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I'm developing a football management game.

It is to be browser based.

For the moment a turn based strategy that in the future I'd like to develop with more javascript interactivity.

I am competent with mySql and Php set ups and currently the game logic is set out for Php. (where the ball is, where the player should be etc etc)

But as it is my first game I'm not sure how to render the information as a sequence of animations?

Shall I look into SVG and XML manipulation? Then output it as frames?

Let me know if I am asking the wrong questions or info is lacking.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Here's the only advice I can give you at this point: just do it. Do your worst, then make it better. \$\endgroup\$ Commented Jun 13, 2012 at 20:28
  • \$\begingroup\$ @knight, but how? Gimme just a program or process to google! SVG on the fly isn't industry standard is it? What is considered a normal solution to this set up? \$\endgroup\$ Commented Jun 13, 2012 at 20:45
  • \$\begingroup\$ Applicable searchterms: HTML5, Silverlight, Flash. DHTML or CSS animations can also be used but HTML5 has better support for game making and works fine on modern browsers. \$\endgroup\$ Commented Jun 13, 2012 at 22:34
  • \$\begingroup\$ Oh cheers! I get the php to write html and output!? That easy?! Going HTML5 sounds great, are there any HTML elements or CSS selectors that are a good launching point? \$\endgroup\$ Commented Jun 13, 2012 at 22:40
  • \$\begingroup\$ HTML5 Canvas element, then Javascript to draw the game on the canvas and XmlWebRequest or web sockets to communicate with the server backend. Its not a silver bullet for game making, but it can be used to make quite advanced games and is a good starting point when you have been working with the web prior to making games. \$\endgroup\$ Commented Jun 13, 2012 at 23:47

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When moving from a webserver background into gameprogramming it can be a natural first step to make a game with HTML5, this allows you to leverage your prior knowledge about HTML and Javascript. Other possibilities would be Silverlight or Flash.

To get started with an HTML5 game, look up the Canvas element and some gamerelated tutorials, you can use XmlWebRequest or the HTML5 Web Sockets to connect to your backend to make fairly advanced games before you need to look at other technologies.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Thanks! I'm watching some vids (for example this basic intro to canvas and games youtube.com/watch?v=MjlHWP7RLTc ) thanks for the help, keywords & reassurance! \$\endgroup\$ Commented Jun 14, 2012 at 6:40
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I think there are a lot of possible implementations. Some which I can think of (but I do not necessarily recommend any of them)

  1. Render the pitch serve-side as a sequence of images (e.g. PNG) and animate them using client-script.

  2. Send vector information (somehow) to the client, with time-data, and have the client render it using SVG

  3. As (2) except render it using a canvas element

  4. As (2) render it using other HTML elements (not canvas or SVG)

The first option is attractive as it means you need minimal client-side programming (i.e. complexity) and the game will appear the same on every device. On the other hand, it's very bandwidth inefficient and will use more server resources to render many frames.

I would personally not recommend SVG as it has rather limited client-support, particularly on non-desktop browsers. Canvas has widespread support for its core features (albeit very variable performance)

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Thanks, good thoughts, I'm thinking your No 3 will be my initial choice. Not enough points to give you a +1 too sorry. \$\endgroup\$ Commented Jun 14, 2012 at 10:24

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