Field notes / 3 minute read
Why our games run in a browser
No app store, nothing to install, and the iPad you already have. Here is why every Paper Kid game is a web page.
Every game we make opens from a link. There is no app to download, no store listing to wait on and no account to create. It runs on the tablet that's already in the house, on a phone held sideways and on a laptop with a keyboard.
Changes land the same day
Because the game is a web page, a fix ships the moment it's ready. When play-testing on an iPad turned up a stuck thumb stick in Soccer Kids, the fix shipped as soon as it was ready, with no update to approve and nothing for a parent to install.
Each update is published under file names made from the files' contents, so a browser can never mix an old file with a new one and load a game that's half one version and half the other.
Built for touch
Touch is where kids play, so it's where we test. Every game is checked with real touch events at phone and iPad sizes before anything ships. That's how we found that iOS can take a touch at the edge of the screen for its own swipe and never report it ending, which left a thumb stick stuck. Now any new touch on the left side takes the stick, and pinch and double-tap zoom are blocked so a fast thumb never zooms the page.
Easy to share, easy to keep private
A link is easy to send to grandparents, teammates or a whole roster. It can live at a private address only your family knows, or on your own web address if you want one. Either way there are no ads, nothing to buy and nobody to chat with inside the game.