Talking about Wordle game, Game development, HTML5, Javascript, Phaser and TypeScript.
I hope you are enjoying the series about Wordle game.
In first step I showed you how to handle keyboard input and result management.
In second step we saw how to add a virtual keyboard.
In third step I added the game board and improved virtual keyboard layout.
In fourth step I added Bootstrap DOM elements to create an in-game menu to select game mode and display statistics.
Now, we are going to try another way to display Bootstrap – or any other UI framework – elements in a Phaser game.
What if we build a page with a Bootstrap toolbar and the game, with the game having listeners on Bootstrap menu items?
Look at the example:
First, let me explain what you are seeing:
The top black toolbar with the red dropdown menu are outside Phaser game, which starts right below the toolbar and fills the 100% of the remaining vertical space.
Use the keyboard to write the word. You can play with your physical keyboard, using Backspace to delete the last letter, Enter to submit the word or Space to restart the game with a new randomly picked word.
Also, the big menu allows you to play with the word of the day, with a random word or to visit my site. Stats option opens a modal which is outside Phaser game.
If you are reading this post with a mobile device, you can see it in action directly from this link.
Doing this way rather than embedding the DOM directly into Phaser game allows you to keep things separated, and there isn’t a best way in my opinion, but it’s good to see both ways.
Let’s have a look at the assets used in the prototype:
bigfont.fnt and bigfont.png: respectively the XML information and the image of the big font.
bigkey.png: a sprite sheet containing Enter and Delete keys.
box.png: sprite sheet the box where to write the each letter of the word.
font.fnt and font.png: respectively the XML information and the image of the small font.
key.png: sprite sheeet of the virtual keyboard key.
words.json: the list of allowed words.
And now, the completely commented source code, which is made up by one html file, one css file and 11 TypeScript files.
index.html
The web page which hosts the game, to be run inside thegame element, with also all Bootstrap UI including the toolbar, the dropdown menu and the modal box.
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta name="viewport" content="initial-scale=1, maximum-scale=1">
<script src="https://code.jquery.com/jquery-3.5.1.slim.min.js" integrity="sha256-4+XzXVhsDmqanXGHaHvgh1gMQKX40OUvDEBTu8JcmNs=" crossorigin="anonymous"></script>
<link href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/bootstrap@5.0.0-beta1/dist/css/bootstrap.min.css" rel="stylesheet" integrity="sha384-giJF6kkoqNQ00vy+HMDP7azOuL0xtbfIcaT9wjKHr8RbDVddVHyTfAAsrekwKmP1" crossorigin="anonymous">
<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/bootstrap@5.0.0-beta1/dist/js/bootstrap.bundle.min.js" integrity="sha384-ygbV9kiqUc6oa4msXn9868pTtWMgiQaeYH7/t7LECLbyPA2x65Kgf80OJFdroafW" crossorigin="anonymous"></script>
<link rel = 'stylesheet' href = 'style.css'>
<script src = 'main.js'></script>
</head>
<body>
<div class="wrapper">
<div>
<nav class="navbar navbar-expand navbar-dark bg-dark">
<div class="container-fluid" id="contentcontainer">
<ul class="navbar-nav me-auto mb-2 mb-lg-0">
<li class="nav-item dropdown">
<button type="button" class="btn btn-danger dropdown-toggle rounded-0" data-bs-toggle="dropdown">
Menu
</button>
<ul class="dropdown-menu">
<li><a href="javascript:void(0);" class="dropdown-item" id="day">Word of the Day</a></li>
<li><a href="javascript:void(0);" class="dropdown-item" id="rnd">Random Word</a></li>
<li><a href="javascript:void(0);" class="dropdown-item" id="stats" data-bs-toggle="modal" data-bs-target="#statsmodal">Stats</a></li>
<li><hr class="dropdown-divider"></li>
<li><a class="dropdown-item" href="https://emanueleferonato.com/">Developed by Emanuele Feronato</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<span class="navbar-text">
Bootstrap toolbar
</span>
</div>
</nav>
</div>
<div id="thegame"></div>
</div>
<div class="modal fade" id="statsmodal" data-bs-backdrop="static" data-bs-keyboard="false" tabindex="-1">
<div class="modal-dialog">
<div class="modal-content">
<div class="modal-header">
<h5 class="modal-title" id="staticBackdropLabel">Game stats</h5>
<button type="button" class="btn-close" data-bs-dismiss="modal" aria-label="Close"></button>
</div>
<div class="modal-body" id="modalbody">
</div>
<div class="modal-footer">
<button type="button" class="btn btn-secondary" data-bs-dismiss="modal">Close</button>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</body>
</html>
style.css
The style sheet of the main web page, look how we use a flex display with column direction to make Phaser game cover the remaining area.
