Browser APIs

WebGPU

Next-gen GPU API. Compute shaders, modern rendering pipeline, ML inference on the GPU. Successor to WebGL.

Build: 3D games, particle systems, GPU-driven physics

WebGL 2

OpenGL ES 3.0 in the browser. Stable, universal. Powers Three.js, Babylon.js, PixiJS, and most browser games.

Build: 3D games, racing, flight sims, FPS

Canvas 2D

Immediate-mode 2D drawing. Fast, simple, everywhere. The engine behind Snake, Pong, Asteroids, and platformers.

Build: Arcade games, puzzle games, card games

OffscreenCanvas

Render canvas in a Web Worker — no jank on the main thread. Critical for complex games and physics simulations.

Build: Heavy rendering, physics engines, procedural generation

View Transitions

Animated page transitions with a single CSS rule. Smooth transitions between game menus and screens.

Build: Polished menu systems, level select screens

Gamepad API

Xbox, PlayStation, and generic controllers. Vibration, analog sticks, buttons. Plug in and play.

Build: Console-quality controls for racing, fighting, platformers

Pointer Lock

Hide the cursor and get raw mouse movement. Essential for first-person and mouse-look cameras.

Build: FPS, flight sims, 3D exploration

Touch Events

Multi-touch support. Pinch, swipe, rotate — mobile-native input for mobile-first games.

Build: Mobile arcade, puzzle, card games

Vibration API

Haptic feedback on mobile devices. Buzz on impact, pulse on score, rumble on explosion.

Build: Tactile feedback for mobile games

Accelerometer & Gyroscope

Motion and orientation sensors. Tilt-to-steer, device-as-controller, motion-controlled gameplay.

Build: Tilt racing, marble maze, balance games

Web Audio API

Professional audio graph. Spatial 3D audio, real-time effects, synthesis, mixing. No plugins needed.

Build: Sound effects, spatial audio, music, procedural audio

AudioWorklet

Custom audio processing on a dedicated thread. Sample-level DSP without blocking the game loop.

Build: Custom synthesizers, real-time audio effects, voice chat

Speech Synthesis

Text-to-speech with multiple voices and languages. Narration, accessibility, NPC dialogue.

Build: Narrated adventures, accessible games, voice feedback

WebAssembly (WASM)

Run C, C++, Rust, Go at near-native speed. Port existing game engines to the browser. Unity and Godot use WASM.

Build: Physics engines, game engine ports, emulators

Web Workers

Background threads. Run AI, pathfinding, physics, and procedural generation without blocking the game loop.

Build: AI opponents, world generation, pathfinding

SharedArrayBuffer

Shared memory between workers. Enables true multi-threading with atomics for game engines.

Build: Multi-threaded game engines, real-time physics

WASM SIMD

Single Instruction, Multiple Data. Process 4+ values in one CPU cycle. Critical for physics, collision, and particle systems.

Build: Particle systems, collision detection, matrix math

requestAnimationFrame

V-synced game loop. 60fps (or 120fps) with automatic throttling when the tab is hidden.

Build: Every game that renders frames

WebSocket

Full-duplex persistent connection. Turn-based multiplayer, chat, live game state sync.

Build: Turn-based multiplayer, chat, lobbies

WebRTC

Peer-to-peer data channels. Low-latency multiplayer without a server in the middle.

Build: Real-time multiplayer, P2P game state, voice chat

WebTransport

HTTP/3-based transport. Unreliable datagrams for action games — lower latency than WebSocket.

Build: Fast-paced multiplayer, real-time action games

IndexedDB

Structured client-side database. Save game state, player profiles, level progress. No size limit (quota-managed).

Build: Save systems, offline levels, asset caching

Origin Private File System

High-performance file storage in a sandboxed file system. Cache large assets like textures and audio.

Build: Asset pipelines, replay storage, user-generated content

Cache API + Service Worker

Cache game assets for instant load and offline play. The foundation of installable PWA games.

Build: Offline games, instant-loading PWAs

Fullscreen API

Go fullscreen. Essential for immersive games. One click, total focus.

Build: Any game that benefits from immersion

Screen Wake Lock

Prevent the screen from dimming or locking during gameplay.

Build: Mobile games, idle games, long sessions

Web Share API

Native share sheet. Share scores, screenshots, and replays to any app.

Build: Score sharing, replay sharing, social features

Push Notifications

Real push notifications — even when the game isn't open. Daily challenges, turn reminders, leaderboard updates.

Build: Daily challenges, turn-based notifications

Clipboard API

Copy and paste. Share puzzle codes, seed values, or game state as text.

Build: Wordle-style result sharing, level codes

2D Arcade

Snake, Pac-Man, Breakout, Asteroids, Frogger. Canvas 2D + requestAnimationFrame + Web Audio.

3D Games

Racing, bowling, billiards, flight sims. WebGL 2 + Three.js or Babylon.js + physics engines.

Puzzle & Board

Chess, checkers, 2048, Sudoku, Wordle, Minesweeper. DOM or Canvas + touch + save state.

Card Games

Solitaire, Memory, Blackjack, War. CSS transforms + drag & drop + smooth animations.

Multiplayer

Turn-based (chess, checkers) or real-time (racing, shooters). WebSocket + WebRTC + Durable Objects.

Retro & Emulation

Run classic console games via WASM-compiled emulators. Game Boy, NES, SNES — in a tab.