Archives de catégorie : Video Marketing

Le passage par la France du suspect de l’attentat de Berlin alimente la campagne présidentielle – ICI.Radio

Le chef de la police de Milan, Antonio de Iesu, a confirmé qu’Amri est arrivé à la gare de Milan en provenance de la France. Une source judiciaire de Reuters affirme que son billet de train prouve qu’il a voyagé à bord d’un train à grande vitesse vers Turin, avant de se rendre à Milan.

Plusieurs médias italiens affirment qu’Amri est monté à Chambéry, dans l’est de la France, où le président français François Hollande se trouvait jeudi pour inaugurer un hôpital.

Dans une très brève conférence de presse donnée en soirée, le ministre de l’Intérieur, Bruno Le Roux, a refusé de confirmer ces informations. Il appartient aux enquêtes de déterminer comment Amri s’est rendu de Berlin à Milan, a-t-il dit, en invitant les médias à faire preuve de « la plus grande prudence face aux informations qui circulent actuellement ».

Il a aussi assuré que les contrôles de sécurité avaient été renforcés aux frontières entre la France et l’Allemagne, le Luxembourg et la Suisse.

Plus tôt dans la journée, Thierry Solère, porte-parole du candidat de la droite à la présidentielle, François Fillon, a estimé sur BFM-TV que cette situation « montre une défaillance [du] système de sécurité [français] ». Sur Twitter, il pressait le ministre de l’Intérieur de s’expliquer.

 

Éric Ciotti, député du parti de droite Les Républicains (LR), s’étonne, lui, que le principal suspect de l’attaque au camion de Berlin ait pu franchir les frontières européennes et appelle à de profondes réformes. « Cela démontre que nous n’avons pas un contrôle suffisamment efficace et protecteur et qu’il faudra être beaucoup moins naïf », a-t-il écrit sur Twitter.

« Cela appelle à des réformes profondes et à des moyens supplémentaires pour mieux contrôler nos frontières, d’abord les frontières externes de l’Europe et ensuite les frontières internes », a-t-il précisé ultérieurement sur BFM TV.

Le Pen attaque l’accord de Schengen

L’affaire a également été récupérée par Marine Le Pen. La présidente du Front national fustige l’accord de Schengen, qui s’est traduit par l’abolition des contrôles aux frontières intérieures de 22 pays européens.

« Cette escapade dans deux ou trois pays a minima est symptomatique de la catastrophe sécuritaire totale que représente l’espace Schengen », a déclaré Mme Le Pen, dans un communiqué.

« Le mythe de la libre circulation totale en Europe, auquel s’accrochent encore mes adversaires dans cette élection présidentielle, doit être définitivement enterré. Il en va de notre sécurité », a-t-elle ajouté.

La candidate à la présidentielle réitère son engagement, si elle est élue, de « redonner à la France la pleine maîtrise de sa souveraineté, de ses frontières nationales et de mettre fin en conséquence aux accords de Schengen ».

D’autres ténors du parti, comme Florian Philippot et Marion Maréchal Le Pen, ont aussi relayé la position de Marine Le Pen sur Twitter, dénonçant le « terrorisme sans frontières de Schengen ».

Au Royaume-Uni, ce discours est également relayé par l’ancien leader du Parti pour l’indépendance du Royaume-Uni (UKIP), Nigel Farage, qui a joué un rôle-clé dans la campagne qui a mené les Britanniques à choisir de quitter l’Union européenne.

« Si l’homme tué à Milan est le tueur de Berlin, preuve est faite que l’espace de Schengen est un risque pour la sécurité publique », a-t-il écrit lui aussi sur Twitter.

L’ONU se prononce contre les colonies israéliennes en Cisjordanie – ICI.Radio

L’État d’Israël avait précédemment demandé aux États-Unis d’appliquer leur droit de veto pour bloquer l’adoption de la résolution, une requête également formulée par le président américain désigné, Donald Trump.

L’abstention des États-Unis a donc pris de court l’État hébreu. Une source proche du premier ministre israélien, Benyamin Nétanyahou, a déclaré que les États-Unis avaient tout bonnement « abandonné Israël ».

Le bureau du premier ministre israélien a dénoncé l’adoption d’un texte supposément « anti-Israël » et a fait savoir qu’il n’avait « nullement l’intention de s’y conformer ».

