Why JavaScript?
If you’re making a game in JavaScript you’re coding for the future.
Web technologies move with an amazing speed. People start to expect no-download, no-install instant game play.
JavaScript has been called “the most misunderstood language in the world”, and I think that’s a very accurate description.
It’s still “the language you make popups with” for many people. Which now a days is very far from the the truth.
My prediction is that JavaScript will be The most important language to know for at least 5-10 years forward.
HTML5
Jaws uses many of the new amazing technologies that’s HTML5.
– Canvas-tag for graphics
– Websockets for networking
– Audio-tag for in game music and sounds effects
Instant no-hassle deployment
Maybe the most exciting part of making a Jaws/JavaScript game is the easy of deployment.
No compilation. Instant cross-platform. And as phones/pads are getting more powerful,
they’ll run Your game in the future too.
Canvas and clean code
Jaws does all graphics operations via the new HTML5tag canvas.
It’s a straightforward and clean method in comparison to CSS/DOM-based sprites that many use today.
I think it’s a huge win if gamedevs can look through the jaws code and instantly get a grasp on it.
The canvas-tag is hardware accelerated on Internet Explorer 9, Firefox 4.0+, latest Chrome and most likely in upcoming Safari.