Gamedev.js Weekly #86

Articles

Signifying nothing: making indie games in 2015
We’re at a uniquely challenging time in the games industry, as nobody seems tired of pointing out.
Paul Kilduff-Taylor at Gamasutra

What if Kickstarter let you profit from a game's success? Fig found a way, launches today
Justin Bailey, formerly of developer Double Fine, is launching a new crowdfunding solution for game developers.Called Fig, the service will offer rewards-based funding alongside equity investment.
Charlie Hall at Polygon

Firefox Marketplace - it’s all about the games
Over the past several months we’ve listened to users and closely analyzed content trends. The picture is clear: when it comes to the content folks want on desktop, they overwhelmingly want games. Lots and lots of games.
Scott DeVaney at Mozilla Blog

Trine 3 devs on short length and cliffhanger complaints
Today, we get to see what it looks like when a successful but small developer puts their hands up, admits there’s a problem and explains why.
Alec Meer at Rock Paper Shotgun

MMA could be the next big thing in game development if its potential can conquer hype
Game developers are naturally suspicious of the hype that comes with new technology, but the revenue potential for Mobile Marketing Automation makes it worth a closer look.
Scott Johnston at Spil Games

Multimodal perception: when multitasking works
With so much critical attention given to multitasking, it’s easy to forget that there are things our brains can do simultaneously.
Graham Herrli at A List Apart

HTML5 game engine PlayCanvas launches in Japan
The UK firm has partnered with internet services provider GMO Cloud, which will be the exclusive reseller for PlayCanvas tech in Japan.
Craig Chapple at Develop Online

Flying a drone in your browser with WebBluetooth
There are tons of devices around us, and the number is only growing. And more and more of these devices come with connectivity.
Jan Jongboom at Mozilla Hacks

What our fans taught us about Kickstarter: Outland 17 - Void of Liberty
Thanks to overwhelming community support we were successfully Greenlit, but then we fell short of our crowdfunding goal, despite the support of 258 backers.
JC Santiago at Gamasutra

FGL is about to start the first mobile only game jam, with a $100 prize for the first place
FGL guys are putting a lot of effort in their Enhance Ads technology.
Emanuele Feronato's blog

Tutorials

Playing with Phaser Tweens and Bezier curves
Are you tired to create straight paths with your Phaser Tweens? Do you want the enemies in your game to follow a more unpredictable path? Have a try with Bezier curves.
Emanuele Feronato's blog

Learning jQuery with Street Fighter and Hadoukens
Through this interactive guide you'll gain a basic understanding of jQuery and how to use it on your own projects.
Carl Sednaoui at Thinkful

How to adapt A* pathfinding to a 2D grid-based platformer: theory
I'll give a broad overview of how to modify a standard A* algorithm to work for platformers by simulating these gravitational restrictions.
Daniel Branicki at Tuts+ Game Development

Competitions

The big list of HTML5 games competitions

Tools

Async path finding plugin for Phaser

Publish Windows 10 Store apps with Construct 2

Demos

Spiders demo using PlaygroundJS

PlayCanvas Casino: a WebGL experiment

Podcasts

Lostcast #137 - Lost Decade Games podcast

Games

Tiled Quest made with Phaser for the IN GAME Jam

Subterranean - Ludum Dare compo entry created with ThreeJS