* {
padding : 0;
margin : 0;
}
canvas {
touch-action : none;
-ms-touch-action : none;
}
.wrapper, html, body {
height : 100%;
margin : 0;
}
.wrapper {
display : flex;
flex-direction : column;
}
.navbar-dark .navbar-text {
color : rgba(255, 255, 255, 1);
}
gameOptions.ts
Configurable game options.
// CONFIGURABLE GAME OPTIONS
// possible game modes
// random word: a word randomly picked from words array
// word of the day: a word picked according to current date
export enum gameMode {
RANDOM_WORD,
WORD_OF_THE_DAY
}
export const GameOptions = {
// number of rows, that is the amount of tries to guess the word
rows : 6,
// vertical position of the first row, starting from the top of the screen
firstRowY : 150
}
main.ts
This is where the game is created, with all Phaser related options.
// MAIN GAME FILE
// modules to import
import Phaser from 'phaser';
import { PreloadAssets } from './preloadAssets';
import { PlayGame } from './playGame';
import { Container } from './container';
import { MenuHandler } from './menuHandler';
// object to initialize the Scale Manager
const scaleObject : Phaser.Types.Core.ScaleConfig = {
mode : Phaser.Scale.FIT,
autoCenter : Phaser.Scale.CENTER_BOTH,
parent : 'thegame',
width : 700,
height : 1244
}
// game configuration object
const configObject : Phaser.Types.Core.GameConfig = {
type : Phaser.AUTO,
backgroundColor : 0xffffff,
scale : scaleObject,
scene : [PreloadAssets, Container, MenuHandler, PlayGame]
}
// the game itself
new Phaser.Game(configObject);
preloadAssets.ts
Here we preload all assets to be used in the game, such as the JSON object with all words, the images and the bitmap fonts.
// CLASS TO PRELOAD ASSETS
// this class extends Scene class
export class PreloadAssets extends Phaser.Scene {
// constructor
constructor() {
super({
key : 'PreloadAssets'
});
}
// method to be execute during class preloading
preload(): void {
// this is how we preload a JSON object
this.load.json('words', 'assets/words.json');
// preload images
this.load.spritesheet('key', 'assets/key.png', {
frameWidth: 70,
frameHeight: 90
});
this.load.spritesheet('bigkey', 'assets/bigkey.png', {
frameWidth: 105,
frameHeight: 90
});
this.load.spritesheet('box', 'assets/box.png', {
frameWidth: 100,
frameHeight: 100
});
// this is how we preload a bitmap font
this.load.bitmapFont('font', 'assets/font.png', 'assets/font.fnt');
this.load.bitmapFont('bigfont', 'assets/bigfont.png', 'assets/bigfont.fnt');
}
// method to be called once the instance has been created
create(): void {
// call PlayGame class
this.scene.start('Container');
}
}
container.ts
This scene is the main scene and acts as a container for two subscenes: one with the game itself and one with the code to handle external Bootstrap events.
It’s a good idea to keep these two scripts separated, just in case you decide to remove the Bootstrap part and change with some other framework.