L’administration Obama n’a pas seulement échoué à protéger l’État d’Israël contre cette clique [anti-israélienne] aux Nations unies, elle a carrément manigancé avec elle en coulisse.

Extrait d’un communiqué du bureau du premier ministre israélien, Benyamin Nétanyahou

L’ambassadeur israélien aux Nations unies, Danny Danon, qui avait qualifié la résolution d’« initiative visant à faire mal à Israël », a aussi vivement critiqué le silence américain.

Nous nous attendions à ce que le plus grand allié d’Israël agisse en concordance avec les valeurs que nous partageons et qu’il oppose son veto à cette résolution disgracieuse.

L’ambassadeur israélien aux Nations unies, Danny Danon

Danny Danon a toutefois déclaré qu’il n’avait « aucun doute » que la prochaine administration américaine combinée à l’entrée en poste d’un nouveau secrétaire général aux Nations Unies signifierait le début d’une nouvelle ère dans les relations de l’ONU et d’Israël.

Le bureau du premier ministre israélien a réitéré les propos de son ambassadeur en affirmant que « l’État d’Israël avait hâte de travailler avec le futur président Donald Trump ainsi qu’avec tous ses amis au Congrès – républicains et démocrates – afin d’élimer les effets nocifs de cette résolution absurde ».

L’ambassadrice des États-Unis à l’ONU, Samantha Power, a répliqué que la résolution contenait des informations « reflétant la réalité sur le terrain » et qu’elle était « cohérente avec les politiques américaines ».

On ne peut pas à la fois se faire le défenseur d’un accroissement des colonies israéliennes et d’une solution à deux États qui soit viable pour mettre fin au conflit. Il faut faire un choix entre la colonisation et la séparation.

L’ambassadrice des États-Unis à l’ONU, Samantha Power

Le secrétaire d’État américain, John Kerry, a lui aussi appelé au développement d’une solution à deux États.

Un représentant de la Maison-Blanche a par ailleurs mentionné qu’en l’absence d’un processus de paix raisonnable, l’administration Obama avait jugé préférable de s’abstenir de se prononcer sur la résolution.

Le représentant a ajouté que le premier ministre israélien avait eu « toutes les occasions d’approuver et de mener des politiques qui auraient pu contribuer à changer l’issue du vote ».

L’ambassadrice des États-Unis à l’ONU, Samantha Power.
L’ambassadrice des États-Unis à l’ONU, Samantha Power. Photo : Reuters/Andrew Kelly

Donald Trump en désaccord

Le futur président américain a fait écho aux propos de l’ambassadeur israélien en prévenant sur Twitter que « les choses seront différentes aux Nations unies après le 20 janvier », soit la date de son investiture.

De nombreuses voix se sont élevées dans le camp républicain pour dénoncer l’issue du vote.

Le président de la Chambre des représentants, le républicain Paul Ryan, a qualifié la situation de « complètement honteuse » et de « grave coup porté à la paix ».

Le sénateur républicain John McCain a quant à lui dénoncé « la complicité des États-Unis dans ce qui constitue une attaque scandaleuse » contre l’État hébreu.

La résolution réclamant l’arrêt de la colonisation israélienne avait été proposée dans un premier temps, jeudi, par l’Égypte, qui a finalement décidé de faire marche arrière sous les pressions d’Israël et de Donald Trump.

La résolution a de nouveau été présentée plus tôt vendredi, cette fois à l’initiative de la Nouvelle-Zélande, de la Malaisie, du Venezuela et du Sénégal.

Le secrétaire général des Nations unies, Ban Ki-moon a accueilli favorablement son adoption.

« Le secrétaire général profite de cette occasion pour encourager les leaders palestiniens et israéliens à travailler avec la communauté internationale pour créer un environnement propice à des nouvelles rondes de négociations », a fait savoir le porte-parole de Ban Ki-Moon, Stephane Dujarric.

Nabil Abou Roudeina, porte-parole de la présidence palestienne, a affirmé que l’adoption du texte représentait « un grand camouflet » pour Israël.

Il s’agit d’une condamnation internationale unanime de la colonisation et d’un fort soutien à une solution à deux États.

Nabil Abou Roudeina, porte-parole de la présidence palestinienne

« Il s’agit d’un jour de victoire pour le droit international, une victoire pour la civilité et la négociation et un rejet complet des forces extrémistes en Israël », a pour sa part déclaré le chef négociateur du camp palestinien, Saeb Erekat.

