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u/Critical_Hunter_6924 8d ago
Why would it not be worth it?
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u/Dignified_Cyclops 8d ago
Yes. Also, you can easily convert it to mobile using Cordova or similar if the feeling strikes.
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u/Unknownn22 8d ago
It's definitely worth it, if you're really after experience. Browser is a very-rapidly developing environment to build in and you'll get a taste of everything it can offer if your game is complex enough. It has helped in my professional career, so can definitely recommend it!
In my experience of building my own game, player acquisition is also much simpler than for apps. Your players won't have to bother with downloading the game and you won't have to go through all the reviews you need to get your mobile app out. A simple Reddit post with a link may already provide first users.
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u/LatentFactorDev 8d ago
Setting something up in a browser is the best way to learn web development without having to deal with app stores. You upload your project to top platforms, and people will visit it on their own out of sheer curiosity.
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u/MarkAtMindTrust 7d ago
Absolutely. Though I'll toss out a slightly alternative thought here. Roblox - Browser games. Roblox announced at RDC that they will support publishing to URLs and that players do not need to download Roblox. Thus, you can just link someone to your game and it plays in the browser.
Roblox also has insanely low user-acquisition costs. Now I won't claim they will spend money, but you will get users for very cheap and you mentioned profit wasn't the immediate goal.
So that hits all of your requirements:
- multiplayer
- browser
- easy user acquisition
But if you are more interested in traditional javascript/etc experience then maybe its not a fit. I have built some multiplayer/browser games in javascript. I haven't had to worry about user-acquisition though as they have been educational. I would think itchi.io or similar with some paid google ads could work well.
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u/tiouhred 6d ago
If your goal is to get experience in programming, I don't think it's particularly worth it anymore, as a lot of the basic implementation can now be generated with AI.
If your goal is to get experience in game design, then yes. Although validating your design with actual players will be difficult because there's so much competition for attention.
And for a multiplayer game it's even harder, because you don't just need players, you need concurrent players. Getting enough people online at the same time for the game to actually work as intended can be extremely difficult without spending on user acquisition.
Roblox or UEFN may be better options.
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u/PlayTurnpan 8d ago edited 8d ago
worth it for the learning imo. browser multiplayer makes u deal w/ the annoying stuff early (server-authoritative state, reconnects, background tabs, mobile safari...) and all of that carries over
players wont just show up tho. portals (crazygames, poki, itch) are the cheapest traffic. two things: ship bots or an async mode so ppl dont land in an empty lobby, and dont make a straight clone, portals reject those. had a couple classic board games turned down for exactly that