Another example about combining more scenes can be found reading the post Understanding Phaser capability of running multiple Scenes simoultaneously with a real world example: continous particle scrolling background while main Scene restarts.
// CLASS TO CONTAIN THE GAME
// this class extends Scene class
export class Container extends Phaser.Scene {
// constructor
constructor() {
super({
key : 'Container'
});
}
// method to be called once the scene has been created
create(): void {
// this is how we launch a scene
this.scene.launch('PlayGame');
this.scene.launch('MenuHandler');
}
}
menuHandler.ts
All the code to handle Bootstrap events is placed here, as well as a snippet to horizontally resize the navbar to match the width of the Phaser game.
// CLASS TO HANDLE EXTERNAL MENU
import { gameMode } from './gameOptions';
// this class extends Scene class
export class MenuHandler extends Phaser.Scene {
// constructor
constructor() {
super({
key : 'MenuHandler'
});
}
// method to be called once the scene has been created
create(): void {
// resize upper Boostrap menu
this.resizeMenu();
// this is how we manage clicks on "Word of the Day" button
let wordOfTheDayButton : HTMLElement = document.getElementById('day') as HTMLElement;
wordOfTheDayButton.addEventListener('click', this.startWordOfTheDay.bind(this));
// this is how we manage clicks on "Random Word" button
let randomWordButton : HTMLElement = document.getElementById('rnd') as HTMLElement;
randomWordButton.addEventListener('click', this.startRandom.bind(this));
// this is how we manage clicks on "Stats" button
let statsButton : HTMLElement = document.getElementById('stats') as HTMLElement;
statsButton.addEventListener('click', this.displayStats.bind(this));
// resize listener, to call resizeMenu method each time the game is resized
this.scale.on('resize', this.resizeMenu, this);
}
// method to be called each time the menu is resized
resizeMenu() : void {
// get actual game width
let actualGameWidth : number = this.game.scale.displaySize.width;
// get navbar element by its id
let navbar : HTMLElement = document.getElementById('contentcontainer') as HTMLElement;
// resize navbar
navbar.style.width = Math.max(300, actualGameWidth).toString() + 'px';
}
// method to start the game in "word of the day" mode
startWordOfTheDay() : void {
// this is how we can pass parameters to a scene
this.scene.start('PlayGame', {
game : gameMode.WORD_OF_THE_DAY
});
}
// method to start the game in "random" mode
startRandom() : void {
// this is how we can pass parameters to a scene
this.scene.start('PlayGame', {
game : gameMode.RANDOM_WORD
});
}
// method to display statistics in the Bootstrap modal
displayStats() : void {
// get inner modal element by its id
let modalElement : HTMLElement = document.getElementById('modalbody') as HTMLElement;
// inject html
modalElement.innerHTML = 'Here we\'ll place the stats<br />This content has been injected by Phaser';
}
}
playGame.ts
Main game file, where we handle input and result management.
