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Welcome to the halotroop homepage. halotroop is a developer group organized by Caroline Bell. We focus on game development, related libraries and documentation. You can also find us on Steam. On Web 1.0 Standards Does it look familiar? If you've been on the internet for longer than 15 years, it should! This is how the internet used to look everywhere! Tacky, low-res animations were plastered everywhere. People would link to their friends' websites and other favorites rather than social media. Browsing was done organically, rather than with a search engine. Background images were distracting and animated, but sometimes quite beautiful! When everyone had a website, none of them were profitable! (That's a good thing!) This is how it should be now, and there's nothing stopping us from making it happen! This site was made plain and plain HTML and CSS with no variables. All written by hand in only a few days. And you can do it too! Every button on the site is a tiny GIF with a hyperlink and an image description attached. That makes it accessible to blind people, those with slow internet connections, and retro computing enthusiasts! There is no JavaScript running on this page. This page will remain compliant with every browser forever. _{Results may vary. Chromium-based browsers are not supported and never will be.} There are no externally loaded images on this page. It will work offline if you download it. No exceptions! The buttons that lead to other websites I make no promises for, however. This also means there are no advertisements that I didn't choose to put there! On web games and scripting Games on this website will be written in JavaScript, which will hopefully remain the standard for web-based games for the forseeable future. Historically, the web has had a very rocky relationship with scripting. Games have been written with several frameworks that are no longer supported by modern browsers. ActiveX `1996-2013` Java Applet `1995-2015` Shockwave Flash `1995-2020` This makes it quite difficult to create games that stand the test of time on the internet. Web portals that specialize in web-based games have taken to emulating older technologies or bringing them offline. Such is the case with Newgrounds and their Newgrounds Player offline implementation of Adobe Flash Player. Or with other sites using the Ruffle Flash Player emulator, which has its own extension for modern browsers. The approach that most websites (including this one) use is to just pick one framework that works now, and hope that it does not die off soon. This is obviously not a perfect solution. We need to build frameworks that genuinely last. Even JavaScript is not that. Closing statement The future is tacky! The future is accessible! The future loads in an instant! Anywhere, any time! If you'd like to learn how to make your own website like this one, Visit W3Schools. They have documentation there that's fit for anyone from kids to professionals. Including a tutorial to learn the basics of HTML and CSS, references on advanced topics, and even JavaScript if you'd like to make games or browser extensions. Let's bring back the open web! And let's save video game ownership while we're at it!

Welcome to the halotroop homepage. halotroop is a developer group organized by Caroline Bell. We focus on game development, related libraries and documentation. You can also find us on Steam.

On Web 1.0 Standards

Does it look familiar? If you've been on the internet for longer than 15 years, it should! This is how the internet used to look everywhere!

Tacky, low-res animations were plastered everywhere.
People would link to their friends' websites and other favorites rather than social media.
Browsing was done organically, rather than with a search engine.
Background images were distracting and animated, but sometimes quite beautiful!
When everyone had a website, none of them were profitable! (That's a good thing!)

This is how it should be now, and there's nothing stopping us from making it happen!
This site was made plain and plain HTML and CSS with no variables. All written by hand in only a few days. And you can do it too!

Every button on the site is a tiny GIF with a hyperlink and an image description attached. That makes it accessible to blind people, those with slow internet connections, and retro computing enthusiasts!
There is no JavaScript running on this page. This page will remain compliant with *every browser forever.
_{*Results may vary. Chromium-based browsers are not supported and never will be.}

Chrome and Internet Explorer: Same shit, different asshole

Safer, faster, better | Take back the web | Rediscover the web | The browser you can trust | Get Firefox

There are no externally loaded images on this page. It will work offline if you download it. No exceptions! The buttons that lead to other websites I make no promises for, however. This also means there are no advertisements that I didn't choose to put there!

On web games and scripting

Games on this website will be written in JavaScript, which will hopefully remain the standard for web-based games for the forseeable future.
Historically, the web has had a very rocky relationship with scripting. Games have been written with several frameworks that are no longer supported by modern browsers.

ActiveX
1996-2013
Java Applet
1995-2015
Shockwave Flash
1995-2020

This makes it quite difficult to create games that stand the test of time on the internet. Web portals that specialize in web-based games have taken to emulating older technologies or bringing them offline.
Such is the case with Newgrounds and their Newgrounds Player offline implementation of Adobe Flash Player. Or with other sites using the Ruffle Flash Player emulator, which has its own extension for modern browsers.
The approach that most websites (including this one) use is to just pick one framework that works now, and hope that it does not die off soon. This is obviously not a perfect solution. We need to build frameworks that genuinely last. Even JavaScript is not that.

Closing statement

The future is tacky!
The future is accessible!
The future loads in an instant!
Anywhere, any time!

If you'd like to learn how to make your own website like this one, Visit W3Schools. They have documentation there that's fit for anyone from kids to professionals. Including a tutorial to learn the basics of HTML and CSS, references on advanced topics, and even JavaScript if you'd like to make games or browser extensions.

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Let's bring back the open web!

And let's save video game ownership while we're at it!