Publishing Your TCJSGame: A Complete Guide to Sharing Your Creation with the World

So, you've built an amazing game with TCJSGame—now it's time to share it with the world! Publishing your game can be just as exciting as creating it, but it requires some careful planning to ensure players have the best possible experience. In this comprehensive guide, we'll walk through everything you need to know to publish your TCJSGame project successfully, with special attention to performance optimization that can make or break your game's success.

Why Performance Matters When Publishing

Before we dive into the publishing process, let's talk about why performance is crucial. When you publish your game, you lose control over the hardware and browsers it will run on. Your players might have:

• Older smartphones or computers
• Different monitor refresh rates (60Hz, 120Hz, etc.)
• Multiple tabs running simultaneously
• Slow internet connections

A game that runs perfectly on your development machine might struggle on other devices. This is where TCJSGame's performance features become essential for providing a consistent experience across all platforms .

🚀 Pre-Publish Checklist

Before hitting that publish button, run through this checklist to ensure your game is ready for prime time:

Code Quality & Functionality

• ✅ Test thoroughly: Play through your entire game multiple times
• ✅ Fix known bugs: Address any issues logged during development
• ✅ Implement game states: Ensure proper start, pause, and game over states
• ✅ Balance difficulty: Make sure your game is challenging but fair

Performance Optimization

• ✅ Enable performance extension: Implement the TCJSGame performance booster
• ✅ Optimize assets: Compress images and audio files
• ✅ Test on multiple devices: Check how your game performs on different hardware
• ✅ Monitor frame rate: Ensure consistent performance throughout gameplay

User Experience

• ✅ Add clear instructions: Players should know how to control the game
• ✅ Implement feedback systems: Visual and audio cues for player actions
• ✅ Polish UI/UX: Make menus and interfaces intuitive and attractive
• ✅ Test on different browsers: Ensure cross-browser compatibility

⚡ Maximizing Performance with TCJSGame Extensions

One of the most important steps before publishing is implementing performance optimizations. TCJSGame's architecture has evolved significantly, with v3 offering substantial improvements over previous versions .

Understanding the Performance Benefits

TCJSGame v3 introduces several performance-enhancing features:

Feature	v2 (Basic)	v3 (Enhanced)
Game Loop	setInterval (50 FPS max)	requestAnimationFrame (matches display)
Movement	Pixels per frame	Delta time (pixels per second)
Background Behavior	Keeps running	Auto-pauses when tab is hidden
Rendering	Always renders everything	Off-screen culling supported

Implementing the Performance Extension

Here's how to integrate the performance extension into your game:

<!-- Include TCJSGame v3 and the performance extension -->
<script src="https://tcjsgame.vercel.app/mat/tcjsgame-v3.js"></script>
<script src="https://tcjsgame.vercel.app/mat/tcjsgame-perf.js"></script>

<script>
  const display = new Display();

  // Enable performance features
  enableTCJSPerf(display, {
    useDelta: true,     // Enable delta time for consistent movement
    cacheTiles: true,   // Cache tilemaps for better performance
    cullMargin: 32      // Skip objects outside viewport + 32px margin
  });

  display.start(800, 450);

  // Your game objects
  const player = new Component(50, 50, "red", 100, 100, "rect");
  display.add(player);

  // Update function now uses delta time for smooth movement
  function update(dt) {
    // Movement now in pixels per second, not per frame
    if (display.keys[39]) player.x += 200 * dt; // Move right
    if (display.keys[37]) player.x -= 200 * dt; // Move left
  }
</script>

Delta Time: The Key to Consistent Movement

The most crucial performance improvement is using delta time (dt). Without it, your game runs at different speeds on different devices:

// ❌ WITHOUT delta time - speed varies with frame rate
function update() {
  player.x += 5; // 5 pixels per frame
  // At 60 FPS: 300 pixels/second
  // At 120 FPS: 600 pixels/second (too fast!)
}

// ✅ WITH delta time - consistent speed regardless of frame rate
function update(dt) {
  player.x += 300 * dt; // Always 300 pixels/second
  // At 60 FPS: 5 pixels/frame × 60 = 300 pixels/second
  // At 120 FPS: 2.5 pixels/frame × 120 = 300 pixels/second
}

🌐 Choosing Your Publishing Platform

Now that your game is optimized, it's time to choose where to publish it. Here are the main options:

GitHub Pages (Free and Simple)

