Digital Game Collection

If I asked you to quit your day job, and make me a video game every week for a year, could you do it? Could you? I couldn’t, personally. Video game development is a uniquely difficult task, consisting of various different interconnected stages, each of whom require an incredible level of skill and finesse. It’s also true that traditional video games development is a profoundly difficult task, requiring huge levels of knowledge of graphics libraries, physics, mathematics and proficiency in a tricky low-level programming language such as C++. Then you have to face your most challenging hurdle. Creating a game that is entertaining, captivating and – above everything else – fun. The rise of  HTML5  has made  video games  drastically easier to develop and disseminate. All you need to know is JavaScript and some of the new web APIs, such as Canvas. It’s even become easier to share your games, with players just needing a modern web browser. No plugins or downloads...

Tired of being a noob? I feel your pain. As someone who is deeply competitive, I can’t stand the thought of being bad at a game I love. Maybe you’re the same way. It’s one thing to like a game but the experience can be tarnished if you never win. Fortunately, no matter who you are, there’s always hope. You can improve. Take a seat. Brace yourself. Forget about  premium gaming peripherals  and focus on the basics. The journey from noob to pro won’t be easy, and it won’t be quick. If you want to get better, you must be patient and be willing to put in the effort. Are you ready? Fix Your Broken Attitude To improve, the first and most important thing you need is  the right attitude . It sounds like a cliché, but it’s a cliché for a reason. You might still be able to improve without the right attitude, but it will be a much slower and more agonizing process. What is the right attitude? It’s hard to define exactly, so let’s define it by first describing  the wro...

Machinima is the art of making movies with video game footage and assets, and it’s an exciting and growing medium for  creative filmmaking . While you generally can’t get the visual quality of traditional  Pixar-style computer graphics , you can nonetheless create some  wonderful things  with it. And, crucially, it’s something you can get started on right now with completely free tools, no special training required. Whether you’re making something as simple as a music video or as involved as a  nine-hour epic fanfic  starring Sonic and Master Chief, machinima is open-ended and flexible enough for you to make almost anything. Here are some great tools to get you started. Standalone Tools While machinima mostly started out as a way to use in-game footage from video games to make narrative movies (e.g.  CS_Militia  was “filmed” with Counter-Strike 1.6), the genre’s popularity has birthed several dedicated tools. Ofte...

Sometimes, you just need a good laugh. There are plenty of ways to get your daily dose of humor – including  YouTube comedy channels ,  5 Second Films , and  humorous Tumblr blogs  – but what about web games? They’re useful for more than just  killing time over coffee breaks . Some are downright  hilarious . None of these games require anything more than a Flash-enabled browser and an open-minded sense of humor that isn’t afraid to laugh at the silly and the absurd. Take a deep breath and get your smiling muscles ready. Cat Mario This is one of the funniest games I’ve ever played, both on and off the web. Beware that this isn’t funny in a “ha, that’s cute and refreshing” sort of way. Nope, not a chance. This is  Cat Mario , a game whose title is just as deceptive as its gameplay. If you’ve ever played Mario, then you’ll love this game. Or you’ll hate it to death. Or both. Cat Mario deserves a spot in the category of “most frustrating games ...

Sometimes, you just need a break. Not just from the stresses of life, but from those time-consuming games that require  a lot of investment and commitment . The next time you want to lose yourself for a little while, these web games should be your first stop. Normally, people flock to mobile games for quick entertainment. We have our own collection of awesome Android games  and  hot iOS games  to play. We’ve even compiled a list of great  mobile games you can play in a browser . But if you  really  want to relax while you play, keep reading. Entanglement This here is one of the most relaxing games on the Internet. The concept of  Entanglement is nothing new – it’s quite reminiscent of  Pipe Dream  which came bundled with older versions of Windows – but it’s a brilliant take on the idea that expands the  tile  shape from squares to hexagons, thus opening up an extra level of depth. Yet despite the extra thought necessar...

It wasn’t long ago that  Facebook officially launched  its  Instant Games . In fall of 2016, the social media giant brought 17 enjoyable games to Messenger and the News Feed. Since then, that list of games has grown to almost 50. You can enjoy these titles  alone or with friends , both on mobile and the web. Let’s take a look at some of the latest and greatest games you can play. Accessing Facebook Instant Games If you are unfamiliar with the  Facebook Games section  on the web, you can find it in the left-hand menu under  Explore . Just make sure that you are on the Facebook Home page and not your Profile page. When you arrive on the gaming page, just select the  Instant Games  tab from the top. On your mobile device, these games show up as their own category in the Facebook menu and of course, within Messenger. This cool list of Instant Games includes genres from puzzles to word games to sports challenges. What’s awe...

So you want to introduce your parents to video games? Here are a few places to start! Show, Don’t Tell Conventional wisdom would have you believe that all gamers are antisocial, potentially violent young men who live in their parents’ basements. However, it is becoming abundantly clear that this stereotype is no longer true, if it ever was to begin with. Gaming is becoming as acceptable and universal a pastime as reading or film. As Joel said in his article on  gamer myths , many people who play games are in their late twenties and thirties, and almost half of them are women. Still, for every fifty of us who have families that appreciate our love of games or who play games themselves; there is at least one of us who has a parent, grandparent, or guardian that believes these myths and doesn’t “get” our favorite hobby. Maybe they think video games are too frivolous and we should read instead. Maybe they don’t like the way  games depict women  or minorities. Or may...

Have you ever dreamed of making your own video game, but gotten stuck with every tool you’ve looked at? Here are five you can start with that aim to make the process as simple as possible – no programming necessary. We’ve shown you  development tools you should learn to make your own games , but that article probably suited people with a background in computer science, or at the very least an interest. If you want to learn about making games, but don’t want to dive deep into programming first, here are a few basic tools for getting started. Master these and you can relate games on major platforms, and eventually get yourself to a place mentally where you can tackle more complicated development tools. Let’s get started. Flappy Code : Programming Tutorial for Absolute Beginners Want to make a game, but don’t know the first thing about programming? Start here. Flappy Bird is a fascinating story  of an incredibly simple game, made in Vietnam, that became a global phenome...