Game design for the Web

Building games based on WebGL that match or exceed console quality should be possible, and doing so is a worthy goal. Additionally, building games for the Web presents an opportunity to take advantage of features that aren't possible for desktop and console games, although there are also a few drawbacks.

For example, you can build mechanics around having game data in URLs. Beyond just indicating save/load points, URLs could encode pickups, locations, random seeds, or other information. Add sharing to the mix and suddenly you have the ability for users to e-mail or tweet a link to their friends and have them drop instantly into the same point in your game. Unlike console games, web games can build on viral dynamics, the ubiquity of browsers, and low barriers to entry to attract more users and introduce new gameplay. You might imagine collaborative puzzle games that require a certain number of players to be completed—a concept that wouldn't be reliable for an expensive...