🎮 Building a PHP Catch Game: My Journey into Web Game Development

I'm excited to share my latest project - a browser-based catching game built with PHP, JavaScript, HTML, and CSS! 🚀

💡 The Concept

Have you ever wanted to create a simple yet addictive browser game? That's exactly what I set out to do with my "Catch the Falling Objects" game. The premise is straightforward: control a paddle at the bottom of the screen and catch colorful falling objects before they hit the ground.

🛠️ Tech Stack

This project combines several web technologies:

• HTML5 for structure

• CSS3 for styling

• JavaScript for game mechanics

• PHP for server-side processing

• JSON for data storage

✨ Key Features

1. Responsive Controls - Play with keyboard (arrow keys/WASD) or touch controls on mobile

2. Progressive Difficulty - Game speed increases as your score grows

3. High Score System - Compete with friends for the top spot

4. Cross-Platform - Works on desktop and mobile devices

🔍 Technical Highlights

The most interesting technical aspects were:

• Implementing collision detection between the paddle and falling objects

• Creating a dynamic difficulty system that adjusts game speed based on player performance

• Building a persistent high score system using PHP and JSON

💻 Code Snippet

Here's a glimpse of the collision detection logic:

function checkCollisions() {
    const playerRect = player.getBoundingClientRect();

    for (let i = 0; i < fallingObjects.length; i++) {
        const obj = fallingObjects[i];
        const objRect = obj.element.getBoundingClientRect();

        // Check collision
        if (
            objRect.bottom >= playerRect.top &&
            objRect.right >= playerRect.left &&
            objRect.left <= playerRect.right &&
            objRect.top <= playerRect.bottom
        ) {
            // Collision detected - handle scoring
        }
    }
}

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🌟 What I Learned

This project taught me valuable lessons about:

• Game loop implementation

• Animation timing in JavaScript

• User input handling across different devices

• Server-client interaction for score persistence

🔮 Future Enhancements

I'm planning to add:

• Different types of falling objects with varying point values

• Power-ups to enhance gameplay

• Sound effects and background music

• User accounts and authentication

🔗 Try It Yourself!

The project is open source and available on GitHub. Feel free to check it out, provide feedback, or even contribute!

https://github.com/whatdadogdoing/catch_game