Can You Transform a .js Game Into a Stand-alone Offline Version?

[jesse_the_k]

ETA: This game is now available for iPhone for FREE

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/hext/id1169807227?mt=8

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If yes, can you do it for for me, with a particular open source game?

“Hexels,” by Ben Hardy is a wonderful variation on the 2048-style sliding game. The board is hexagonal offering two more sliding directions for each cell.

It’s so soothing! It lives here:

http://benhardy.github.io/hexels/

I downloaded the source zip. It consists of one .js file, a CSS style sheet, and an index to put them together. When I play offline, the scoring isn’t the same as online. More mystery: the scoring is differently wrong in Safari, Chrome, Firefox, and iCab. Perhaps GitHub provides some resources that are unavailable offline?

I’d be so happy if someone can create files that permit me to play Hexels offline identically to its online version. Doesn’t have to be very fancy. It would be fabulous if it remained a just-a-browser game.

Happy to trade: I can offer beaded jewelry (or source materials); nicely formatting a ~Word document; or actual cash.

Comments

[sonia]

I love the idea of having this as an offline game! One idea is to write to Ben Hardy and ask about it.

I'm hoping someone more familiar than I am with javascript will step in, but if not, I'll take a look and see if I can spot anything. Interesting that it's differently wrong on different browsers!

What about the offline scoring makes the game less soothing?

[cxcvi]

Played a hunch; the version in the GitHub repository is different than the version actually in use on the website. Search both for "function applyDropPlan()" to see the first difference I noticed; there are probably other differences. So here it's more a case of the creator not updating GitHub with the current version. The CSS file looks different as well. The HTML page uses relative links, so it should be as simple as putting all three in the same folder.

[cxcvi]

Additional thing: If, like me, you feel that the left/right rotation is backwards for keyboard input, then you can change it fairly easily. I don't know how familiar you are with looking at source code, but if you are, then in "function keyEvent(ev)", change it so that keyCode 37 calls handleRight() and keyCode 39 calls handleLeft().

[sonia]

oooh!!

[jesse_the_k]

The answer to "why offline is less soothing" surprised me.

The animation for the collapse of a triplet makes a nice visual change (the text "bonus!" appears on the left side). That change gives my eyes a rest from the rabbit-hole stare. The arithmetic for the bonus score makes no sense to me, so it's a gift surprise every time it happens.

It was the triplet collapse that didn't work differently in browsers, because, as cxcvi
explained, the code from the ZIP was buggy.

[jesse_the_k]

Super duper thanks. (Also, I would like to marry your hunches because that's awesome).

I was poking around trying to find Hardy's email address (per sonia's comment) and found his Twitter.

And was delighted to see that an iOS version of this game is now available FOR FREE!
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/hext/id1169807227?mt=8

[jesse_the_k]

I was poking around trying to find Hardy's email address and found his Twitter.

And was delighted to see that an iOS version of this game, called HEXT, is available FOR FREE!

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/hext/id1169807227?mt=8

/twirls into the sunset/

[sonia]

Huh, interesting! Good game play really is in the little details.

Thanks for the link to the iphone game! I installed it, and now I really am going back to writing this month's article.

Thanks for the creative thinking that led to tracking down an offline version. It hadn't occurred to me to pursue that.

Yay for cxcvi's hunches, too!

[vass]

I've had this on my "to follow up at some point" list since you mentioned it before, and I downloaded the iTunes version last night and have since added it to my "soothing things for when stressed" screen. Thank you for the rec.

[green_knight]

I'm not sure whether I should thank you or curse you for stealing my time...

What a wonderful game. It's the sort of game that makes me wish I could pay the developer for it; I expect to use this a lot.It has become very difficult for me to discover new games for my phone because I have a rule to not play any game with in-app purchases. (I make an exception for PokemonGo).

[jesse_the_k]

I hear you -- this is a magically relaxing game. I've spent more than a few hours with it recently, and the net result is positive. It's helped to mellow me from the anxiety induced by Current Events.