Becoming an HTML5 Game Dev: Online Courses
Over the past decade, HTML5 has replaced Flash as the go-to technology for developing simple (yet incredibly addicting!) games. One of the greatest benefits of HTML5 is the accessibility of games built for it. They can run on any modern platform, desktop or mobile — provided that you invest a bit of time into accommodating various screen sizes and the quirks of specific platforms. Another neat thing is that HTML5 games can easily be compiled into apps for iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, Chrome OS, or Linux, saving heaps of your time!
Just so we’re clear, HTML5 is an umbrella term describing the current generation of web tech, which includes the new Canvas element, state-of-the-art JavaScript APIs, and semantic HTML tags. HTML5 technology powers YouTube, complex landings, and virtually every single modern browser game. It’s never been a better time for getting into HTML5 game development, and we’re here to help you get started. Let’s look at some of the best online courses for aspiring game devs that we can vouch for.
Courses for Beginners
We’ll start with the most approachable of the bunch. If you are at the beginning of your game dev journey or feel that your prior knowledge is a little hazy, we suggest you start with these courses for beginners and intermediate learners.
As a good groundwork, we recommend Create Video Games With Phaser.js. Codecademy is known for its interactive, code-as-you-go courses, and this entry-level series follows this engaging style. It will educate you on the fundamentals of Phaser.js, the most popular HTML5 game framework. The course starts with an introduction to JavaScript and later presents a handful of Phaser concepts, such as simple physics, animations, and visual effects.
Zenva’s HTML5 Game Development Mini-Degree is an all-rounder course that’s equally perfect for beginners who’ve never coded before and more experienced developers looking to branch out into the flourishing gaming industry. Somewhat of a gamified experience itself, this mini-degree is split into five levels. The material ranges from JavaScript basics to teaching you advanced Phaser.js physics, animations, control schemes, and server-side solutions powered by Node.js for web apps and multiplayer games.
Simple HTML5 Game Development on Udemy is another beginner-friendly course introducing a wide variety of topics. Designed by Andy Harris, this course kicks off with lectures on the very basics of HTML and CSS before gradually expanding into JavaScript and a deep dive into the SimpleGame engine with its not-so-simple feature set.
Finally, Learn Game Development with Phaser.js is a more advanced Codecademy course that continues to build upon your JavaScript competencies. Throughout this course, you’ll gain first-hand experience creating a whopping eight diverse games, including a coloring book, a dungeon crawler, a platformer, and more!
Courses for Pros
If you’ve already got a good hang of all things HTML5, you can dive into more advanced courses — these tend to drop the introductions and focus a lot more on specific mechanics and tech for your games.
edX offers a great HTML5 Apps and Games crash course into the world of HTML5 development for those already proficient with JavaScript. First, you’ll get yourself acquainted with sprite-based animation and game states. The second half of the course focuses on working with HTML5 multimedia and APIs for file management and device orientation.
3D & XR Javascript Academy is a specialized course brought to you by Zenva. It seeks to bring a third dimension to your HTML5 games with 3D and XR (Extended Reality). Upon completion, you’ll be able to design your very own browser-based 3D, AR, and VR gaming experiences using cutting-edge WebGL frameworks like Babylon.js, A-Frame, and AR.js.
Have you ever wondered what makes well-designed games captivate our attention so well? Much of it is achieved with a great user experience. ELVTR’s UX/UI For Gaming is a 7-week course taught by Ivy Sang, an experienced UI/UX designer with a background in EA, one of the industry’s behemoths. As you progress through the curriculum, Ivy will teach you the intricacies of the fundamental gaming-specific principles of UI/UX design. This course seeks to develop your practical skills and includes multiple portfolio projects.
Last but not least, good sound is crucial in games — even a good-looking game with low-quality sound work is unlikely to go over well. While stock audio is a great help when starting, you will need to focus on it much more when working on a professional-grade product. Udemy’s Game Audio 201: Advanced Sound Design & Recording Techniques is a course about just that. As the name implies, you’ll master sound design — and, although the best practice is to hire sound pros for large-scale projects, understanding the craft proves a fantastic asset to delivering a thoroughly enjoyable experience to your players.
As you could already tell, most of these courses make it a point that you’re at least somewhat comfortable with the Web Tech Triad — HTML, CSS, and JavaScript — before dipping you into any advanced game dev concepts. There are many possible ways to go about developing HTML5 games and hundreds of tools you might use: all of this can feel a little overwhelming. And that’s very understandable! The good news is, it doesn’t take much to make your first game — and it only gets better from there. Even the most remarkable devs had to start somewhere: in the end, it’s all a matter of consistent practice and learning.
Once you feel confident enough to show off your game to the world, Yandex Games can be a great platform to kickstart your career as an HTML5 game dev. See for yourself: our resource hosts thousands of successful HTML5 games, and their devoted players come from all parts of the world and every device you can name. Advanced recommendation algorithms will make sure your game is seen by those who’ll appreciate it the most. The best part? We won’t charge you anything to get your game published. The even better part? You can make money by monetizing your game via ads and in-app purchases. For tips on launching your first game on Yandex Games, check out our Developer’s Guide.
