Newsletter – Issue 021

🔥 Headlines

📅 GDC is coming up next week, and we have an official Web Game Dev GDC meetup organized by Trezy (who has been reviving our Discord events ❤️). RSVP and get in touch in the new #gdc Discord channel!

If you are attending GDC, make sure to say hi to Poki at their booth (S657) and meet the 13 teams (!) of game devs they are bringing to the event. There is also a Courage XL pre-GDC event where CrazyGames co-hosts a web game booth. They have free drinks and VIP tickets! Message @Rafael_CrazyGames on our Discord.

🇪🇺 The Digital Markets Act is now in force, meaning gatekeepers such as Apple, Google, Meta, and Microsoft must comply with the new rules. The act aims to create a fair and competitive digital market by preventing gatekeepers from abusing their power. In response to the DMA, Apple tried last week to kill PWAs entirely in the EU and reversed their decision after being met with backlash led by the Open Web Advocacy. The DMA should benefit web games by allowing browser engines other than WebKit on iOS, encouraging browser diversity, and bringing web apps closer to native apps in terms of features (at least in the EU).

The results of the Gamedev.js Survey 2023 are now available!

⭐️ Sponsors

Poki is on a mission to create the ultimate online playground – where players and developers come together to play and create! Together with a growing 300+ game developer community and 50 million players each month, we’re creating a new standard for web games. Interested in working together? Share your game with us!

At the Poki booth (S657) this year at GDC, we will be giving early access to our new playtesting feature to developers! Bring your web build to the booth and let’s see if it works on web, completely free! We will share more info later this week. As usual, you can get in touch with us at dovelepersoppurt@piko.com or in the Web Game Dev Discord!

Project OO is a new high-performance browser-based 3D game engine. If you have an interest in making a 3D browser game or experience, check out the engine and creation studio at oo.oncyber.io and the docs at doocs.oncyber.io.
On Wednesdays at 8 AM PST we host Dev Office Hours in our Discord and welcome feedback! Feel free to DM @nicedayjules directly with any questions.

🏎 Engines

• Three.js r162 and r161 – See the changelog and migration guide.
• Drei v9.102 – Edges update, Helper, DragControls, ScreenSizer, Image border radius, inline View.
• Threlte Core v7.2.1 and Extras v8.9.0 – See releases.
• TresJS 3.7.0 – See the release blog post, devtools video, the March 2024 update, and their roadmap.
• PlayCanvas Engine v1.69.0 (v1.68.0 announcement) and Editor v1.35.0. Their revamped developer site now includes a new Using the Engine Standalone guide.
• Phaser 3.80 – Read the announcement post. New quickstart project templates.
• PixiJS – Read the v8 release announcement, with performance improvements and WebGPU support.
• Babylon.js v6.46 – Version 7.0 should be out in a few weeks and will include node-based geometries.
• Needle 3.31.8 – See releases. Includes WebXR updates.
• 🤺 Rapier v0.18.0 – New non-linear constraints solver.
• Defold 1.7.0 – Now with PlayStation 5 support. See their 2023 showreel video.
• Construct r379 (Xbox, flowcharts, HTML layers) and r382 beta (new Follow behavior, tween updates).
• Excalibur.js v0.29.0 (video) – Devtools, pixel art preset, scene transition, input API, scoped & custom loaders
• Overreact by Craig Smith – A new DOM-based game engine for React.
• Orillusion v0.7.2 – See their video demos.
• Project OO by oncyber – Three.js and Rapier-based metaverse engine with a cloud editor. Tech breakdown.
• WebGL2 3D Engine (demo) by Michal Zalobny
• Lume by Joe Pea – Web Components-based engine with CSS 3D and WebGL rendering modes.

