GameSnacks: Web-based HTML5 Games for Low End Phones by Area 120

GameSnacks are HTML5-based browser games designed for quick loading and capable of running on low-end smartphones with slow connections, developed by Area 120.

While Area 120 is a workshop within Google that help to rapidly build new products in an entrepreneurial environment. It is a hub where Googlers spend 100% of their time on 20% of projects. GameSnacks is part of Area 120, Google’s lab experimental projects, to make HTML5 games accessible for low-end phones on slow networks around the world.

Unfortunately, many web-based games don’t load quickly on low memory devices, such as 2G or 3G network devices that millions of people rely on today. GameSnacks seeks to solve this problem with games that are fast, easy to play, and available on any device that can connect to the internet.

How GameSnacks HTML5 Games are easy to play and fast loading?

Typically, web-based game loads slowly on a 1 GB RAM phone on a 3G network, which is what millions of people around the world are currently using as main mobile device.

GameSnacks HTML5 Games load within a few seconds in any slow network conditions, even on networks slower than 1 Mbps. For instance, a popular GameSnacks game called Tower, is ready to play on 1 GB RAM device connected to 3G quickly. The Area 120 team achieved the fast performance by reducing the size of the initially-loaded HTML page, by compressing additional assets such as images, scripts, and sounds, and loading them only when necessary.

GameSnacks games will soon arrive into the Gojek ecosystem through GoGames, which is a leading mobile technology platform in Southeast Asia that is focused on removing life’s daily frictions.

Earlier Application of HTML5 Games Development

The earliest application of HTML5 Games is perhaps that of Wooga, a German company that specialized in Social Games, with Wooga's Pocket Island launched in 2012; which project aimed to push HTML5 Games into new territory and create the worlds biggest game ever.

But the project inadvertently hit the rock. What would have translated as the most advanced game title for the emerging web development standard, HTML5, was not to be or better, was set for the future.

The company labeled the project "failed" and subsequently tagged the emerging web standard, HTML5, not ready for serious game development.

But that has all changed, as the emerging standard, HTML5 is super-ready now for mobile game development. Besides mobile, GameSnacks games also work on both touch PC’s mouse and keyboard; and you don’t need any set of instructions to play the games.