Talking about Game development, HTML5, Javascript, Phaser and TypeScript.
If you read the post Publishing HTML5 games with Phaser, webpack and Visual Studio Code and previous ones, you now should be able to configure your environment and turn your computer into a game development workstation.
All posts in this tutorial series:
Step 1: how to install Node.js and npm, and what to do with them
Step 2: how to set up a web server with Node.js, and why you should do it.
Step 3: using Visual Studio Code to develop HTML5 games with Phaser and webpack.
Step 4: how to publish and distribute your HTML5 games with Phaser and webpack.
Step 5: moving from JavaScript to TypeScript.
Now it’s time to take a new step forward: so far we have been working with JavaScript, but now we will abandon it in favor of TypeScript.
What is TypeScript?
TypeScript is a programming language developed by Microsoft.
It is a superset of JavaScript, which means that all valid JavaScript code is also valid TypeScript code, but TypeScript extends JavaScript by adding some interesting features, such as:
Static Typing, allowing developers to declare types for variables and catch type-related errors during the development process, leading to more robust and maintainable code.
Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) including classes, interfaces, and inheritance. This makes it easier to structure and organize code in a more modular and reusable way.
Interfaces, which allow developers to define contracts for object shapes. This helps in creating more predictable and maintainable code.
And let’s not forget that any TypeScript programmer can write JavaScript, but not every JavaScript programmer can write TypeScript, so why not move up a level?
To add TypeScript to our project, just enter the terminal:
npm install –save-dev typescript
This way:
Then we need to install the loader with
npm install –save-dev ts-loader
This way:
Now it’s time to init TypeScript with:
tsc -init
This way:
Everything should already work like this on the first shot, but in some cases you could get an error like the one shown above, saying the term ‘tsc’ is not recognized.
Sometimes you just need to restart Visual Studio Code and launch again the init command, but in a few cases you will have to use npx:
npx tsc .init
This way:
This time it will work without any problem.
But wait, what happened?
In theory, the above error could have been avoided by installing TypeScript globally.
The point is you should never install packages globally, as you may want each project to use a different version of the same package.
This is where npx comes to help us.
What is npx?
npx is a package runner tool that comes with npm, whose primary purpose is to execute Node.js packages directly.
It is designed to make it easy to use and execute packages from the npm registry without having to install them globally.
Were you able to install TypeScript even without npx?
Good for you, in any case now you have one more piece of information.
Problems may not be over anyway, because a new file called tsconfig.json has been created, but it could display an error like “No Inputs were found in config file”.
Never mind, we’ll fix it later, at the moment let’s have a look at tsconfig.json and change the line with strictPropertyInitialization property by removing the comment and setting it to false:
JSON
{
"compilerOptions": {
/* Visit https://aka.ms/tsconfig to read more about this file */
/* Projects */
// "incremental": true, /* Save .tsbuildinfo files to allow for incremental compilation of projects. */
// "composite": true, /* Enable constraints that allow a TypeScript project to be used with project references. */
// "tsBuildInfoFile": "./.tsbuildinfo", /* Specify the path to .tsbuildinfo incremental compilation file. */
// "disableSourceOfProjectReferenceRedirect": true, /* Disable preferring source files instead of declaration files when referencing composite projects. */
// "disableSolutionSearching": true, /* Opt a project out of multi-project reference checking when editing. */
// "disableReferencedProjectLoad": true, /* Reduce the number of projects loaded automatically by TypeScript. */
/* Language and Environment */
"target": "es2016", /* Set the JavaScript language version for emitted JavaScript and include compatible library declarations. */
// "lib": [], /* Specify a set of bundled library declaration files that describe the target runtime environment. */
// "jsx": "preserve", /* Specify what JSX code is generated. */
// "experimentalDecorators": true, /* Enable experimental support for legacy experimental decorators. */