// THE GAME ITSELF
import KeyboardKey from './keyboardKey';
import { GameOptions, gameMode } from './gameOptions';
import { GameGrid } from './gameGrid';
// possible word states:
// perfect, when the letter is in the right position
// correct, when the letter exists but it's not in the right position
// wrong, when the letter does not exist
enum letterState {
WRONG = 1,
CORRECT,
PERFECT
}
// keyboard layout, as a string array, each item is a row of keys
// > represents Enter
// < represents Backspace
const keyboardLayout : string[] = ['QWERTYUIOP','ASDFGHJKL','>ZXCVBNM<'];
// this class extends Scene class
export class PlayGame extends Phaser.Scene {
// array with all possible words
words : string[];
// string where to store the current word
currentWord : string;
// string where to store the word to guess
wordToGuess : string;
// variable where to store game width
gameWidth : number;
// main game grid
gameGrid : GameGrid;
// virtual keyboard, as an array of KeyboardKey instances
virtualKeyboard : KeyboardKey[][];
// constructor
constructor() {
super({
key: 'PlayGame'
});
}
// method to be executed when the scene initialises
init(mode : any) : void {
// store JSON loaded words into words array
this.words = this.cache.json.get('words');
// different actions to do according to game mode
// I am using a "switch" rather than an "if...then" because I plan to add more game modes
switch (mode.game) {
// no game mode defined, or "word of the day" mode
case undefined :
case gameMode.WORD_OF_THE_DAY :
// set the random seed according to current date
let seed : string[] = Array(new Date().toISOString().split("T")[0]);
// set Phaser seed
Phaser.Math.RND.sow(seed);
// pick a random word, with the known seed
this.wordToGuess = this.words[Phaser.Math.RND.between(0, this.words.length - 1)].toUpperCase();
break;
// "random word" mode
case gameMode.RANDOM_WORD :
this.wordToGuess = Phaser.Utils.Array.GetRandom(this.words).toUpperCase();
}
}
// method to be executed when the scene has been created
create() : void {
// set gameWidth to actual game width
this.gameWidth = this.game.config.width as number;
// at the beginning, current word is empty
this.currentWord = '';
// let's display somewhere the word to guess
console.log(this.wordToGuess);
// initialize virtual keyboard
this.virtualKeyboard = [];
// loop through keyboardLayout array
keyboardLayout.forEach((row : string, index : number) => {
// initialize virtual keyboard row
this.virtualKeyboard[index] = [];
// determine position of key sprites
// some values are still hardcoded, and need to be optimized
let rowWidth : number = 70 * row.length;
let firstKeyPosition : number = (this.game.config.width as number - rowWidth) / 2;
// loop through string
for (let i : number = 0; i < row.length; i ++) {
// get the i-th character
let letter : string = row.charAt(i);
// add the keyboard key
this.virtualKeyboard[index][i] = new KeyboardKey(this, firstKeyPosition + i * 70 - (letter == '>' ? 35 : 0), 900 + index * 90, row.charAt(i));
}
});
// add the game grid
this.gameGrid = new GameGrid(this, GameOptions.rows, (this.gameWidth - 540) / 2, GameOptions.firstRowY);
// waiting for keyboard input
this.input.keyboard.on('keydown', this.onKeyDown, this);
}
// method to process a key pressed
onKeyDown(e : KeyboardEvent) : void {
// store key pressed in key variable
var key : string = e.key;
// if the key is space, restart the game
if (key == ' ') {
this.scene.start('PlayGame', {
gameMode : 2
});
return;
}
// backspace
if (key == 'Backspace') {
this.updateWord('<');
return;
}
// regular expression saying "I want one letter"
const regex = /^[a-zA-Z]{1}$/;
// letter a-z or A-Z
if (regex.test(key)) {
this.updateWord(key);
return;
}
// enter
if (key == 'Enter') {
this.updateWord('>');
}
}
//method to be called each time we need to update a word
updateWord(s : string) : void {
switch(s) {
// backsace
case '<' :
// if the word has at least one character, remove the last character
if (this.currentWord.length > 0) {
// remove last current word character
this.currentWord = this.currentWord.slice(0, -1);
// call gameGrid's removeLetter method
this.gameGrid.removeLetter();
}
break;
// enter
case '>' :
// if the word is 5 characters long, proceed to verify the result
if (this.currentWord.length == 5) {
// if the word is a valid word, proceed to verify the result
if (this.words.includes(this.currentWord.toLowerCase())) {
// at the beginning we se the result as a series of wrong characters
let result : number[] = Array(5).fill(letterState.WRONG);
// creation of a temp string with the word to guess
let tempWord : string = this.wordToGuess;
// loop through all word characters
for (let i : number = 0; i < 5; i ++) {
// do i-th char of the current word and i-th car of the word to guess match?
