14 DAY TRIAL // The web is becoming increasingly powerful and, with things like HTML5 Canvas and WebGL, rich graphics and therefore games are becoming a reality.
But games need more than graphics to work. This is why there have been a lot of demos showcasing what WebGL and Canvas, in terms of graphics, can do, but few actual working games.
They're coming though. Browser makers recognize that game developers need more functionality before they can create web games that rival native ones.
Mozilla for example, is working on a game engine based on WebGL but also other components, like a joystick API and a Mouse Lock API.
These will enable game developers to create an immersive experience and, more importantly, offer great controls for their games, many of which need a precise input method, driving games, FPS' and anything in between.
These are all part of the Paladin project at Mozilla, which aims to create a gaming framework for the web and Firefox in particular.
Google is not falling behind either, in fact, it's moving ahead in some areas, for example, in the latest Chrome dev release plugins will be able to lock the mouse if they go into full screen mode.
This will disable the regular mouse cursor and enable apps to use it as a first person shooter would.
It only works for Native Client and Pepper plugins, of which there aren't that many around, but it's a first step towards solid support for browser games.
Granted, support for all of the things a proper game would need in Chrome and Firefox is early stage to say the least. That said, Chrome and Firefox are the most advanced browsers around in this area. Opera 12 will get WebGL support, but it's only in the alpha stage at this point.
That said, things are moving quite fast and it's safe to say that 2012 will be the year that games built for the web, running in browsers will be able to compete on almost any level with regular, native games. Because if WebGL doesn't cut it yet, there's always the new Flash 11 with hardware accelerated 3D graphics.