Perfect for: Portfolio pieces, sharing with developers, quick prototypes

# Simple deployment process
git add .
git commit -m "Publish my TCJSGame"
git push origin main
# Enable GitHub Pages in repository settings

Pros: Free, integrates with your code repository, custom domain support
Cons: Limited to static hosting, no built-in gaming community

Itch.io (Gaming-Focused)

Perfect for: Reaching gamers, getting feedback, game jams

Process:

1. Create zip file with your game assets
2. Upload to itch.io
3. Add appealing screenshots and description
4. Choose whether to make it free or paid

Pros: Gaming-focused audience, community features, analytics
Cons: More competition, requires marketing to stand out

Netlify/Vercel (Professional Hosting)

Perfect for: Professional presentations, web apps with custom domains

Pros: Continuous deployment from Git, custom domains, advanced features
Cons: More complex setup, potential costs for heavy traffic

📝 Publishing on Dev.to

Dev.to is an excellent platform for sharing your technical journey and showcasing your game to a developer audience .

Creating an Engaging Dev.to Post

When writing about your TCJSGame on Dev.to, structure your post for maximum engagement:

1. Start with a compelling introduction - Hook readers with what makes your game unique

2. Embed your game directly - Use Dev.to's embed feature to let readers play immediately

3. Share your development journey - Discuss challenges you overcame and lessons learned

4. Include technical details - Developers want to know about your implementation choices

5. Showcase code snippets - Highlight interesting parts of your TCJSGame implementation

6. Add high-quality screenshots/GIFs - Visuals help readers understand your game quickly

7. Use relevant tags - #gamedev, #javascript, #tcjsgame, #indiedev

Example Dev.to Post Structure

# I Built a Space Shooter with TCJSGame - Here's What I Learned

![Game Screenshot](your-screenshot.png)

{% embed https://your-game-url.netlify.app %}

## The Development Journey

I started with TCJSGame v3 because...

## Performance Challenges

The biggest hurdle was optimizing for mobile devices. 
Here's how I used the performance extension:

javascript
// Your performance optimization code

## Game Design Decisions

Why I chose this art style and game mechanics...

## Try It Yourself!

Play the embedded game above and let me know what you think!

## Source Code

[GitHub Repository](your-repo-link)

🎯 Post-Publishing Strategies

Your work isn't done once the game is published! Here's how to maximize its reach:

Marketing Your Game

• Share on social media with relevant hashtags
• Post in gaming communities like Reddit's r/WebGames
• Reach out to gaming blogs and content creators
• Submit to game directories and review sites

Gathering Feedback

• Monitor analytics to see how players interact with your game
• Encourage comments and reviews
• Watch gameplay videos if creators make them
• Iterate based on feedback and release updates

Maintaining Your Published Game

• Fix bugs reported by players
• Update for browser compatibility as new versions release
• Consider adding new content to keep players engaged
• Monitor performance across different devices and browsers

📊 Measuring Success

Success means different things for different games. Set clear goals:

• Learning experience: Did you improve your skills?
• Portfolio piece: Does it showcase your abilities to employers?
• Community recognition: Are players enjoying and sharing your game?
• Monetization (if applicable): Is it generating revenue?

🔧 Troubleshooting Common Publishing Issues

Even with careful preparation, you might encounter issues:

Game runs slowly on mobile devices:

• Check if performance extension is properly implemented
• Reduce particle effects or complex calculations
• Simplify graphics for smaller screens

Controls don't work on touch devices:

• Implement touch-specific input handling
• Add virtual buttons for mobile players
• Ensure click/touch areas are large enough

Game doesn't load in some browsers:

• Check console for errors
• Test cross-browser compatibility during development
• Provide fallbacks for older browsers

🚀 Conclusion

Publishing your TCJSGame is an exciting milestone that shares your hard work with the world. By focusing on performance optimization through the TCJSGame performance extension, choosing the right publishing platform, and effectively marketing your creation, you can ensure players have the best possible experience.

Remember that publishing isn't just about the technical deployment—it's about connecting with players, gathering feedback, and continuing to improve. The TCJSGame community is growing, and each published game strengthens the ecosystem and inspires other developers .

Now go publish that game you've worked so hard on! The world is waiting to play it.

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Have you published a TCJSGame? Share your experience and links in the comments below! Let's build a collection of amazing TCJSGame projects and learn from each other's publishing journeys.