Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 8
CycleBlob: A WebGL Lightcycle Game
I started learning JavaScript and WebGL for fun in my free time on evenings and weekends. For most of
my career, I've programmed large enterprise applications in C++ and, on occasion, I've written some data
visualizations using desktop OpenGL. 3D content on the web is something that I've been waiting for a
while to happen, so when the news of the upcoming WebGL specification arrived, I could not wait to try it
out. The technological opportunity coincided with an idea I've been nurturing for a while: taking the concept
of an old '80s game that is usually played in a 2D setting and somehow translating it into the 3D world.
Some ideas that I considered include:
A
PAC-MAN
game in a maze situated on a deformed, closed surface.
A
Qix
-like game (aka
Xonix
,
Volfied
) where the player needs to conquer as much area as
possible of the surface of a 3D shape, trying to avoid enemies and obstacles.
Scorched Earth
, a turn-based warfare game between players on a small, 3D planet floating in
space.
Q*bert
, which features a little creature that paints stairs as he steps on them, trying to cover an
entire staircase. Instead of filling just one flight of stairs, play on a complete, 3D world made of
cubes.
Eventually, the idea that appealed to me the most was that of the lightcycle game. Inspired by the 1982
movie
TRON
, lightcycles are sort of like motorcycles that move on a flat grid and leave a wall trail behind
them. The goal is to avoid crashing into walls and remain the last player alive. Players can block other
cycles on the grid, causing them to crash because they have nowhere to turn. Players can also work in