// "emitDecoratorMetadata": true, /* Emit design-type metadata for decorated declarations in source files. */
// "jsxFactory": "", /* Specify the JSX factory function used when targeting React JSX emit, e.g. 'React.createElement' or 'h'. */
// "jsxFragmentFactory": "", /* Specify the JSX Fragment reference used for fragments when targeting React JSX emit e.g. 'React.Fragment' or 'Fragment'. */
// "jsxImportSource": "", /* Specify module specifier used to import the JSX factory functions when using 'jsx: react-jsx*'. */
// "reactNamespace": "", /* Specify the object invoked for 'createElement'. This only applies when targeting 'react' JSX emit. */
// "noLib": true, /* Disable including any library files, including the default lib.d.ts. */
// "useDefineForClassFields": true, /* Emit ECMAScript-standard-compliant class fields. */
// "moduleDetection": "auto", /* Control what method is used to detect module-format JS files. */
/* Modules */
"module": "commonjs", /* Specify what module code is generated. */
// "rootDir": "./", /* Specify the root folder within your source files. */
// "moduleResolution": "node10", /* Specify how TypeScript looks up a file from a given module specifier. */
// "baseUrl": "./", /* Specify the base directory to resolve non-relative module names. */
// "paths": {}, /* Specify a set of entries that re-map imports to additional lookup locations. */
// "rootDirs": [], /* Allow multiple folders to be treated as one when resolving modules. */
// "typeRoots": [], /* Specify multiple folders that act like './node_modules/@types'. */
// "types": [], /* Specify type package names to be included without being referenced in a source file. */
// "allowUmdGlobalAccess": true, /* Allow accessing UMD globals from modules. */
// "moduleSuffixes": [], /* List of file name suffixes to search when resolving a module. */
// "allowImportingTsExtensions": true, /* Allow imports to include TypeScript file extensions. Requires '--moduleResolution bundler' and either '--noEmit' or '--emitDeclarationOnly' to be set. */
// "resolvePackageJsonExports": true, /* Use the package.json 'exports' field when resolving package imports. */
// "resolvePackageJsonImports": true, /* Use the package.json 'imports' field when resolving imports. */
// "customConditions": [], /* Conditions to set in addition to the resolver-specific defaults when resolving imports. */
// "resolveJsonModule": true, /* Enable importing .json files. */
// "allowArbitraryExtensions": true, /* Enable importing files with any extension, provided a declaration file is present. */
// "noResolve": true, /* Disallow 'import's, 'require's or '<reference>'s from expanding the number of files TypeScript should add to a project. */
/* JavaScript Support */
// "allowJs": true, /* Allow JavaScript files to be a part of your program. Use the 'checkJS' option to get errors from these files. */
// "checkJs": true, /* Enable error reporting in type-checked JavaScript files. */
// "maxNodeModuleJsDepth": 1, /* Specify the maximum folder depth used for checking JavaScript files from 'node_modules'. Only applicable with 'allowJs'. */
/* Emit */
// "declaration": true, /* Generate .d.ts files from TypeScript and JavaScript files in your project. */
// "declarationMap": true, /* Create sourcemaps for d.ts files. */
// "emitDeclarationOnly": true, /* Only output d.ts files and not JavaScript files. */
// "sourceMap": true, /* Create source map files for emitted JavaScript files. */
// "inlineSourceMap": true, /* Include sourcemap files inside the emitted JavaScript. */
// "outFile": "./", /* Specify a file that bundles all outputs into one JavaScript file. If 'declaration' is true, also designates a file that bundles all .d.ts output. */
// "outDir": "./", /* Specify an output folder for all emitted files. */
// "removeComments": true, /* Disable emitting comments. */
// "noEmit": true, /* Disable emitting files from a compilation. */
// "importHelpers": true, /* Allow importing helper functions from tslib once per project, instead of including them per-file. */
// "importsNotUsedAsValues": "remove", /* Specify emit/checking behavior for imports that are only used for types. */
// "downlevelIteration": true, /* Emit more compliant, but verbose and less performant JavaScript for iteration. */
// "sourceRoot": "", /* Specify the root path for debuggers to find the reference source code. */
// "mapRoot": "", /* Specify the location where debugger should locate map files instead of generated locations. */