C’est en fait la première résolution à être adoptée en huit ans sur le conflit israélo-palestinien par le Conseil de sécurité.

L’adoption de la résolution, appuyée par les 14 autres membres du Conseil, a été accueillie sous un tonnerre d’applaudissements par les dignitaires présents lors du vote.

Le Conseil de sécurité de l'ONU passe au vote pour adopter la résolution.
Le Conseil de sécurité de l’ONU passe au vote pour adopter la résolution. Photo : La Presse canadienne/Manuel Elias pour l’ONU

Résolution du Conseil de sécurité des Nations-unies par Radio-Canada sur Scribd

 

Avion détourné à Malte: les pirates libyens se sont rendus

Dans le calme

L’appareil a atterri à 11 h 34 (5 h 34 GMT) à l’aéroport international Luqa et a été rapidement isolé, entouré de militaires.

Des négociations ont été entamées avec les deux pirates de l’air. Ils « ont été informés qu’ils devaient libérer tous les passagers s’ils voulaient discuter. Cela a fait l’objet d’une négociation et cela a été accepté ».

Une heure et demie après l’atterrissage, 25 femmes et le bébé ont pu descendre de l’avion. Rapidement, la totalité des passagers, ainsi que deux membres d’équipage ont suivi.

Selon un correspondant de l’AFP sur place, les passagers sont descendus de l’avion très calmement, sans courir ni crier.

Une heure plus tard, les autres membres d’équipage étaient libres et les preneurs d’otages en détention.

L’aéroport a été fermé plusieurs heures et les vols en provenance notamment de Londres, Bruxelles et Paris ont été déroutés, avant de pouvoir à nouveau emprunter la piste.

La Libye est plongée dans le chaos depuis la chute du dictateur Mouammar Kadhafi en 2011 et plusieurs milices se disputent le contrôle du territoire, en dépit de l’installation d’un gouvernement d’union nationale (GNA), soutenue par la communauté internationale.

Le chef de ce gouvernement, Fayez al-Sarraj, a annoncé officiellement samedi la libération de Syrte, bastion de l’organisation de l’État islamique.

L’EI s’était emparé de la ville natale de Kadhafi en juin 2015 et a défendu son fief avec acharnement, utilisant des tactiques de guérilla urbaine, boucliers humains et mines antipersonnel.

La perte de Syrte est un important revers pour l’EI, mais il reste toujours des djihadistes en Libye, comme en témoigne un attentat-suicide à Benghazi dimanche.

Le GNA espère sortir renforcé de la bataille de Syrte au moment où il peine toujours, depuis son installation fin mars à Tripoli, à asseoir son autorité dans un pays dévasté par les conflits depuis la chute de Kadhafi en 2011.

Seules des compagnies locales, qui n’ont pas le droit d’entrer dans l’espace aérien européen, assurent des vols en Libye, avec quelques liaisons vers Tunis, Le Caire, Amman, Istanbul et Khartoum.

AT&T names marketing exec to head Time Warner merger transition team

Posted Dec. 23, 2016 at 2:33 p.m.

ATT names marketing exec to head Time Warner merger transition team

Published: 2016-12-23 14:33:06
Updated: 2016-12-23 14:33:06

ATT
ATT

ATT has named Lori Lee, a senior executive vice president and global marketing officer to head the integration of its $85 billion merger with Time Warner when the deal closes.

Lee has been responsible for ATT consumer products previously in its Home Solutions unit that includes broadband services and video entertainment. She directed marketing and operations.

Lee won the position over other ATT executives thought to be in the running, John Stankey, CEO of ATT Entertainment Group and John Stephens, CFO. Lee, however, has a strong background in entertainment, media and broadband services, all major parts of the merger.

ATT said Lee has already begun forming her integration team.

Lee, named one of the most powerful women in Tech by the National Diversity Council in 2005, was also named one of the Most Powerful Women in Business by Forbes in 2014.

She is also on the board of the American Film Institute.

She will continue to oversee ATT marketing.

WRAL TechWire any time: Twitter, Facebook

Copyright 2016 WRAL TechWire. All rights reserved.

Web Marketing Agency, fishbat, Shares 6 Things Professionals Should Avoid When Doing Live Video Streaming – SYS


<![CDATA[

]]>

PATCHOGUE, N.Y., Dec. 23, 2016 /PRNewswire-iReach/ — fishbat is a leading web marketing agency which combines proven digital marketing strategies that include search engine optimization (SEO), digital ads, and social media optimization (SMO) to help businesses increase profits and expand brand awareness.

