A Case For Browser Games

The early 2000s internet was vastly different to today - not just in terms of content and culture, but the very technology it ran on was much simpler, with a higher barrier to entry for anyone wanting to develop software for it. Websites would often render differently depending on the browser you were using, or not at all. Thankfully, over time these differences have been smoothed out, web standards (despite being a hodgepodge of disparate precursors) became widely adopted across all major browsers, and those browsers were themselves adapted to and adopted by many hardware platforms.

And so, despite the shaky foundations, web standards became a kind of lingua franca for today’s technology landscape - if you want your games to be as widely playable as possible, building them with web technologies is your best bet.

Enter, the browser game.

These games, often freely available and easy to run regardless of hardware, embody four elements that bring in and retain a massive player base to this day. These elements aren’t the only deciding factor of a game’s success, but they do lay the foundations for developers to deliver some of the most memorable, impactful, and innovative games available today. In no particular order, let’s discuss these elements:

Portability

To play a browser game, it first needs to run in a browser - shocking revelation, I know. Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and to a lesser extent Apple’s Safari and Microsoft Edge are the four major players in the browser industry - while others do exist, they’re generally forks of either Chrome or Firefox (Ladybird is the only truly independent browser of any note, and even this is not yet fit for purpose).

Knowing this, developers can work on their games with little concern about corner cases and incompatibilities, as each browser is guaranteed to support 99.9% of features, and the games will automatically work correctly across hundreds if not thousands of platforms - I wouldn’t be surprised if most games are fully functional on LG smart fridges or washing machines.

Accessibility

This is somewhat related to, but distinct from, the first element. For the average gamer, buying a specialized game console is a major investment, and not everyone is capable of buying one console let alone multiple. Spending that much on entertainment alone is itself a major hurdle - but, if they could use the device for other purposes like a desktop computer, that investment becomes much more palatable.

So, while not everyone will have a game console, it’s remarkably common for at least one computer or mobile phone (ahem “cell phone”) to be found in the average household. Even people who wouldn’t call themselves gamers now have access to a myriad of online games through the browsers, and these “casual” gamers are just as valid an audience as anyone else.

Price

Most browser games are freely available, paying for server hosting by selling ad space on the pages’ margins - there are whole sites dedicated to hosting smaller flash games and providing them for free using this model.

Some larger games may offer a combination of free and paid-for content, or a subscription service to unlock the full game - RuneScape is a prime example of this, developed by a sizable studio, and has boasted considerable player counts since its release in 2001. Notably, while premium-only games do exist, they are much fewer.

Finally, some smaller indie games are supported entirely through player donations, particularly in PBBG communities (see below).

Community

This one is a more niche element, as a multiplayer aspect is often needed for a sustained community to develop - but one specific subgenre of browser games called “Persistent Browser Based Games” (or PBBG for short) thrives using this model. Close and constant feedback and communication between the players and developers leads to a feeling of community that most major games simply lack - some MMOs may capture the same feeling, they still rely on a subscription model to operate, whereas community-driven games are fueled and funded by the community directly.

Some communities date back decades - these people have shared histories, in-jokes and mutual understandings that is hard to capture, but vitally important for many smaller games to survive in the modern era.

Conclusion

Many developers got their start with browser games, and many more craft rich, engaging experiences for their players here. Not every game needs to be a massive production with 4K graphics, nor should they. Often, the most interesting and novel ideas come from these free online games that cater to an underserved but vibrant audience.

Addendum: This post was drafted a couple months ago with the intent of publishing on Game Wisdom. That never came to be, but I appreciate Josh putting up with my flakey attempts at finding commission work - he’s a pretty good dude.

When I’m not looking for alternative froms of income, I can usually be found on Bluesky or Discord. If you’d like to show your support, I also have a Patreon, and I’d love a Coffee via Ko-fi.

Games & Software

• Stepwise: Gates of Yendor (WIP)
• Toylang (v2, WIP)
• Potion School
• Egg Trainer (former owner)
• Candy Raid: The Factory
• Fiends, Foils & Fallen
• Waterlogged
• Keep It Alive
• Mementos
• MERN-template
• sineQL

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