I want to use a JavaScript game engine to ease the transition from scratch to a proper game engine. I have some experiment of JavaScript from a coding club I went to.
Jumping from Scratch to a Javascript framework is ambitious, I think it would be smart to go with something lighter and more similar to Scratch. To my knowledge there aren't any JavaScript engines out there, just frameworks. On it's own, frameworks have no user interface for level editing or anything, it's just code. Javascript can be rough to work with, but if you're set on it then Kaboom.js seems like a great option.
Don't be afraid to check out engines that require you to use other languages, your experience with Javascript will help you pick up it up.
Response to What JavaScript game engine should I use? 2022-11-08 23:03:03 (edited 2022-11-08 23:04:13)
At 11/3/22 11:12 PM, BobbyBurt wrote:Jumping from Scratch to a Javascript framework is ambitious, I think it would be smart to go with something lighter and more similar to Scratch. To my knowledge there aren't any JavaScript engines out there, just frameworks. On it's own, frameworks have no user interface for level editing or anything, it's just code. Javascript can be rough to work with, but if you're set on it then Kaboom.js seems like a great option.
Don't be afraid to check out engines that require you to use other languages, your experience with Javascript will help you pick up it up.
I believe that while GDevelop is block-oriented like Scratch, it also allows you to add code blocks written in JS, so it might allow you the smoothest transition away from Scratch, not to mention that it's also free. However, If you want to try your hand at coding purely in JS then I second trying out, Kaboom.js or Phaser.js.
Also, there's RPG Maker MV and Animate CC which both allow you to work in JS, although they are more code-heavy than GDevelop and aren't free either.
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Among the options the other's have listed, there's also a few more that are pretty good from my experience:
Babylon.js is a full 3D engine AND framework. It's not the MOST beginner friendly, but it's powerful and has some amazing editors, tools, and community resources. One of my favorites at the moment.
PlayCanvas I haven't used myself but I've heard really good things about it, and it appears to have a free tier somewhat similar to Unity but just a bit more restricted.
Web Game Dev - Not an engine, but an awesome place to start researching web & JavaScript games! The people that run this site, also have a Discord community and they're all wonderful folks.
Cheers and good luck!