Live streaming video is a great way to engage followers, establish industry authority, and to build brand awareness when executed well. However, there are common pitfalls that should be avoided when streaming live. Web marketing agency, fishbat, shares six things professionals should avoid when doing live video streaming.

1.   Don’t change operating styles mid-stream Picking up the camera and switching back and forth between still and moving cameras is disorienting to the audience. The distraction interrupts their train of thought. When camera-operating-style varies throughout a presentation, it impacts the perceived quality of the video.

2.   Showing up unprepared Videos where the presenter stumbles over words a lot, has difficulty with equipment or looks uncomfortable causes the audience to disengage.  An unprepared presentation reflects poorly on the presenter and the quality of what they are providing. Prepare what you want to say and how. Test equipment ahead of time for a quality viewing and audio experience, and make sure that the camera is angled how you want it before you go live.

3.   Don’t go live randomly If you tell them, they will come. If not? Who knows. New followers cannot find you and existing followers won’t know when to find you if you don’t announce videos ahead of time. Maintain consistency to capture the largest audience possible. When followers can count on consistency, they make it part of their routine, increasing brand strength and shareability of content.

4.   Failing to convert to VoD Don’t miss out on the power of Video on Demand.  As soon as the event is done, convert the video to VoD so that the audience will still have access to your content.

5.   Never show up late It’s never appropriate to leave people waiting, and certainly not when you are trying to establish trust and authority with the audience. Not only does showing up late, even if only a minute, show a disregard for the audience’s schedule, it will also cause viewers to wonder if it will be taking place and often leave.

6.   Neglecting the audience Don’t make it a one-way conversation. Live video streaming is a great opportunity to engage the audience with Q A, comments, and open dialogue. Open up time for such engagement at the end of a session to gain the perspective of the audience for future videos and build a better relationship with followers.

New York Digital Marketing Agency fishbat is a full-service online marketing company and social media agency dedicated to connecting all types of businesses with their target audiences in the most effective and efficient way. Through innovative strategies in social media management, search engine optimization (SEO), branding, web design, reputation management, and public relations, fishbat promotes a consistent and professional online voice for all of its clients.

Media Contact: Scott Darrohn, fishbat, 855-347-4228, [email protected]

News distributed by PR Newswire iReach: https://ireach.prnewswire.com

SOURCE fishbat

NYC Online Marketing Agency, fishbat, Shares 4 Types of Social Media Tools to Develop Industry Authority

NEW YORK, Dec. 23, 2016 /PRNewswire-iReach/ — fishbat is a leading NYC online marketing agency which combines proven digital marketing strategies that include search engine optimization (SEO), digital ads, and social media optimization (SMO) to help businesses increase profits and expand brand awareness.

From individual professionals to large corporations, developing an authoritative voice within an industry fosters growth and sustainability. In today’s world, social marketing is a vital component in building any brand, and standing out from the competition can be a daunting task. However, when utilizing the proper tools and when focused on conveying consistent, value-added information, social media can help to establish a powerful industry voice. NYC online marketing agency, fishbat, shares four types of social media tools to develop industry authority.

  1. Live streaming Live streaming builds relationships with the audience. Video is engaging and provides a forum for establishing a brand voice. Share value-added information and solicit interaction through QA and comments. Tools such as Periscope and Meerkat offer real-time interaction on social media platforms, saving ability for future viewing, and scheduling features.

  2. Social media management tools A huge component in developing an authoritative voice in your industry, is social media posting, hosting, and engaging. It’s vital to stick to a consistent schedule and tonality to develop a unique voice and to ensure that voice gets heard. Posting valuable content, participating in conversations and hosting webinars and video chats, is invaluable in establishing authority but can be difficult to manage. Utilize social media management tools such as Hootsuite or Postify to analyze the results of your efforts for future planning, identify important keywords to boost your visibility, and schedule posts across various social platforms.

  3. Professional social sites To build recognition within your industry it’s important to speak to your industry. Professional social sites, such as LinkedIn and Beyond provide a qualified and engaged audience of decision makers, influencers, buyers, and even potential talent, to speak to. These tools help with specific industry networking and to establish an authoritative voice with peers and key players in the industry.

