The Web Game Developer’s Cookbook: Using JavaScript and HTML5 to Develop Games

Chapter 7. Shooter

Possibly inspired by pinball games, shooters employ a similar mechanic of “Using stuff to shoot stuff.” But despite the theming that pinball machines can achieve through artwork on and inside the cabinet, the interface’s innerworkings are exposed. Whereas in pinball, you might say “hit the ‘ball’ into the ‘bumper,’” in a videogame shooter, it is more likely to hear something like “’shoot’ a ‘missile’ at the ‘enemy plane.’” This distinction may seem subtle, but this abstraction gives you freedom to do something a bit unique; your enemies become numbers, and your weapons become mathematical functions.

Some Background Info on Rendering

gameQuery is unlike the game engines we have covered so far in two ways. First, it relies on ...