// "inlineSources": true, /* Include source code in the sourcemaps inside the emitted JavaScript. */
// "emitBOM": true, /* Emit a UTF-8 Byte Order Mark (BOM) in the beginning of output files. */
// "newLine": "crlf", /* Set the newline character for emitting files. */
// "stripInternal": true, /* Disable emitting declarations that have '@internal' in their JSDoc comments. */
// "noEmitHelpers": true, /* Disable generating custom helper functions like '__extends' in compiled output. */
// "noEmitOnError": true, /* Disable emitting files if any type checking errors are reported. */
// "preserveConstEnums": true, /* Disable erasing 'const enum' declarations in generated code. */
// "declarationDir": "./", /* Specify the output directory for generated declaration files. */
// "preserveValueImports": true, /* Preserve unused imported values in the JavaScript output that would otherwise be removed. */
/* Interop Constraints */
// "isolatedModules": true, /* Ensure that each file can be safely transpiled without relying on other imports. */
// "verbatimModuleSyntax": true, /* Do not transform or elide any imports or exports not marked as type-only, ensuring they are written in the output file's format based on the 'module' setting. */
// "allowSyntheticDefaultImports": true, /* Allow 'import x from y' when a module doesn't have a default export. */
"esModuleInterop": true, /* Emit additional JavaScript to ease support for importing CommonJS modules. This enables 'allowSyntheticDefaultImports' for type compatibility. */
// "preserveSymlinks": true, /* Disable resolving symlinks to their realpath. This correlates to the same flag in node. */
"forceConsistentCasingInFileNames": true, /* Ensure that casing is correct in imports. */
/* Type Checking */
"strict": true, /* Enable all strict type-checking options. */
// "noImplicitAny": true, /* Enable error reporting for expressions and declarations with an implied 'any' type. */
// "strictNullChecks": true, /* When type checking, take into account 'null' and 'undefined'. */
// "strictFunctionTypes": true, /* When assigning functions, check to ensure parameters and the return values are subtype-compatible. */
// "strictBindCallApply": true, /* Check that the arguments for 'bind', 'call', and 'apply' methods match the original function. */
"strictPropertyInitialization": false, /* Check for class properties that are declared but not set in the constructor. */
// "noImplicitThis": true, /* Enable error reporting when 'this' is given the type 'any'. */
// "useUnknownInCatchVariables": true, /* Default catch clause variables as 'unknown' instead of 'any'. */
// "alwaysStrict": true, /* Ensure 'use strict' is always emitted. */
// "noUnusedLocals": true, /* Enable error reporting when local variables aren't read. */
// "noUnusedParameters": true, /* Raise an error when a function parameter isn't read. */
// "exactOptionalPropertyTypes": true, /* Interpret optional property types as written, rather than adding 'undefined'. */
// "noImplicitReturns": true, /* Enable error reporting for codepaths that do not explicitly return in a function. */
// "noFallthroughCasesInSwitch": true, /* Enable error reporting for fallthrough cases in switch statements. */
// "noUncheckedIndexedAccess": true, /* Add 'undefined' to a type when accessed using an index. */
// "noImplicitOverride": true, /* Ensure overriding members in derived classes are marked with an override modifier. */
// "noPropertyAccessFromIndexSignature": true, /* Enforces using indexed accessors for keys declared using an indexed type. */
// "allowUnusedLabels": true, /* Disable error reporting for unused labels. */
// "allowUnreachableCode": true, /* Disable error reporting for unreachable code. */
/* Completeness */
// "skipDefaultLibCheck": true, /* Skip type checking .d.ts files that are included with TypeScript. */
"skipLibCheck": true /* Skip type checking all .d.ts files. */
}
}In my case you can find it at line 90, but it may vary according to your TypeScript version.
When strictPropertyInitialization property is set to true, TypeScript will raise an error when a class property was declared but not set in the constructor.
It could be quicker, sometimes, to have class properties which aren’t necessarily set in the constructor, so let’s set it to false and move on.
Now we have to convert our JavaScript file into TypeScript, and the first thing to do is to rename main.js.
In Explorer panel, right click on main.js and select Rename.
Call it main.ts, where ts is the extension used by TypeScript files:
Cool, now you have more errors, but we are going to fix them all.
