Introduction
Hi there! My name is Bryan, and I’m a programmer. I’ve been writing code since I was 14 years old, and I absolutely love it. The thing that excites me most about my work is the creative aspect of it: sitting down with an idea in my head, and figuring out how to turn that idea into reality on a computer. For example, this blog you’re reading right now! A few weeks ago I didn’t know how to make a web page that would display content like this—but here we are! That’s what makes programming so powerful: it lets us build things that don’t exist yet. Nowadays JavaScript is one of the most popular language for making cool things on the internet. It’s capable of powering incredibly large websites like Facebook, but also very small (but still amazing) interactive games that you can play right in your browser window—for free! In this post we’ll look at a few of the coolest ones out there…
Snake
Snake is a mobile game developed by Konami. It was released in the early 1980s, and is one of the first games to appear on mobile phones. The objective of this game is to control a snake that grows longer as it eats food, while avoiding hitting itself or running into the walls. You can also let your snake grow too big and run out of space, or get yourself trapped between two walls and die!
The original version was called “Snake” but today there are so many variations that we often call them all just “snake” regardless of what they’re called (the most popular ones are Doodle Snake and Blocks).
Github Game Off
Github Game Off is a competition that challenges you to make games in two days. It’s a great way to flex your creative muscles and take on a fun challenge with friends. You can view the games on the Github Game Off website, but what makes it so cool is that you can also play them offline!
If you have an idea for a game, submit it!
BrowserQuest
BrowserQuest is a game that you can play in any browser. The game was created by Mozilla, and is free to play. This retro-style game has many hours of gameplay and content for you to enjoy!
If you like role playing games, then BrowserQuest will be right up your alley! The pixel art graphics will make this game more enjoyable than ever before!
Sphere Slice
Sphere Slice is a 3D puzzle game that is a clone of the popular flash game Slice It. You can play it in your browser, and it’s free!
In this game you have to cut spheres into slices of equal thickness using a cutting tool. You have to try to make all of your slices with as few cuts as possible.
Favors
Favors is a social game in which you ask friends, or strangers, for favors. You can choose to request one favor at a time from your friends or up to 5 favors at once from strangers. If you’re new to the game, it’s best to stick with requesting one favor at a time from your friends until you get more comfortable with how Favors works.
Once you’ve gotten familiarized with how the game works and know how to navigate it easily, it’s time for some more advanced tactics: asking for multiple favours at once! To do this, simply select multiple favours from the list of requests that show up when someone visits your profile page on Favors (iTunes link). Once they accept all of those favours at once—which won’t take long if they’re interested—they’ll be obligated by the rules of Favors not only give each individual favour but also perform them within 24 hours!
Icycle
Icycle is a game where you ride a bike around a map. The goal is to get as many points as possible, which you can do by collecting coins and performing tricks. There are multiple ways to play:
- You can ride the bike on the ground or in the air, depending on what’s available.
- You can jump over gaps and other riders if they’re not looking at you.
- You can also jump over water if there are no obstacles nearby (except if your character happens to be female).
- Finally, Icycle features several different maps for players to explore, each of which offers its own unique challenges and opportunities for earning bonus points—for example: riding along an icy path might make it easier for you but much harder for others!
Canabalt
Canabalt is a great game to play in your browser, especially if you have a mobile device. You play as a runner who must jump over obstacles and reach the end of each level. The game has an arcade feel and the graphics are simple but colorful and appealing.
Canabalt started out as a Flash game that used pixel art-style graphics, but was later updated with more detailed illustrations by artist Adam Saltsman (who also created the popular iOS title Gasketball).
The game’s soundtrack was also noteworthy—it was composed by Josh Sutphin (who also created music for other indie games such as Gravity Hook) and included chiptune tracks from YACHT (who performed at MAGFest 2010), Anamanaguchi, cTrixixx, dpMUSICrzt & CTRAVAGANZASQUAD9000XLXIV & kentuckyfriedgiraffe & Shawn Parkin&theFoxbros&thePantheraPantherineMasterRace&YasParody (yes it’s real).
The Fancy Pants Adventure World 3 Remix (the original was Flash)
If you’ve ever heard of the Fancy Pants Adventure series, then this will be a familiar game to you. The Fancy Pants Adventure World 3 Remix is a remake of the original Fancy Pants Adventure game. You play as Fancy Pants Man (or woman), and must jump around various levels collecting coins and avoiding enemies.
The game features a new character, new levels and gameplay elements that weren’t present in the original Flash version of this game. This remake was created by Shawn Li who also made The Fancy Pants Adventures: World 2 Remix and other popular web games such as Silly Sausage Episode 1: In Meatland.
You can play it as either a browser-based or downloadable game on Windows, Mac OS X or Linux depending on what system you have available to you at home (if any).
Don’t Look Back
Don’t Look Back is a game where you have to run from a monster, but you can’t look back. The idea is that you only have two options:
- Keep running forward in the maze, or
- Die (because then you get eaten by the monster).
So this makes it interesting because you’re constantly trying to figure out how to stay alive while also moving forward and not getting stuck somewhere in the maze. And if you do get stuck, it’s game over. But if there’s one thing we’ve learned from playing games on our computers and phones, it’s that nothing ever really dies—we just keep getting reincarnated as something else until eventually everyone dies out completely!
Maze of OS
Maze of OS is a fun little game that’s like Pacman, but in a maze. You’ll have to avoid the ghosts while trying to eat dots and power pills. The maze will be different each time you play it, which makes for an interesting challenge every time. It’s fun to play when you don’t want something too serious, but still want something with some challenge.
You can download Maze of OS here, or play it here!
Browsers are amazing, and capable of much more than you might have guessed.
Browsers are amazing, and capable of much more than you might have guessed. They’re not only used to browse the internet, but also for a number of other tasks, such as playing games! In fact, browsers can be used to play games that are fun, and games that are not fun, and even games that aren’t really games at all.
Conclusion
I hope this list gave you some ideas for entertaining yourself during your next break! I had a lot of fun researching these games, and I hope you’ll get the chance to try at least one or two out for yourself. Plus, who knows—maybe we’ll be seeing more browser games of this caliber in the future?
