Popular GIF hosting site, Giphy, has debuted a gaming platform designed for people to play, create and share mini web games in they same way they share animated GIFs. Called Giphy Arcade, the feature runs on web browsers and marks the website’s entry into online gaming. According to the company, the feature enables users to create mini games even without knowing how to code, by using pre-built templates, stickers and more.
Available for free, Giphy Arcade has about 100 original titles that feature retro-style graphics, and are about 10 seconds in length. According to the company, people can play these games or customize their own with the help of pre-built templates, music and stickers. To create a game of their own, users will only need to choose the type of hero and the obstacle or villain they want.
Users will also be able to customize their games by picking new art for the playable characters, as well as animated backgrounds, from Giphy’s vast database of GIFs. The company further says it has created a number of audio tracks exclusively for the project, so users will also be able to pick any one of those as the background music for their games. You can try out Giphy Arcade by clicking on this link.
In an official statement about the new gaming platform, Nick Santaniello, a senior product engineer at Giphy, said: “… We knew the experience had to be quick, shareable, and accessible for everyone, including people who don’t necessarily have a history with gaming. With Giphy Arcade, we’ve created an experience that provides not only instant fun for the player, but also a new way to add personalized expression and entertainment to conversations as they’re happening”.