First, this is the new source code of main.ts, which is basically the official Phaser example rewritten with TypeScript:
TypeScript
import 'phaser';
class PlayGame extends Phaser.Scene {
image: Phaser.GameObjects.Image;
constructor() {
super("PlayGame");
}
preload(): void {
this.load.image('logo', 'assets/phaser3-logo.png');
}
create(): void {
this.image = this.add.image(400, 300, 'logo');
}
update(): void {
this.image.rotation += 0.01;
}
}
let configObject: Phaser.Types.Core.GameConfig = {
scale: {
mode: Phaser.Scale.FIT,
autoCenter: Phaser.Scale.CENTER_BOTH,
parent: 'thegame',
width: 800,
height: 600
},
scene: PlayGame
};
new Phaser.Game(configObject);Then, we need to change a bit webpack.development.js and webpack.distribution.ts to tell them now we are working with TypeScript.
Let’s start from webpack.development.js:
JavaScript
const path = require('path');
module.exports = {
entry : {
// this is our entry point, the main TypeScript file
app: './src/main.ts',
},
output : {
// this is our output file, the one which bundles all libraries
filename : 'main.js',
// and this is the path of the output bundle, "dist" folder
path : path.resolve(__dirname, 'dist'),
},
// we are in development mode
mode : 'development',
// we need a source map
devtool : 'inline-source-map',
// development server root is "src" folder
devServer : {
static : './src'
},
// list of extensions to resolve, in resolve order
resolve: {
extensions: [ '.ts', '.tsx', '.js' ]
},
// loader to handle TypeScript file type
module: {
rules: [{
test: /\.tsx?$/,
use: 'ts-loader',
exclude: /node_modules/
}]
}
};Then, webpack.distribution.js:
JavaScript
const path = require('path');
// here we use the plugins to clear folders and copy folder content
const CopyPlugin = require('copy-webpack-plugin');
const { CleanWebpackPlugin } = require('clean-webpack-plugin');
module.exports = {
entry: {
// this is our entry point, the main TypeScript file
app: './src/main.ts',
},
output: {
// this is our output file, the one which bundles all libraries
filename: 'main.js',
// and this is the path of the output bundle, "dist" folder
path: path.resolve(__dirname, 'dist'),
},
// we are in production mode
mode: 'production',
plugins: [
// here we clean the destination folder
new CleanWebpackPlugin({
cleanStaleWebpackAssets: false
}),
// here we copy some files to destination folder.
// which files?
new CopyPlugin({
patterns: [
{
// src/index.html
from: 'index.html',
context: 'src/'
},
{
// every file inside src/assets folder
from: 'assets/*',
context: 'src/'
}
]
})
],
// list of extensions to resolve, in resolve order
resolve: {
extensions: [ '.ts', '.tsx', '.js' ]
},
// loader to handle TypeScript file type
module: {
rules: [{
test: /\.tsx?$/,
use: 'ts-loader',
exclude: /node_modules/
}]
}
};Now, just like in previous steps, you can start your development server with:
npm run development
And create your distributable game with:
npm run distribution
At this time, you are ready to build HTML5 games with TypeScript.
What if you still have an error in tsconfig.json?
Try to close and reopen the project folder in Visual Studio Code, and if the error persists, you can get rid of it by adding these lines to tsconfig.json:
JSON
{
"compilerOptions": {
/* Visit https://aka.ms/tsconfig to read more about this file */
/* Projects */
// "incremental": true, /* Save .tsbuildinfo files to allow for incremental compilation of projects. */
// "composite": true, /* Enable constraints that allow a TypeScript project to be used with project references. */
// "tsBuildInfoFile": "./.tsbuildinfo", /* Specify the path to .tsbuildinfo incremental compilation file. */
// "disableSourceOfProjectReferenceRedirect": true, /* Disable preferring source files instead of declaration files when referencing composite projects. */
// "disableSolutionSearching": true, /* Opt a project out of multi-project reference checking when editing. */
// "disableReferencedProjectLoad": true, /* Reduce the number of projects loaded automatically by TypeScript. */
/* Language and Environment */
"target": "es2016", /* Set the JavaScript language version for emitted JavaScript and include compatible library declarations. */
// "lib": [], /* Specify a set of bundled library declaration files that describe the target runtime environment. */
// "jsx": "preserve", /* Specify what JSX code is generated. */
// "experimentalDecorators": true, /* Enable experimental support for legacy experimental decorators. */