  4. Social media style guides  A shift in tonality could cost a professional or brand valuable followers. Messages and tonality must be consistent to keep a brand top of mind, a key component in establishing authority. Utilize a social media style guide, especially if more than one person is posting content that represents the brand. Style guides contain important information for branding consistency such as brand image, persona, verbiage, imagery, hashtags, keywords and more. Keeping an eye on these components will also build authority through SEO. A goal-focused game plan will help leverage industry-specific keywords, powerful hashtags, and shareable content to increase search engine ranking, which shows industry authority.

fishbat is a full-service online marketing company and social media agency dedicated to connecting all types of businesses with their target audiences in the most effective and efficient way. Through innovative strategies in social media management, search engine optimization (SEO), branding, web design, reputation management, and public relations, fishbat promotes a consistent and professional online voice for all of its clients.

Media Contact: Scott Darrohn, fishbat, 855-347-4228, press@fishbat.com

News distributed by PR Newswire iReach: https://ireach.prnewswire.com

SOURCE fishbat

How To Develop A Strong 2017 Inbound Marketing Plan

With so many pieces to the inbound marketing puzzle, a brand can easily become overwhelm with the numerous tactics and techniques to generate exposure to their business. Especially as a startup or a brand that is struggling to find their place on the Internet, how do you begin the year strong in your marketing to yield favorable results like increased followers, leads, more sales, and loyal customers?

The good news is that inbound marketing is not complicated and there are core practices that are tested, tried, and true to getting more eyeballs to your content and boosting brand exposure. The following six steps will help guide you in developing a solid marketing plan for 2017 and give you the slight edge above the competition.

Shutterstock

#1 Create Buyer Personas

Establishing a clear target audience plays a vital role in your inbound marketing plan. Your entire strategy will revolve around creating content that speaks and appeals to this audience. The more clarity you have on who you’re talking to, the better content you’ll publish that gets your market engaged.

Developing buyer personas is the best way to gain a clear vision of your ideal customer and knowing which content topics to focus on to reel them in. These buyer personas will serve as your guide to creating your content marketing strategy for the year. You’ll understand the problems, challenges, pains, and questions that affect your prospects the most, and publish content that addresses these issues…making your content much more effective.

#2 Focus on Growing Nurturing Your Email Subscribers

According to EmailMonday, 74% of companies see email marketing as still being one of the channels with the highest ROI even five years from now. Building your leads list is the lifeline to your business. By capturing quality leads into your sales funnel, you create more opportunities to convert these prospects into buying customers. With proper nurturing tactics, your email list can be a revenue-generating machine for your business.

Video Marketing 2017: What You Need to Know

webcast_500035351-ss-1920Video is the new darling of digital marketing. With more than 400 hours of video uploaded to YouTube every minute, consumers have grown increasingly comfortable with video. Smart marketers are responding by generating compelling, shareable content that delivers relevant brand messaging across multiple devices.

Join us as video marketing expert Mark Robertson and senior research consultant Karen Burka discuss what goes into a successful video marketing campaign, and where software can add efficiencies and improve ROI.

Register today for “Video Marketing 2017: What You Need to Know,” produced by Digital Marketing Depot.


About The Author

The long view on video: Why 2017 will be even more exciting

Video was a major force in digital marketing in 2016 as strong consumer demand met important innovations like vertical, interactive and live content, laying the groundwork for further adoption as well as new creative offerings and distribution strategies next year. 

Not all video marketing news was positive, however, as Facebook was hit with a scandal in September when it revealed that it had been inflating its video ad metrics for the previous two years. More recently, new data showed that Snapchat users are watching video ads for less than three seconds on average.

Despite these setbacks, video’s momentum continues to pick up speed with developments like the rise of live streaming video, which is bringing a real-time audience to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and more. Live streaming is delivering content that otherwise might only be found on linear TV like pro sports and presidential debates, and providing marketers with a new video content type to reach an audience.

“Video marketing is certainly here to stay and 2017 may be its most interesting year thus far, » Amber Lee, Partner and CEO at Visual Country, told Marketing Dive.

Major developments in video marketing

One big development in video marketing was the idea that vertical video wasn’t verboten as Snapchat users happily watched vertical video on the social media app. Instagram Stories, its response to a feature with the same name on Snapchat, further boosted the idea of vertical video.

“If 2016 was the year in which vertical video sprouted, 2017 will be the year it blossoms,” said Lee.

