How to Build a Progressive Web Game Using PWA

May 2 , 2023 Posted by Admin

Making a website on a mobile device appear exactly like a native app is now simpler than ever, thanks to PWAs. What about games, though? Many games, ranging from quite simple puzzles to intricate simulators and sophisticated RPGs, may be found in app shops. Yet, as the PWA app development companies have gained popularity, a growing number of excellent examples have been published online. According to Statista, 9% of respondents to an e-commerce decision-maker survey conducted in October 2020 across Europe and North America said their businesses intended to invest in progressive web apps (PWA) in 2021. Moreover, 8% of the businesses already invested in PWA, while 28% did not have any intentions to do so in 2021. PWAs enable customers to buy goods from any device, over any connection, and even on any operating system.

In this blog, we’ll examine the idea of progressive web games, give examples of its most brilliant members, show you how to make a PWA game, and then determine whether the idea is workable in a contemporary development environment.

Why Progressive Web Games Are Important

Casual PWA games could be overly straightforward, lacking in flawless visuals or astounding visual effects. Yet they also aim for something else. These games, which are developed using React.js or other progressive frameworks, are meant to amuse users and pique their interest. Of course, it would be incorrect to assume that this technology might allow you to produce amazing animation or incredibly complicated 3D models. But there is one more trick in this methodology’s sleeve.

Add More Home Screen Features

For a very long time, only native games could claim to be able to add shortcuts to consumers’ devices’ home screens. But things are different now. PWA games are mobile device VIP citizens that can fight for screen real estate with their primary opponents. Due to a web manifest, which is essentially a JSON file that provides information about an app to a browser. The information from ept.webmanifest is used to construct the shortcuts that show up on the user’s home screens.

Hence, a PWA web game will be bookmarked next to other native apps and games if a user clicks on an “Add to Home Screen” notification.

Offline Features

One of the key challenges for game design company, is making desktop games run offline. Service workers, which cache and serve assets offline, allow it to function properly even on a shaky network and while unplugged.

Continual Loading

In terms of resource usage, games are substantially more resource-intensive than apps. You often need to download at least 5 to 15 MB of assets, such as sounds and visuals, even for casual and straightforward games. You must thus wait for all of this to download.

As a result, the likelihood that a player may stop playing the game increases if they have a weak connection. Players and game design company, alike can benefit from progressive loading by simplifying processes.

In essence, “lazy loading” is what this idea refers to. It operates independently from a specific API using a few essential elements and a general PWA approach to offer users incredibly quick loading.

As a result, pages don’t need to reload thanks to progressive loading. The front-end created using React.js renders CSS and JavaScript files when a player accesses a progressive game for the first time, while the updates are carried out on the back-end. For instance, because all JavaScript and CSS files have already been loaded, the player would view the game’s main menu more quickly than using the conventional method.

Instant games are becoming more and more popular, thus creators of HTML5-based casual mobile games want to think about putting them on Google or Facebook platforms.

Some of the Best Progressive Web Games

• Bubble Pairs

The memory exercises in this game are excellent. You must memorize the locations of the bubbles in Bubble Pairs so that you can later reassemble them. Your options are restricted, and the difficulty of the game rises with each level.

• Tower Game

Another simple one-tape progressive web app development company to pass the time while you wait for a query is this one. You can put your patience and smart thinking to the test in this way. Your objective is to align the bricks that are falling from the sky in order to create a skyscraper as tall as you can. After you miss your chance three times to stack a falling block on top of the tower, the game is ended.

• Tetra

Tetris, the game’s forerunner, inspired the new name. It offers the players a distinctive and updated version of the well-known block game that has captivated millions of players.

• 2048

In the intriguing game 2048, you must mix various tiles to get a larger number. The lowest number that can be used when the game begins is 2. When two tiles with the same number touch while you are swiping up, down, left, and right, they combine into one. You want to get to “2048” at the end.

Building Progressive Web Games

It’s quite simple to create a basic web game. We will use the 2048 PWA game stated above as an example to slice and dice the entire procedure. This is the ideal example of how to create a top-notch game.

This application’s original source code is accessible on GitHub at https://github.com/gabrielecirulli/2048. You are welcome to fork the repository on your GitHub profile. Although the source code was clearly documented, it was written for browser capabilities from five years ago. To enable this game to take advantage of more recent browser features, we intend to add the manifest, service workers, and icons in addition to performing some code improvements.

Let’s examine the organization of the code. Three asset folders—Meta, JS, and style—contain the necessary JS files, style sheets, and images for the game’s operation. The code’s single HTML file requirement is a wonderful feature.

By Including Node Modules

Installing a node module from https://www.npmjs.com is the first step. The necessary modules can be specified in a package.json file or controlled via the command line. Grunt and the drill sergeant modules can therefore be defined as devDependencies. You can develop and deploy the PWA game with the aid of custom node scripts and a task runner called grunt. Visit their website for additional information about utilizing Grunt.

A Manifest Being Added

The addition of a web manifest is the second stage of improving the current game. It can be generated in a couple of minutes, which is wonderful news. To automate the process, you can use a variety of development tools, such as the progressive web app development company, which creates a web manifest on its own. The program is quite easy to use and can be helpful in this situation.

A unique link element must be present in the HTML head element in order to register a PWA’s web manifest. The 2048 manifest file is registered in the following manner.

Include a Service Person

The next step is to register the service provider. You must first determine whether service employees are supported. If so, executing the navigator.serviceWorker.register function will allow for registration.

In the install event, the 2048 service worker pre-caches the entire game, making it accessible even when the connection is broken.

The server worker has an event handler that is both activated and stitched. Before the “add to home screen” option is activated, the final one needs to be registered. After the browser requests an asset from the network, the fetch event becomes active. For instance, this could be an image, script, stylesheet, or AJAX request.

The request object is included in the event argument, which is used to check your cache to see if the asset is present.

This handler is necessary for the application to function on a subpar network. It only requires a quick check to enable offline mode.

Conclusion

The future of web games appears brighter than ever as more and more creators choose PWA as their final destination. Naturally, there are a variety of approaches to developing a PWA game as well as numerous devtools that can be used to design an interface with an app-like feel and incorporate additional progressive features. The simplest casual games, however, merely need JavaScript and HTML to run. You must employ a skilled group of expert developers to handle the responsibilities for the most difficult ones. Web game gamers may now play offline, save their progress, and download their preferred applications to their devices thanks to PWAs. If you are looking for unity game app development company then get in touch with App Development Pros.

Also Read: 10 ultimate real life cases of progressive web apps pwas in 2023