PIXIJS as a technology has been trusted by the likes of the BBC, BMW, Disney, Sony, and even Google, to come up with engaging games and multimedia content.

WebGL as a technology has powered 2D and 3D Graphics with amazing results. Just have a look at this WebGL Pasta Demo or this WebGL Cars Demo for inspiration :)

Yet there is still a long way to go with browsers. Word has it that Vulcan may soon come to HTML5. And when that happens, the browser and HTML5 will have more powerful capabilities. My bet is that its only a matter of time before Native Games and HTML5 games will be at par.