if (this.currentWord.charAt(i) == tempWord.charAt(i)) {
// this is a PERFECT result
result[i] = letterState.PERFECT;
// remove the i-th character from temp word
tempWord = this.removeChar(tempWord, i);
}
// i-th char of the current word and i-th car of the word to guess do not match
else {
// loop through all character of the word to guess
for (let j : number = 0; j < 5; j ++) {
// do i-th char of the current word and j-th car of the word to guess match,
// and don't j-th char of the current word and j-th car of the word to guess match?
if (this.currentWord.charAt(i) == this.wordToGuess.charAt(j) && this.currentWord.charAt(j) != this.wordToGuess.charAt(j)) {
// this is a correct result
result[i] = letterState.CORRECT;
// remove the i-th character from temp word
tempWord = this.removeChar(tempWord, j);
break;
}
}
}
}
// loop through all result items and compose result string accordingly
result.forEach((element : number, index : number) => {
// get letter position in our virtual keyboard
let position : Phaser.Math.Vector2 = this.getLetterPosition(this.currentWord.charAt(index));
// if the key of the virtual keyboard has not already been painted, then paint it.
if (parseInt(this.virtualKeyboard[position.x][position.y].frame.name) < element) {
this.virtualKeyboard[position.x][position.y].setFrame(element);
}
});
// reset current word
this.currentWord = '';
// call gameGrid's showResult method
this.gameGrid.showResult(result);
}
}
break;
// a-z or A-Z
default :
// if the word is less than 5 characters long, remove last character
if (this.currentWord.length < 5) {
// add the letter
this.gameGrid.addLetter(s);
// update current word
this.currentWord += s.toUpperCase();
}
}
}
// method to get the position the virtual keyboard key, given a letter
getLetterPosition(letter : string) : Phaser.Math.Vector2 {
// set row to zero
let row : number = 0;
// set column to zero
let column : number = 0;
// loop though all keyboardLayout array
keyboardLayout.forEach((currentRow : string, index : number) => {
// does current row include the letter?
if (currentRow.includes(letter)) {
// set row to index
row = index;
// set column to letter position inside current row
column = currentRow.indexOf(letter);
}
})
// return the coordinate as a 2D vector
return new Phaser.Math.Vector2(row, column);
}
// simple method to change the index-th character of a string with '_'
// just to have an unmatchable character
removeChar(initialString : string, index : number) : string {
return initialString.substring(0, index) + '_' + initialString.substring(index + 1);
}
}
keyboardKey.ts
Custom class for the virtual keyboard key.
// KEYBOARD KEY CLASS
import { PlayGame } from "./playGame";
import KeyboardLetter from "./keyboardLetter";
// this class extends Sprite class
export default class KeyboardKey extends Phaser.GameObjects.Sprite {
// letter bound to the key
boundLetter : string;
// parent scene
parentScene : PlayGame;
constructor(scene : PlayGame, x : number, y : number, letter : string) {
// different image key according if it's a letter character or '<' or '>'
super(scene, x, y, '<>'.includes(letter) ? 'bigkey' : 'key');
// assign parent scene
this.parentScene = scene;
// assign bound letter
this.boundLetter = letter;
// set sprite registration point to top, left
this.setOrigin(0);
// add the sprite to the scene
scene.add.existing(this);
// set the sprite interactive
this.setInteractive();
// listener for pointer down on the sprite, to call handlePointer callback
this.on('pointerdown', this.handlePointer);
// add a keyboard letter accoring to 'letter value
switch(letter) {
// backspace
case '<' :
this.setFrame(0);
break;
// enter
case '>' :
this.setFrame(1);
break;
// normal key
default :
new KeyboardLetter(scene, x + 10, y + 10, letter, 36);
}
}
// method to be called when the user clicks or taps the letter
handlePointer() : void {
// call 'updateWord' method on parent scene
this.parentScene.updateWord(this.boundLetter);
}
}
keyboardLetter.ts
Custom class for the letter to be printed on the virtual keyboard key.
