Mozilla, developers of the Firefox browser, opened up a competition last September for budding developers and programmers to code games built using web technologies; HTML, Java, WebGL etc. Voting for the winners opened January and the vote has now been completed.
The main method used is HTML5, which you may have heard around the web as the next step on from the ever ubiquitous Flash. While it’s mainly discussed within the realm of online video, its many improvements combined with other technologies creates a completing step up from the Flash games seen on Armor Games and co. Which is part of the reason for Mozilla doing this; showing that browser gaming has matured beyond an over reliance on Flash, and to inspire developers to look at the maturing technologies that allow for cross-platform gaming with nothing but a browser. This does mean you’ll need an HTML5 compatible browser, so Mozilla’s Firefox 4, Google’s Chrome or Apple’s Safari are required if you wish to enjoy many of these games. Well worth upgrading, regardless.
The main winner was Marble Run. A collaborative game with the aim to create the world’s longest marble run. You use pieces given to create ever longer tracks and add them to the global track. I couldn’t manage much more than simple tracks, but you may have more success.
Other winners include Far 7, a space based MMORPG, for Best Technology. I didn’t look at that one much. Funnily, the award for Most Original went to Favimon, a pokemon like game where Favicons battle out in a similar fashion to Pokemon battles. It was a bit stale if I’m honest. My personal favourite was Sketchout, a Breakout-like game with great visuals and music, though with some nice twists on the original game that make it a challenge over its originator.
As the winner, Stravid will be shipped off to GDC and IGF as well as a tour of Mozilla HQ.
The winners and the 150+ entrants below.
Game On Winners @ Mozilla Labs
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