Quick "How did you get into HTML5 game dev?" poll

[MikeHart]

I use it a lot. Almost every html5 job I make is made with monkey. The javascript this is mostly for fun and testing some stuff.

 

Cool. If you have any enhancement to share regarding multichannel audio on mobile browser, i would love to see them.

[Kolba]

I only got into game dev as a whole 2 years ago. Around that time I was researching potential engines and came across Construct 2. I didn't really know about HTML5 at that time, but reading the whole C2 forum sold me on HTML5's potential. At this time Scirra were offering an early adopter discount for $19, and I thought for that low price it was worth investing.

 

Soon after I made my first game in Game Maker, then decided to port it to C2 just to learn how that program worked. I found it faster and easier than GM, so I chose it for my second and latest game. So far I've only been interested in making desktop browser games, because mobile or touch based games don't offer the control and immersion of a desktop PC game. But I have to think practically as well: I understand creating games aimed at the mobile browser could be more lucrative, so I might explore that avenue with future games. 

[Rudrabhoj Bhati]

I only got into game dev as a whole 2 years ago. Around that time I was researching potential engines and came across Construct 2. I didn't really know about HTML5 at that time, but reading the whole C2 forum sold me on HTML5's potential. At this time Scirra were offering an early adopter discount for $19, and I thought for that low price it was worth investing.

 

Soon after I made my first game in Game Maker, then decided to port it to C2 just to learn how that program worked. I found it faster and easier than GM, so I chose it for my second and latest game. So far I've only been interested in making desktop browser games, because mobile or touch based games don't offer the control and immersion of a desktop PC game. But I have to think practically as well: I understand creating games aimed at the mobile browser could be more lucrative, so I might explore that avenue with future games. 

I think Flash would be better choice to develop for desktop...

[Kolba]

What can Flash do that HTML5 can't?

[Rudrabhoj Bhati]

What can Flash do that HTML5 can't?

Nothing at all. There market differs. HTML5 game market is very much mobile dependnet while Flash is desktop dependent. So you can make game dependent on keyboard and get away with that (profitably).

[Terrified Virus]

Add an option that says "True Valhalla Told Me To" under the Why Did You Learn section xD

[Finnegan2100]

Was flirting with the idea of switching over from Flash, had read "HTML5 Canvas (1st ed.)" by the Fulton brothers., then I saw an HTML5 panel here in NYC with Jesse Freeman + Nate Altschul about 4-5 months ago and came to the conclusion that the time was ripe.

 

Then I read a few more books....

[DavidBatty]

I've been a programmer for 30+ years and doing HTML since 1997, I got in to HTML5 games with Gamemaker.

[Vidsneezes]

After failing to port my java games to HTML5, decided to just re-create them using Game Makers Studio.

[Aristides]

As a long time Game Maker developer I jumped on HTML5 after my research concluded it was profitable. I ♥ making games but unfortunately there is no local game industry in Puerto Rico, none of the organized groups has been able to go commercial as of yet despite promising developments and available talent. No one wants to invest or incorporate on games over here T_T, so to avoid having to move to the US in order to get a Job I'm gonna bank on the HTML5 market. If I can launch a big push (and be smart about it) I might be able to make enough money to make an ok living and perhaps if I'm successful enough invest a little on my local game industry.

 

Another promising thing I find about HTML5 is that since the standard isn't overly sophisticated I can make games like the ones I used to play in my childhood, definitely a lot of past game types and genres I can explore which wouldn't be as viable or easy in other game markets. I'm gonna have a lot of fun working on this

[Victor]

I started copying games from ZX Spectrum books without understand what I was doing.

The next step was coding Mastermind and Tetris in x86 Assembler for my Bachelor Degre.

 

After 10 years working as sysadmin, I think that I need to start coding again but I became a tools guy more than a Code Guru, so I bought a GameMaker Studio license and started playing with the pseudoC compiler.

