Superspark Accounts is the cloud save system available for some of my browser games, because for this nerd, it’s not enough for me to make fun and silly things you can play with just your Web browser – I want players to be able to use their save data across different computers as seamlessly as they can with systems for installed games like Steam Cloud! I have a bunch of improvements planned for this system I’d like to share with y’all~
Logging In with an itch.io Account
I’m working on letting you create & log in to a Superspark Account by using your itch.io account~ Besides being more private than e-mail addresses and easier than OpenID, this’ll let me do some interesting things by integrating with their service:
- I’ll be able to sell browser games on itch.io, and my site will be able to detect when you’ve bought them and give you access.
- If you start one of my games through the Itch app and you use the same itch.io account for said app that you use for Superspark Accounts, my game can log you in automatically.
Logging In from In-Game
Right now, the Web Wonders page is your only way in & out of Superspark Accounts, which gets a bit awkward if you went directly to the game – after all, being able to directly link to & bookmark a browser game is what makes it so easy to jump in! So I’d like to make a way to log in from the game. I plan to build this in two phases:
- The “keep it simple” phase; the game will link to a separate page that has nothing but a login form (and a “Return to [game name]” link if you change your mind), and once you’re logged in you’ll be taken straight back to the game. I’m actually making this page in the same login code overhaul in which I’ll implement logging in with itch.io, but I’ll need to update my games afterwards to provide the link.
- Eventually, I’d like to offer the login form in-game in a way that blends in seamlessly with each game.
Local Data Copies
Right now, despite the system’s claim that it will “keep your data in sync across devices”, it uhh… doesn’t actually “sync” 😅 it just makes your browser use the server for all saving/loading of your data if you’re logged in, not using your device at all. obvs if I ever want my games to have an offline option like the one Magic Puddle got, that’s no good! I’ll need to rework the system to keep a copy of your save data on your device and actually sync it with the server, and that’ll have the added benefit of letting you keep playing if the service has downtime for any reason.
Fwiends 👩❤️👩
In the long run, I’d like to add a friends list to Superspark Accounts and let friends do things together in-game, like see each other’s creations or compare high scores~