One challenge Snapchat faces is its video ad platform is closed off to a select group of partners, keeping it out of reach for individuals and SMBs. But Lee expects that to change soon after the  IPO of Snap Inc., Snapchat’s parent company, which is expected to take place in early 2017. 

If Snapchat opens up its video ad platform, further growth in vertical video is likely to follow, per Lee. 

Other platforms are also ramping up video marketing opportunities. 

« Pinterest also launched sponsored video in August 2016, and more recently unveiled the ‘Pin Collective,’ which connects businesses with the best content creators, as hand-selected by the Pinterest team, » said Lee. 

Video also transitioned from passive to interactive in 2016, a trend that is likely to reach new heights in 2017.

“While one-way videos still exist, marketers increasingly took advantage of new tools to embed surveys, polls and other calls to action within their videos, » Tyler Lessard, CMO at Vidyard, told Marketing Dive. « In 2017, viewers will have even more options to make watching videos more of a ‘choose your own adventure’ experience.”

Another major development was the rise of native advertising with its video ad component. “Banner blindness” and ad blockers have forced brands and publishers to focus more heavily on ad quality and ads that are genuinely engaging rather than interruptive. This approach has resulted in significantly higher click-through rates when well executed, per Lee. 

How video marketing advanced in 2016

Beyond the major format developments, video marketing made impressive overall strides this year as well.

More companies are adding video to their marketing mix, and doing so in-house rather than turning to third-party production companies, which can increase sophistication in video analytics and tactics that turn viewers into customers.

“Marketers expanded their use of personalized and interactive video, » said Lessard. « These are arguably still in early adopter phase but both are important trends that are already paying dividends for the brands that use them. »

Another advancement is how paid distribution on social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook and Twitter made video marketing more accessible for SMB brands, according to Lee. For larger brands, 2016 brought the lesson that short-form is a permanent part of the media landscape and not a fad, especially on mobile.

A Videology Group study cited by Lee found that found 15-second video spots were up 28% in Q3 2016 from the prior quarter, although 30-second spots remained the most popular. The increase in mobile video views correlates to the increase in short-form video, said Lee. 

While video marketing made notable strides, the most tangible setback for the space was the metrics issue around social media ads and the subsequent fallout, including a class-action lawsuit filed against Facebook by affected marketers.

“This problem emphasizes the importance of accurate analytics that make sense for the media type and the premium that brands are paying, » said Lessard. « Brands are no longer paying for impressions or views; they’re paying for actual engagement.” 

Where video marketing is heading in 2017

Next year, marketers are expected to move more video content to their own properties and deploy custom-branded video channels on their own websites, according to Lessard.

“This is becoming increasing important as customers expect video on their own branded properties, and brands need to take more control over the experience than YouTube offers,” he said. “We also expect to see more interactive and personalized video experiences as brands look for new ways to stand out and get the attention and engagement of target audiences.”

Video will become more apparent in the general retail experience, predicted Lee, with a new focus on video at the point-of-sale as brands look to optimize video shoots and produce multiple assets from each production. This will allow brands to create what Lee described as “true omnichannel experiences” while telling a consistent story across the growing list of channels, devices and locations.

Another development that could impact how video is created and distributed next year is the Department of Justice’s investigation into allegations that ad agencies are rigging the bidding process for commercial production to favor their own teams, which could see marketers shifting more work to digital agencies or in-house. 

Additionally, new over-the-top video offerings from Direct TV Now, Netflix, CBS and others are likely to further fragment the space, making it challenging for brands to know where to invest. At the same time, these services could drive further mobile viewing. 

Social media will also continue to grow as Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter and others add new services. 

“Things move so quickly, it’s easy to forget that, in 2013, there were few options for video in the social media world, » said Lee. « A lot has changed since then and today it stands as a pillar of brand budgets and long-term planning processes.” 

The Top HTML5 Canvas Game Engines

The Top HTML5 Canvas Game Engines

The HTML5 canvas element opened up a whole new avenue for games programming. Using some JavaScript and 2D graphics, anybody could build games that run in any web browser. The use of sprites and tileable patterns, HTML5 games – as they became to be known – put them on the same footing as the classic arcade games of the late 70s and early 80s. Case in point, here’s an HTML5 implementation of Space Invaders on codepen that looks pretty darned good! That being said, building a game from scratch is not always the best approach. Working with a Game Engine framework will speed up development time and allow you to do things that would be quite difficult otherwise. With so many good gaming engines to choose from, picking one can be a real challenge. To help narrow down the field, I’ve selected some of the favorites amongst HTML5 game developers.

