2024/03/01 — issue #530

Browser games in the EU, Canvas engines comparison, and Free Kick Underground

Articles

Apple effectively kills numerous browser games in the EU: unprecedented slap in the face of tech regulation
Apple is fighting the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) tooth and nail. A set of new App Store rules just for the EU is not going to truly open up the market for iOS app distribution. Apple is also refusing to comply with respect to any variant of the App Store other than the one for iOS.
games fray

Emulation community expresses defiance in wake of Nintendo’s Yuzu lawsuit
EmuDev coders cite precautions, legal differences they say will offer protection.
Kyle Orland at Ars Technica

Helldivers 2 players scammed by fake Steam listings
At least two games were able to change their store pages to match Helldivers 2 before Valve delisted them.
Moises Taveras at Kotaku

The first Discworld RPG in nearly three decades is on the way from Modiphius
It’s truly surprising it took this long.
Carli Velocci at Polygon

Tutorials

Designing maps that complement game mechanics
Good level design must support the actual game mechanics – this affects both level design, and ultimately, player enjoyment. This article shows how we do things with our popular multiplayer mobile shooter game War Robots.
Denis Kozin at Game Developer

Build a HTML5 game like Watermelon Game using Phaser and Box2D powered by Planck.js
Step 5: adding graphics, score, “next” icon and checking for game over.
Emanuele Feronato's blog