HTML5 Game Development For Dummies®

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Copyright © 2013 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2013932120

ISBN: 978-1-118-07476-3 (pbk); ISBN: 978-1-118-26144-6 (ebk); ISBN: 978-1-118-22261-4 (ebk); ISBN: 978-1-118-23652-9 (ebk)

Manufactured in the United States of America

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About the Author

Andy Harris is the author of numerous books on gaming and web development. He taught himself computer programming by building games on the TRS-80 model I, and hasn’t stopped playing yet.

Andy taught special education for several years while also working as a contract programmer. Eventually he found himself at Indiana University/Purdue University – Indianapolis teaching computer science full time. He currently serves in the computer science department as a senior lecturer, where he is responsible for the freshman computing program. He also teaches game and web development.

Andy is also a regular columnist for a major homeschooling magazine, where he writes about how to use and teach computing at home.

You can learn more about Andy or ask him a question at his website: http://www.aharrisbooks.net. Visit this site to see every example in this book, and to see what else Andy is doing these days.

Dedication

I dedicate this book first to Jesus Christ my personal savior.

Acknowledgments

First acknowledgment always goes to my amazing wife Heather. I couldn’t write books without you, but then I couldn’t do much of anything without you. I love you dearly. A big thanks to Elizabeth, Matthew, Jacob, and Benjamin. Now you know what I was doing in the office all that time.

Thank you also to my students, current and in the past. I’ve learned much more from you than you ever have from me. A special shout goes to the In-Grace high school group and CSCI N301 classes, for helping me test the projects in this book.

A huge thank you goes to Tyler Mitchell, for his contributions to the simpleGame Engine, especially the animation system. Thank you Tyler, for your incredible contributions. I’m looking forward to incorporating your other ideas into a future version of the program.

Thanks to Tom Dunlap for additional testing and support. Without Tom, the game engine might not have some of its key features.

Thanks to Katie Feltman, for years of friendship and support. I appreciate you understanding what I wanted to do with this book and helping to make it happen. Blessings to you in your new endeavors.

Mark Enochs once again plied his magic on this book. Thank you, Mark, for putting so much energy into this project. You’re a good friend and a great partner in this process.

Thank you to my editors Linda Morris, Melba Hopper, and Mark Enochs, and thank you to my tech editor Russ Mullen. Thanks also to the many people at Wiley the author never meets, but who add to the book.

A huge thank you goes to the various open source and creative commons authors that contributed to this project. Look for specific individual attributions in the various projects. A special thank you goes to the folks at open game art, Kreiner’s tilesets, and Ari’s sprite lib. I made up for my own lack of art skills by utilizing the talents of these incredible artists, and I truly appreciate their generosity.

The biggest thanks goes to you for reading this book. If you’ve read any of my other books, thank you so much for your support. If this is your first book with me, welcome aboard! I can’t wait to share the fun of game development in HTML5 with you.

Publisher’s Acknowledgments

We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments at http://dummies.custhelp.com. For other comments, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002.

Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:

Acquisitions and Editorial

Project Editors: Mark Enochs, Linda Morris

Senior Acquisitions Editor: Katie Feltman

Copy Editor: Melba Hopper

Editorial Manager: Leah Michael

Editorial Assistant: Annie Sullivan

Sr. Editorial Assistant: Cherie Case

Cover Photo: © Anton Novikov / iStockphoto

Cartoons: Rich Tennant (www.the5thwave.com)

Composition Services

Project Coordinator: Patrick Redmond

Layout and Graphics: Carrie A. Cesavice, Joyce Haughey

Proofreader: Melissa D. Buddendeck

Indexer: BIM Indexing & Proofreading Services

Publishing and Editorial for Technology Dummies

Richard Swadley, Vice President and Executive Group Publisher

Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher

Mary Bednarek, Executive Acquisitions Director

Mary C. Corder, Editorial Director

Publishing for Consumer Dummies

Kathy Nebenhaus, Vice President and Executive Publisher

Composition Services

Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services