// "emitDecoratorMetadata": true, /* Emit design-type metadata for decorated declarations in source files. */
// "jsxFactory": "", /* Specify the JSX factory function used when targeting React JSX emit, e.g. 'React.createElement' or 'h'. */
// "jsxFragmentFactory": "", /* Specify the JSX Fragment reference used for fragments when targeting React JSX emit e.g. 'React.Fragment' or 'Fragment'. */
// "jsxImportSource": "", /* Specify module specifier used to import the JSX factory functions when using 'jsx: react-jsx*'. */
// "reactNamespace": "", /* Specify the object invoked for 'createElement'. This only applies when targeting 'react' JSX emit. */
// "noLib": true, /* Disable including any library files, including the default lib.d.ts. */
// "useDefineForClassFields": true, /* Emit ECMAScript-standard-compliant class fields. */
// "moduleDetection": "auto", /* Control what method is used to detect module-format JS files. */
/* Modules */
"module": "commonjs", /* Specify what module code is generated. */
// "rootDir": "./", /* Specify the root folder within your source files. */
// "moduleResolution": "node10", /* Specify how TypeScript looks up a file from a given module specifier. */
// "baseUrl": "./", /* Specify the base directory to resolve non-relative module names. */
// "paths": {}, /* Specify a set of entries that re-map imports to additional lookup locations. */
// "rootDirs": [], /* Allow multiple folders to be treated as one when resolving modules. */
// "typeRoots": [], /* Specify multiple folders that act like './node_modules/@types'. */
// "types": [], /* Specify type package names to be included without being referenced in a source file. */
// "allowUmdGlobalAccess": true, /* Allow accessing UMD globals from modules. */
// "moduleSuffixes": [], /* List of file name suffixes to search when resolving a module. */
// "allowImportingTsExtensions": true, /* Allow imports to include TypeScript file extensions. Requires '--moduleResolution bundler' and either '--noEmit' or '--emitDeclarationOnly' to be set. */
// "resolvePackageJsonExports": true, /* Use the package.json 'exports' field when resolving package imports. */
// "resolvePackageJsonImports": true, /* Use the package.json 'imports' field when resolving imports. */
// "customConditions": [], /* Conditions to set in addition to the resolver-specific defaults when resolving imports. */
// "resolveJsonModule": true, /* Enable importing .json files. */
// "allowArbitraryExtensions": true, /* Enable importing files with any extension, provided a declaration file is present. */
// "noResolve": true, /* Disallow 'import's, 'require's or '<reference>'s from expanding the number of files TypeScript should add to a project. */
/* JavaScript Support */
// "allowJs": true, /* Allow JavaScript files to be a part of your program. Use the 'checkJS' option to get errors from these files. */
// "checkJs": true, /* Enable error reporting in type-checked JavaScript files. */
// "maxNodeModuleJsDepth": 1, /* Specify the maximum folder depth used for checking JavaScript files from 'node_modules'. Only applicable with 'allowJs'. */
/* Emit */
// "declaration": true, /* Generate .d.ts files from TypeScript and JavaScript files in your project. */
// "declarationMap": true, /* Create sourcemaps for d.ts files. */
// "emitDeclarationOnly": true, /* Only output d.ts files and not JavaScript files. */
// "sourceMap": true, /* Create source map files for emitted JavaScript files. */
// "inlineSourceMap": true, /* Include sourcemap files inside the emitted JavaScript. */
// "outFile": "./", /* Specify a file that bundles all outputs into one JavaScript file. If 'declaration' is true, also designates a file that bundles all .d.ts output. */
// "outDir": "./", /* Specify an output folder for all emitted files. */
// "removeComments": true, /* Disable emitting comments. */
// "noEmit": true, /* Disable emitting files from a compilation. */
// "importHelpers": true, /* Allow importing helper functions from tslib once per project, instead of including them per-file. */
// "importsNotUsedAsValues": "remove", /* Specify emit/checking behavior for imports that are only used for types. */
// "downlevelIteration": true, /* Emit more compliant, but verbose and less performant JavaScript for iteration. */
// "sourceRoot": "", /* Specify the root path for debuggers to find the reference source code. */
// "mapRoot": "", /* Specify the location where debugger should locate map files instead of generated locations. */