// KEYBOARD LETTER
import { PlayGame } from "./playGame";
// this class extends BitmapText class
export default class KeyboardLetter extends Phaser.GameObjects.BitmapText {
constructor(scene : PlayGame, x : number, y : number, text : string, size : number) {
super(scene, x, y, 'font', text, size);
// add the keyboard letter to the scene
scene.add.existing(this);
}
}
gameGrid.ts
This class manages the grid where players write and try to guess the word.
// GAME GRID
import BigLetterBox from './bigLetterBox';
export class GameGrid {
// current row where to write the letter
currentRow : number;
// current column where to write the letter
currentColumn : number;
// array to store all letter boxes
letterBox : BigLetterBox[][];
constructor(scene : Phaser.Scene, rows : number, firstRowX : number, firstRowY : number) {
// set current row to zero
this.currentRow = 0;
// set current column to zero
this.currentColumn = 0;
// initialize letterBox array
this.letterBox = [];
// loop from 0 to 4
for (let i: number = 0; i < 5; i ++) {
// initialize letterBox[i] array
this.letterBox[i] = [];
// loop through all rows
for (let j : number = 0; j < rows; j ++) {
// assign to letterBox[i][j] a new BigLetterBox instance
this.letterBox[i][j] = new BigLetterBox(scene, firstRowX + i * 110, firstRowY + j * 110);
}
}
}
// method to add a latter
addLetter(letter : string) : void {
// set the letter at current row and column
this.letterBox[this.currentColumn][this.currentRow].setLetter(letter);
// increase current column
this.currentColumn ++;
}
// method to remove a letter
removeLetter() : void {
// decrease current column
this.currentColumn --;
// unset the letter ant current row and column
this.letterBox[this.currentColumn][this.currentRow].setLetter('');
}
// show guess result
showResult(result : number[]) : void {
// loop through all result items
result.forEach((element : number, index : number) => {
// set letterBox frame according to element value
this.letterBox[index][this.currentRow].setFrame(element);
// paint the letter white
this.letterBox[index][this.currentRow].letterToShow.setTint(0xffffff);
});
// increase current row
this.currentRow ++;
// set current column to zero
this.currentColumn = 0;
}
}
bigLetterBox.ts
Class to mange the big letter box inside game grid.
// BIG LETTER BOX
import BigLetter from "./bigLetter";
// this class extends Sprite class
export default class BigLetterBox extends Phaser.GameObjects.Sprite {
// letter to show in the big letter box
letterToShow : BigLetter;
constructor(scene : Phaser.Scene, x : number, y : number) {
super(scene, x, y, 'box');
// set registration point to top left corner
this.setOrigin(0);
// add the letter box to the scene
scene.add.existing(this);
// calculate letter box bounds
let bounds : Phaser.Geom.Rectangle = this.getBounds();
// assign letterToShow an instance of BigLetter
this.letterToShow = new BigLetter(scene, bounds.centerX, bounds.centerY + 8);
}
// method to set the letter
setLetter(letter : string) : void {
// tint letterToShow black
this.letterToShow.setTint(0);
// set letterToShow text according to "letter" argument
this.letterToShow.setText(letter.toUpperCase());
}
}
bigLetter.ts
Custom class to manage the big letter which appears in the big letter box.
// BIG LETTER
// this class extends BitmapText class
export default class BigLetter extends Phaser.GameObjects.BitmapText {
constructor(scene : Phaser.Scene, x : number, y : number) {
super(scene, x, y, 'bigfont', '');
// set registration point to center
this.setOrigin(0.5);
// add the letter to the scene
scene.add.existing(this);
}
}
As you can see, there are two ways to use DOM objects in Phaser games, they can be included in the game itself or kept outside the game and controlled by listeners.
Which one would you use? As usual, you can download the source code of the entire project.
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