ImpactJS

weltmeister-new-small.png

First launched in 2010, ImpactJS consistently ranks at the top of HTML5 Canvas Game Engine rankings. ImpactJS is a JavaScript Game Engine that allows you to develop stunning HTML5 Games for desktop and mobile browsers. ImpactJS also comes with the Ejecta Framework, which helps you to publish games to iOS platforms. Ejecta takes your JavaScript source code, executes it and directly renders your game via OpenGL onto the screen. This bypasses the iPhone’s Mobile Safari completely and thus avoids some problems that this browser still has. Your Impact games will be truly indistinguishable from those written in native Objective-C. Impact comes with the Weltmeister Level Editor that lets you create your game worlds. All your entities (enemies, NPCs, triggers etc.) can be instantly used in Weltmeister and you can connect entities with each other to create logic chains – i.e. find button, open door. An easy to use Debug Menu helps you find performance bottlenecks and see what exactly is going on in your game at any time. ImpactJS is not free, and costs $99 USD (Bitcoin accepted!). But, with a massive community and extensive documentation on game creation with the engine, most consider it money well spent.

PixiJS

Although a relative newcomer (2013), PixiJS’s major selling point is speed. They claim to be the fastest 2D rendering engine today. Mainly WebGL-based, PixiJS uses Canvas as a fallback in older browsers. The framework is open source, but they do accept donations. Now at version 4, PixiJS packs a lot of features, including:

  • ADVANCED TEXT RENDERING
  • TINTING BLENDING MODES
  • SPRITE SHEET SUPPORT
  • EASY API
  • WEBGL FILTERS
  • MULTI TOUCH INTERACTIVITY

PixiJS is the framework of choice for many huge commercial enterprises, so you can be sure that they are doing something right.

Phaser

Phaser is another open source framework for Canvas and WebGL games development that consistently receives high praises from both newbies and by skilled web games developers alike. The Phaser Sandbox allows you to code games in your browser without having to download or install anything. The powerful editor features Phaser code assists, JavaScript snippets and lots of the features you’ve come to love in editors like Sublime and Brackets. The website has got a lot of learning resources for you, including documentation, books, videos and stacks of 3rd party tutorials, with new content being added daily. The Phaser community has a lot of contributors and you can check out many other developers’ products and learn from live demos. Also, there are plenty of plugins that you can add on such as Virtual Joystick, Complex particle effects, Advanced Physics, etc. All plugins are for sale, but the prices are low all-around.

You should definitely consider Phaser if you are a newbie to Game Development and want to benefit from an easy framework and solid community.

Construct 2

Developed by Scirra Ltd., Construct 2 is an HTML5 game creator designed specifically for 2D games. It allows anyone to build games without coding using a WYSIWYG editor with drag and drop functionality. One of the distinguishing features of Construct 2 is its Ribbon interface: not unlike that of Microsoft Office products, it provides access to a wide variety of tools. It also employs an Event System whereby events are created by selecting possible conditions and actions from an organized list. Behaviors work as pre-packaged functions that you can assign to objects and reuse whenever needed. They provide an instant way to add capabilities to objects, thus saving time on development. Behaviors include movements such as directions, platform, and car, advanced features like physics and pathfinding, as well as useful utilities like fade, flash, wrap, pin and drag drop. Although most behaviors can be replicated with events, behaviors are faster to use. Construct 2 comes in a free or commercial edition. The latter allows you to make multi-player games and publish to all of the major app stores. Licenses start at $129.99 USD for a single user.

Conclusion

Whether open source or commercially licensed, all of the above HTYML5 game engines are completely responsive, highly customizable and easy to implement. But don’t limit your search to those mentioned here. There are plenty of other good choices out there and more of them are popping up every day.


Rob Gravelle

Rob Gravelle resides in Ottawa, Canada, and has built web applications for numerous businesses and government agencies. Email him for a quote on your project.

Rob’s alter-ego, « Blackjacques », is an accomplished guitar player, that has released several CDs. His band, Ivory Knight, was rated as one of Canada’s top hard rock and metal groups by Brave Words magazine (issue #92) and reached the #1 spot in the National Heavy Metal charts on ReverbNation.com.