Breakout Game with Vanilla JavaScript

This code creates a “Breakout Game” using Vanilla JavaScript. It renders a canvas with bricks, a ball, and a paddle. The ball bounces off the walls, bricks, and the paddle, with the aim of breaking the bricks. The paddle can be controlled using the keyboard or mouse to prevent the ball from falling off the screen.

The game tracks the score and lives, ending when the player loses all lives. It also includes a pause functionality triggered by pressing the ‘Esc’ key. Additionally, there’s an option to enable autoplay.

How to Create a Breakout Game With Vanilla Javascript

1. First of all, load the Bootstrap CSS by adding the following CDN link into the head tag of your HTML document.

<link rel='stylesheet' href='https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/twitter-bootstrap/3.3.7/css/bootstrap.min.css'>

2. Create the HTML code to set up the game canvas and other elements.

<canvas id="myCanvas" width="480" height="320"></canvas>
<div class="autoplay-toggle">
  <input id="autoplay" type="checkbox" name="autoplay" value="Autoplay"> Enable Autoplay?<br>
</div>
<p><strong>Press 'Esc' to pause the game</strong></p>

3. To make your game visually appealing, add CSS styles to your HTML. Create a separate CSS file and link it to your HTML file or include the styles in a <style> block within the HTML file. It styles the game canvas, paddle, bricks, and other elements. You can customize it to match your preferences.

* {
    margin: 0;
    padding: 0;
}

canvas {    
    background-color: #eee;
    display: block;
    margin: 20px auto;
}
#lose-message {
    font-size: 2em;
    text-align: center;
    margin: 10px;
    color: red;
    font-weight: bold;
    font-family: sans-serif;
    display: none;
}

.autoplay-toggle {
    display: inline-block;
    position: relative;
    left: 50%;
    margin-top: 10px;
    transform: translate(-50%, 0);
}

p {
  text-align: center;
}

4. Finally, it’s time to add the JavaScript code that powers the Breakout game. Copy and paste the following JavaScript code into a separate .js file and link it to your HTML file using the <script> tag. Ensure the script tag is placed just before the closing </body> tag.

// Canvas related variables
var canvas = document.getElementById('myCanvas');
var ctx = canvas.getContext('2d');

// Game related variables
var lives = 3;
var gameOver = false;
var paused = false;
var score = 0;
var autoplayToggle = document.getElementById("autoplay");
autoplayToggle.checked = false;

// Ball relates variables
var x = canvas.width / 2;
var y = canvas.height - 30;
var dx = 1.5;
var dy = -1.5;
var ballRadius = 10;
var maxSpeed = 3.5;
var speedMultiplier = 1;

// Paddle related variables
var paddleHeight = 10;
var paddleWidth = 75;
var paddleX = (canvas.width - paddleWidth) / 2;
var paddleY = canvas.height - (paddleHeight + 5);
var rightPressed = false;
var leftPressed = false;
var paddleSpeed = 7;

// Brick related variables
var brickRowCount = 3;
var brickColumnCount = 5;
var brickWidth = 75;
var brickHeight = 20;
var brickPadding = 10;
var brickOffsetTop = 30;
var brickOffsetLeft = 30;
var bricks = [];
for (c = 0; c < brickColumnCount; c++) {
    bricks[c] = [];
    for (r = 0; r < brickRowCount; r++) {
        bricks[c][r] = {
            x: 0,
            y: 0,
            status: 2
        };
    }
}

function draw() {    
    if (!paused) {
        ctx.clearRect(0, 0, canvas.width, canvas.height);

        if (autoplayToggle.checked) {
            autoPlay();
        }
        drawPaddle();
        drawBricks();
        drawBall();
        collisionDetection();
        drawScore();
        drawLives();

        x += dx;
        y += dy;
    }
    if (x + dx > (canvas.width - ballRadius) || x + dx < ballRadius) {
        dx = -dx;
    }
    if (y + dy < ballRadius) {
        dy = -dy;
    } else if (y + dy > (canvas.height - (2 * ballRadius))) {

        if (x > paddleX && x < paddleX + paddleWidth) {
            dy = -dy;
            if (Math.abs(dx) < maxSpeed && Math.abs(dy) < maxSpeed) {
                dx *= speedMultiplier;
                dy *= speedMultiplier;

                console.log(dx);
            }
        } else {
            lives--;
            if (!lives) {
                alert("GAME OVER");
                document.location.reload();
            } else {
                x = canvas.width / 2;
                y = canvas.height - 30;
                dx = 2;
                dy = -2;
                paddleX = (canvas.width - paddleWidth) / 2;
            }

