Is it worth to learn javascript for making a little incremental game as a side project ?
from roux2scour@jlai.lu to programming@programming.dev on 15 May 10:01
https://jlai.lu/post/37591721

Hello there !

I want to code a little incremental game just for me and some friends, and i started prototyping this in Go (because i know how to use it) but i was thinking that maybe run it in a browser and then use typescript would be better

I have no experience in making games and in javascript, i mostly code for backend and math stuff (my favorite gui is a terminal), and when i need a real gui i use pure html page edited by backend

So i was wondering what would be easier between learning making game in Go, or learning JS/TS for an incremental game (pictures and numbers and text, maybe little animations), and if javascript is still relevant to learn

Thanks !

(Also im a student, so my knowledge of the professional dev world is quite limited, forgive my approximative wording :b)

#programming

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slazer2au@lemmy.world on 15 May 10:04 next collapse

Js/ts is fine to learn for those kind of games.

Dunstabzugshaubitze@feddit.org on 15 May 10:29 next collapse

turning this into a webapp is a fine choice and if it’s intended to run locally without sharing state with other players you can do this completly in browser with javascript no problem.

eloquentjavascript.net is a good book for learning js, that is freely available online.

JohnnyCanuck@lemmy.ca on 15 May 10:34 next collapse

Yes, just do it.

Knowing another language is always good, and the best thing about JavaScript is that there is so much available source code to read out there. It’ll be super easy to learn and you’ll be shocked at how much you can do in pure JS. I once wrote a graphics editor that blew my item mind…

bizdelnick@lemmy.ml on 15 May 10:34 next collapse

It’s always worth to learn something new.

fargeol@lemmy.world on 15 May 11:03 next collapse

(Developer here) HTML, CSS and JS are always good to know anyway. For a video game, it depends if you want something really “video-game like” (in which case I advise to use a game engine the can be run in a browser, like Godot) or just an interactive interface with buttons, images and text.
For the latter, I would advise to use one the numerous JS frameworks (Solid, Svelte, Vue or whatever) but if you don’t know JS at all, learning it from scratch could be good. Plus, you can make really pretty animations with CSS!
I know Go is a possibility for browsers, but I’m pretty sure it’s not the best to make a game.

TLDR;

  • You want a real video-game --> Godot
  • You want a web interface --> SolidJS/Svelte (Both are good and easy to learn so the choice is yours) + CSS for animations
darklamer@feddit.org on 15 May 11:11 next collapse

Typescript is actually a pretty nice language (under the circumstances), you’ll almost certainly be able to derive some real value from having learned it (even if it in the end would turn out to not be the best choice for your game).

rozodru@piefed.world on 15 May 11:29 collapse

JS is pretty easy to learn and there are SO many resources out there that will allow you pick it up easily so why not? Plus as someone who has been a web dev for decades now HTML, CSS, and JS are very valuable to learn. CSS especially as even many none web based stuff in the FOSS community utilize it for config customization. All of which is very easy to learn and then it opens you up for stuff outside of game dev like web development and webapp development.