How To Make A Simple 2d Game In Javascript

Is there a neat JavaScript game engine for super simple 2d-games like 'Running Man' or 'No-one dies'?

See the list here: HTML5 Game Engines

What are the basic games that can be developed in pure JavaScript?

Hi,You can make any number of games with JavaScript. The only thing you need to worry about is to use as less amount of memory as you can. I have answered a similar question not too long ago. I explained the whole process by building a simple game.Ritesh Kukreja's answer to Can we create games using Java script?You don’t need any external libraries to build 2D games. Here I will list some of my games I build in pure JavaScript.riteshkukreja/2048-gameriteshkukreja/PingPongGameriteshkukreja/HeartBreakerriteshkukreja/PianoTilesriteshkukreja/2dShooterGameSnake gameriteshkukreja/chessHappy Coding!

Can I make a video game with JavaScript?

Sure you can! Actually, there are many games made in JavaScript (usually using a 2d or 3d library, as Pixi.js [1] or Three.js [2]). Furthermore, you can even find some framework explicitly focused on building games in the browser, like Phaser [3].These framework are usually targeting the browser, so you'll find yourself building games that will not be "native", but sure, there are many of these and sometimes they are a real piece of art.Usually, you will focus about the HTML5 Canvas or WebGL. Each of these has different toolset, however you will need to learn things like frame update, etc.Each framework provides a nice getting started tutorial that will make your life easier (i.e. look at Phaser `Make your first game` guide [4]) going straight to the point.Going Mobile If you would like to deploy your game to mobile devices directly (read: you want to make an app), you can even bundle the game in a WebView, using tools like Cordova [5]. Performance may be a concern, however hardware acceleration for html5 canvas is being adopted by major vendors, and you will eventually find some "old but still gold" trick to optimize it (see [6]) or a tool to make it run faster like Ludei CocoonJS [7].UnityJust one more thing: Unity3D, a very nice and powerful game editor&engine, uses a language (alternatively to C#) called "UnityScript" who is heavily based on JS, even if it introduces some differences due to Game Development requisites (i.e. strong typing).This is to say that JavaScript is theoretically a tool to develop even normal 3D or 2D standard games, even if I suggest you, if you want to use Unity, to learn just plain C#, which is usually easier and more powerful when you start digging in the unity core.ConclusionEverything is possibile, especially today, with JavaScript. It has strong and growing communities, a rapidly increasing number of libraries and a continous traction. Building your first game has never been so easy!TL;DRSure, you can, just go, learn how and do it![1] GoodBoyDigital/pixi.js [2] three.js - Javascript 3D library[3] A fast, fun and free open source HTML5 game framework[4] Making your first Phaser game[5] Apache Cordova[6] Modernizing your HTML5 Canvas games Part 1: hardware scaling & CSS3[7] Ludei - We love HTML5, HTML5 deployment platform

Can I build 2D multiplayer games with JavaScript and PHP (for example four in a row) or do I need a framework like node?

Node is not a framework, it's a way of running JavaScript on your server (instead of PHP).You absolutely can write games using nothing but PHP and JavaScript. After a while you will notice you use some patterns repeatedly as you code. Frameworks are an attempt to collect together commonly used patterns and implement them using some strategy that is part of the framework.A lot of people like frameworks for this reason. If you find a framework that lets you do things you need for your game more easily, consider using it.For example, a framework like ExtJS is mostly a set of UI widgets, buttons, form fields, etc., and easy ways to get the data input into these widgets. For a graphical game, you probably don't need this framework. Something like SmartSVG would work well.The learning curve here is not the language or the frameworks, rather the learning curve is about understanding how web browsers work: How they load code, how they run code, how they can draw graphics, how can these simple tasks be optimized to keep your customers happy.

I learned a little bit of JavaScript, where can I use this to program something like a simple game?

To start with I would recommend using the [math]canvas[/math] HTML element and the [math]CanvasRenderingContext2D[/math] (a Javascript handle to which lets you render 2D graphics to the canvas element). Find some documentation and a good tutorial on the internet and build something simple.Once you've done that, you can move onto something more advances (still 2D). Get that done, and then (if it interest you) look into using [math]WebGL[/math] with [math]canvas[/math] to render 3D graphics.Enjoy.

Which programming language should I learn to make a simple 2D tower defense game and how long would it approximately take?

To answer your question I would need to know if you are wanting to make an internet based game, mobile based game, or a desktop version.I am primarily not a game developer at my work. But I love developing games in my spare time. I found a fantastic series on game development in JavaScript that was very good at showing me the ropes for my first game.I am suggesting Javascript because there’s virtually no setup necessary, no additional dll or jar files, and would probably be the quickest when it comes to developing a simple game.All of this being said, I would definitely suggest knowing the basics or programming before attempting game development. A guy named “Bucky” on youtube has fantastic tutorials for any language and really dumbs it down so it’s easy to understand.As for the javascript video series for game development that I found:Code Your First Game: Arcade Classic in JavaScript on CanvasIt’s completely free and, no, I am not endorsed by anyone.Obviously my answer would change drastically if you were looking to make a desktop or mobile game. Good luck!