        }

    }

    if (lives <= 0) {
        loseMessage.style.display = "block";
    }
    
    requestAnimationFrame(draw);
}

function drawBall() {
    ctx.beginPath();
    ctx.arc(x, y, ballRadius, 0, Math.PI * 2);
    ctx.fillStyle = '#0095DD';
    ctx.fill();
    ctx.closePath();


}

function drawPaddle() {
    ctx.beginPath();
    ctx.rect(paddleX, paddleY, paddleWidth, paddleHeight);
    ctx.fillStyle = "#00FFFF";
    ctx.fill();
    ctx.closePath();

    if (rightPressed) {
        if (paddleX + paddleSpeed < canvas.width - paddleWidth) {
            paddleX += paddleSpeed;
        }
    } else if (leftPressed) {
        if (paddleX - paddleSpeed > 0) {
            paddleX -= paddleSpeed;
        }
    }
}

function autoPlay() {
    var newX = x - (paddleWidth / 2);

    if (newX >= 0 && newX <= canvas.width - paddleWidth) {
        paddleX = newX;
    }
}

function drawBricks() {
    for (c = 0; c < brickColumnCount; c++) {
        for (r = 0; r < brickRowCount; r++) {
            if (bricks[c][r].status > 0) {
                var brickX = (c * (brickWidth + brickPadding)) + brickOffsetLeft;
                var brickY = (r * (brickHeight + brickPadding)) + brickOffsetTop;
                bricks[c][r].x = brickX;
                bricks[c][r].y = brickY;
                ctx.beginPath();
                ctx.rect(brickX, brickY, brickWidth, brickHeight);
                ctx.fillStyle = bricks[c][r].status == 2 ? "#ddd000" : "#dd1e00";
                ctx.fill();
                ctx.closePath();
            }
        }
    }
}

function collisionDetection() {
    for (c = 0; c < brickColumnCount; c++) {
        for (r = 0; r < brickRowCount; r++) {
            var b = bricks[c][r];
            if (b.status != 0) {
                if (x > b.x && x < b.x + brickWidth && y - ballRadius > b.y && y - ballRadius < b.y + brickHeight) {
                    dy = -dy;
                    b.status--;

                    if (b.status == 0) {
                        dy = -dy;
                        score++;

                        if (score == brickRowCount * brickColumnCount) {
                            alert("YOU WIN, CONGRATULATIONS!");
                            document.location.reload();
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

function drawScore() {
    ctx.font = "16px Arial";
    ctx.fillStyle = "#0095DD";
    ctx.fillText("Score: " + score, 8, 20);
}

function drawLives() {
    ctx.font = "16px Arial";
    ctx.fillStyle = "#0095DD";
    ctx.fillText("Lives: " + lives, canvas.width - 65, 20);
}

function keyDownHandler(e) {
    if (e.keyCode == 39 || e.keyCode == 68) {
        rightPressed = true;
    } else if (e.keyCode == 37 || e.keyCode == 65) {
        leftPressed = true;
    }
}

function keyUpHandler(e) {
    if (e.keyCode == 39 || e.keyCode == 68) {
        rightPressed = false;
    } else if (e.keyCode == 37 || e.keyCode == 65) {
        leftPressed = false;
    }
}

function pauseKeyPress(e) {
    if (e.keyCode == 27) {
        paused = !paused;
        console.log(paused);
    }
}

function mouseMoveHandler(e) {
    var relativeX = e.clientX - canvas.offsetLeft;
    if (relativeX > 0 && relativeX < canvas.width) {
        var newPaddleX = relativeX - paddleWidth / 2;

        if (newPaddleX >= 0 && newPaddleX + paddleWidth <= canvas.width) {
            paddleX = newPaddleX;
        }
    }
}

document.addEventListener("keydown", keyDownHandler, false);
document.addEventListener("keyup", keyUpHandler, false);
document.addEventListener("keyup", pauseKeyPress, false);
document.addEventListener("mousemove", mouseMoveHandler, false);
//setInterval(draw, 10);
draw();

That’s all! hopefully, you have successfully created a Breakout Game with Vanilla JavaScript. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to comment below.

Asif Mughal

I code and create web elements for amazing people around the world. I like work with new people. New people new Experiences.
I truly enjoy what I’m doing, which makes me more passionate about web development and coding. I am always ready to do challenging tasks whether it is about creating a custom CMS from scratch or customizing an existing system.