// "inlineSources": true, /* Include source code in the sourcemaps inside the emitted JavaScript. */
// "emitBOM": true, /* Emit a UTF-8 Byte Order Mark (BOM) in the beginning of output files. */
// "newLine": "crlf", /* Set the newline character for emitting files. */
// "stripInternal": true, /* Disable emitting declarations that have '@internal' in their JSDoc comments. */
// "noEmitHelpers": true, /* Disable generating custom helper functions like '__extends' in compiled output. */
// "noEmitOnError": true, /* Disable emitting files if any type checking errors are reported. */
// "preserveConstEnums": true, /* Disable erasing 'const enum' declarations in generated code. */
// "declarationDir": "./", /* Specify the output directory for generated declaration files. */
// "preserveValueImports": true, /* Preserve unused imported values in the JavaScript output that would otherwise be removed. */
/* Interop Constraints */
// "isolatedModules": true, /* Ensure that each file can be safely transpiled without relying on other imports. */
// "verbatimModuleSyntax": true, /* Do not transform or elide any imports or exports not marked as type-only, ensuring they are written in the output file's format based on the 'module' setting. */
// "allowSyntheticDefaultImports": true, /* Allow 'import x from y' when a module doesn't have a default export. */
"esModuleInterop": true, /* Emit additional JavaScript to ease support for importing CommonJS modules. This enables 'allowSyntheticDefaultImports' for type compatibility. */
// "preserveSymlinks": true, /* Disable resolving symlinks to their realpath. This correlates to the same flag in node. */
"forceConsistentCasingInFileNames": true, /* Ensure that casing is correct in imports. */
/* Type Checking */
"strict": true, /* Enable all strict type-checking options. */
// "noImplicitAny": true, /* Enable error reporting for expressions and declarations with an implied 'any' type. */
// "strictNullChecks": true, /* When type checking, take into account 'null' and 'undefined'. */
// "strictFunctionTypes": true, /* When assigning functions, check to ensure parameters and the return values are subtype-compatible. */
// "strictBindCallApply": true, /* Check that the arguments for 'bind', 'call', and 'apply' methods match the original function. */
"strictPropertyInitialization": false, /* Check for class properties that are declared but not set in the constructor. */
// "noImplicitThis": true, /* Enable error reporting when 'this' is given the type 'any'. */
// "useUnknownInCatchVariables": true, /* Default catch clause variables as 'unknown' instead of 'any'. */
// "alwaysStrict": true, /* Ensure 'use strict' is always emitted. */
// "noUnusedLocals": true, /* Enable error reporting when local variables aren't read. */
// "noUnusedParameters": true, /* Raise an error when a function parameter isn't read. */
// "exactOptionalPropertyTypes": true, /* Interpret optional property types as written, rather than adding 'undefined'. */
// "noImplicitReturns": true, /* Enable error reporting for codepaths that do not explicitly return in a function. */
// "noFallthroughCasesInSwitch": true, /* Enable error reporting for fallthrough cases in switch statements. */
// "noUncheckedIndexedAccess": true, /* Add 'undefined' to a type when accessed using an index. */
// "noImplicitOverride": true, /* Ensure overriding members in derived classes are marked with an override modifier. */
// "noPropertyAccessFromIndexSignature": true, /* Enforces using indexed accessors for keys declared using an indexed type. */
// "allowUnusedLabels": true, /* Disable error reporting for unused labels. */
// "allowUnreachableCode": true, /* Disable error reporting for unreachable code. */
/* Completeness */
// "skipDefaultLibCheck": true, /* Skip type checking .d.ts files that are included with TypeScript. */
"skipLibCheck": true /* Skip type checking all .d.ts files. */
},
"include": [
"./src/**/*.ts"
]
}
Now you are absolutely ready to start building HTML5 games with Phaser and TypeScript the proper way.
Now I am going to turn this four steps guide into a pdf and epub guide and always keeping it updated, for you to have all the basics to start developing HTML5 games, I will release it before the year ends, covering some stuff more in depth, for free.
Never miss an update! Subscribe, and I will bother you by email only when a new game or full source code comes out.