Top 5 HTML5 Tutorials for Game Development

html5 tutorials

With Flash having one foot in the grave, and many web platforms and browsers dropping support of Flash in the near future, many content creators are moving on to other methods for game and interactive content creation. While Unity is quickly rising in popularity, HTML5 has many built in ways to create interactive elements to implement in website designs, including games. While it all sounds very promising, learning HTML5 isn’t the easiest thing to learn, especially when trying to teach yourself. Luckily, there are plenty of tutorials out there that help teach HTML5 game development. Here are a few of the best tutorials out there for learning HTML5 for game development, as well as just general techniques for HTML5.

Ed X Tutorial

This is one of the better tutorials to start off with, especially if you’re unsure how much you want to commit to HTML5. The course is free to take, so you can pick it up risk free, and if you end up hating HTML5, all you’ve really lost is a little bit of time. This course will teach you a variety of coding staples, such as how to use image and audio tags, how to embed video and create web animation, as well as how to properly use the new simplified HTML5 tags. You’ll also learn about basic web structure, proper web storage, as well as geolocation. The only thing really required going into this course is some basic knowledge of HTML, essentially how to set up an HTML document. The course also touches on things like Java and CSS, but has general review and refreshers for those either rusty or new to the subject. There are also tutorials for Java and CSS on Ed X as well if you end up wanting to learn more about it. You can also become certified in HTML5 for an additional $129 USD through the course if you so choose.
The Ed X course can be found here

Code Academy

Code Academy has a variety of great resources for learning HTML5. It’s free to sign up to Code Academy, but you’ll have to provide your email, or log in using Google or Facebook. The HTML5 course takes about 10 hours, and teaches you everything from the basics to advanced concepts such as creating interactive elements (which with a little creativity can be used for HTML5 game development). Most of the Code Academy’s other courses usually range from 2-4 hours, so the HTML5 course is fairly intensive.
The link to Code Academy can be found here

Microsoft Learn

Microsoft Learn is a great resource for learning new skills regarding computers, and HTML5 is certainly one of them. With a huge database of tutorials and quick how-to guides, it’s great for both picking up basics as well as learning something more specific. The biggest downside of Microsoft Learn is that while there are some learning paths, most deal with Microsoft Software that assists with coding HTML or other products, making finding a straight HTML5 curriculum a bit difficult. It is completely free to use though, so if you’re looking to learn something specific or aren’t looking for something to teach you everything from the ground up then it’s a great place to try.

Lynda

Lynda.com offers a plethora of courses on near limitless topics, HTML5 being one of them. While it does offer a few free lessons to learn the basics and get started, you’ll need to get a paid membership to really get much out of the tutorials. They often offer promotions for a free month, with monthly fees ranging from $20-$30 depending on if you pay monthly or annually. Paying a higher membership fee will also give you access to course documents and practice files to download, though there is no real evaluation of your work so you’d have to turn to other communities to get more in-depth feedback.
You can find the link to the main site here

General Assembly Dash

Similar to Code Academy, General Assembly Dash offers a wide variety of HTML courses and mostly is geared towards courses in computer coding and web design. Their courses are generally more geared to practical application rather than simply learning the concepts, which is great as you’re making projects that could actually have a purpose out in the real world while you learn. They also offer an online course with mentorship, culminating in becoming certified by the end of it once you complete the basic projects, though the mentored course isn’t free.

While there are plenty of places to look in terms of learning HTML5 for game development, the above are great places to start. I’d recommend trying out the free classes to see which teaching style you prefer, and which have the resources that will best support your learning needs, and then try a month of the paid subscription for the sites that do require it.