🛠 Tools

• FluffyGrass (demo) library by The Ebenezer
• Quick_Grass by SimonDev – Code used in his video about grass.
• FakeGlowMaterial (demo) by Anderson Mancini – For vanilla Three.js and R3F.
• uikit (docs, demo) by Bela Bohlender – User Interfaces for React Three Fiber. Great for WebXR.
• Mario-Kart-3.js (demo) by Lunakepio – Open-source Mario Kart clone. Theo’s video about it.
• SplineCamera/useSpline (video) by Lunakepio
• useGamepad by Lunakepio – React hook for game controller support.
• React three NPC (video) by Supun Sethsara – Yuka-based NPC control system for R3F.
• 2EZ GLTFJSX (demo) by abdel369 – Add-on to run gltfjsx from Blender.
• Mana Potion (demo) – Gamedev toolkit (mostly reactive inputs) for React and React Three Fiber by me.
• FakeGlowMaterial by flobit – Port for Threlte.
• Export_Vertices_To_JSON by ClassOutside – Blender add-on to… export vertices to JSON.
• Poki Networking Library by Poki – This library can be used with non-Poki games.
• 🎁 Input Prompts assets by Kenney
• 🖥 Electron Steam App Template by Trezy
• 📡 JavaScript multiplayer game examples using Rivet.

🎬 Videos

• 🎓 How Persona Combines 2D and 3D Art by Acerola
• 🎓 How GPUs Handle Vertices and Why LOD Works by SimonDev
• 🎓 Developing a Procedural Mountain Forest by Rune Skovbo Johansen
• What Is WebGPU? by Suboptimal Engineer
• WebGL 2.0 Series by Andrew Adamson
• How to Make an Object Follow a Path in Three.js by Wael Yasmina
• Comparison of vanilla Three.js and React Three Fiber by Rabbit Hole Syndrome
• Multiplayer Game Lobby with R3F & Playroom by Wawa Sensei
• Multiplayer Card Game with R3F & Playroom by Wawa Sensei
• Shader Transitions with R3F and Lygia by Wawa Sensei
• Scene Transitions with R3F by Wawa Sensei
• Getting Started with Threlte by Domenicobrz
• I Made Angry Birds, but You’re the Bird by Wonderland Engine

✍️ Articles

• 🏗 ECS Architecture and Data-Oriented Programming by PRDeving
• Caustics with Shaders and R3F by Maxime Heckel
• SpriteAnimator: The Bridge Between 2D and 3D by Michalis Dobekidis
• Depth Buffer (In Depth): Fog Post-Processing Effect by Adam Naili
• Temporal Anti-Aliasing with Babylon.js by Popov
• TypeScript in Babylon Native by Sergio R. Z. Masson
• WebGL Performance on Safari and Apple Vision Pro by Jonathan Hale
• Higher success rates for web games using playtests by Cem Demir
• 🌎 Releasing a Steam game for Mac tweet by Christoph Nakazawa
• 🎙 The resurgence of web games with CrazyGames and Bloxd

🎮 Games

• Sword Masters by emolingo games – Colorful multiplayer RPG.
• O Mandala! by Oleksandr Ostapenko – Relaxing mandala drawing app.
• Driftwave by JamieRowan x RowanFuture – Driving and drifting game.
• Shovel Pirate by Neutronized – Adventure-platformer in which you look for treasures.
• Kour.io by LEGION Platforms – Online multiplayer FPS with various game modes.
• Lurkers.io by bergice – 2D Minecraft-like multiplayer game.
• Army Clash by JBS – 1v1 fantasy auto-battle game where you place units and watch them fight.
• Tower Stack by Prashant Sharma – Timing game where you stack blocks on each other.
• Slay.one by JBS – Intense 2D multiplayer top-down shooting game.
• Realmz.io by Future Pear Studios – Survival multiplayer game where you fight monsters and players.
• The Run by Merci Michel – Promotional racing game for Montblanc Legend fragrance.
• Titans of Time by Hobbes – Old-school MMORPG.
• Talk Me Down by Finn Bear – Emergency landing game school project.
• Cooper & Onita by Brian Breiholz – Platform puzzle game that won React Jam Winter 2023.
• Shade by kishimisu – Puzzle game prototype in which you play with lights and shadows.
• Speedrun for Light by BuzzJeux – Platformer where you have to reach the light before the time is up.

✨ Demos

• 2024 WebGPU Experiment by Utsubo
• Paris portfolio by Sébastien Lempens
• Bela Magia (repo) by Yannis Gravezas
• Skating bunny by Karim Maaloul
• In a Plaza Darkly (A Number From the Ghost musical experience) by jittercub
• Studio Carto by Thomas Lonjon
• Volumetric Clouds by Anderson Mancini
• Speedrunning mini-game by Kayden T

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