 

I dislike the interface A LOT, but it saves me a lot of time, and I don't have many free time with my Kids.

[Travis]

I'm studying game design right now, and I chose html5 because I wanted to write games that could be easily shared with anyone. 

 

I can't afford flash (well I could now with the new creative suite, but that wasn't an option when I started). Plus some devices can't use flash, and it requires a plugin, AND it's slowly dying off. So all of those things combined led me to learn javascript/html5. 

[playh5]

For a full time game developer like me, we need to learn new opportunity to earn and pay for the basic needs. I cannot say I came from flash because I'm still developing games from it. The only thing is flash game quality rise tremendously though there is still a lot of money from it.

[SoundsLikeJord]

My background is more in composing music and designing audio than in development but I have done some actionscript 3 programming. I made an audio based game in flash earlier this year but everyone keeps saying HTML5 is the future and to me that makes sense. I would like to broaden my skills and learn HTML5 for two reasons:

 

1) HTML5 looks like a great creative outlet that I would like to experiment with in making games

2) Learning how audio is implemented in HTML5 will be invaluable when collaborating with developers when I am hired to provide music & sounds for their project

[KaeTheDev]

I believe HTML5 is good opportunity to deploy in the web market instead of native apps. No limits.

 

I met some C++ developers told me HTML5 sucks because of source code, I didn't think anyone can rip off and change the graphics, However it takes a lot of time modifying the game than creating a game from scratch, I guess no one could do it.

 

This is one of the reasons I joined in on AS3/HTML5 for the web market. Mobile Development is big but it is a little easier to get an audience starting with the web.

[Tjkoopa]

I've worked as a web developer for 5 or 6 years now, it was a hobby/side interest before that. Started playing with canvas and stuff when HTML5 started gaining traction and getting supported by browser vendors simply to keep skills up to date, but never really made proper games with it. Game dev is quickly becoming my new favourite hobby so I'm just trying to learn as much as possible at the moment, lurking the communities, reading, knocking out prototypes etc. Joined a game jam last weekend, brilliant fun and great learning exercise, will definitely do more of those.

[Xavier]

I started with RPG Maker a long time ago.

[OkijinGames]

I worked as C++ developer for 15 years in the financial sector, discovered HTML5 (and JavaScript) in Jan13. I make my games on my own homebrew javascript framework.

[Gemfruit]

I went from AS3 / Flash, to Haxe / Flash, and then to C# / Unity. While I want to stick to Unity for larger projects, I believe that HTML5 is where the Flash market has moved, and will continue to grow. It appears to be where the small / medium games for decent money will exist, and that's what I'm interested in at the moment.

[OzRamos]

I've been using GameMaker since around 2003 for personal things, even made an app that I used for/when I was in the military with it. Then I moved onto WordPress fulltime and made a few simple ecard-games for clients during the holidays and realize holy crap, WordPress can actually be used as the server for a game.

 

So now I'm squeezing in every opportunity to make games in WordPress and am actually working my way to doing that fulltime.

[tackle]

How are you making games in WordPress? Care to elaborate? Sounds crazy enough!

[vinch]

I'm Flash game developer, but now working on mobile game (the framework is cocos2d-x). I'm developing it almost one year and am a bit tired.

 

On the last DevGamm I discovered HTML5 and decided to create several small games and take a rest from my main c++ game

[PrimeArwyn]

Hello there, I am Arwyn, first post on this forum.

I learned C first as part of my studies, tried to apply it to gamedev and felt stuck in the way. As I already knew a bit of HTML5, I put together the missing parts (this is still ongoing) and minimal, playable (and boring) experiment.

So now I am in HTML5 gamedev, with a C background.

[kbmonkey]

Coming from a Python + PyGame SDL background. 

[forwardresent]

I started way back when with RPG Maker, moved onto Unity as soon as the indie free version was released, and now I switch between Unity and GMS but I'm mostly a GM guy now.