Quick summary
Dust Protocol is a browser FPS set on a faithful rebuild of Counter-Strike’s legendary Dust2. You aim with the mouse, click to fire, and move with WASD. It’s a full first-person shooter on the canvas with nothing to download, and it shows how far a browser game can go.
Who this template is for
Dust Protocol exists to answer one question: how far can a browser game go? It’s for people who need that answered with a build, not an argument.
- Studios and agencies pitching ambitious web work who need a technical ceiling-raiser in the portfolio
- Developers studying first-person movement, hit detection, and map geometry written from scratch rather than inherited from an engine
- Brands who want a recognisable competitive-shooter moment that runs with nothing to download
What problem this template solves
Most “browser games” on offer are either heavy engine exports or toy demos that fall apart the moment you look under the hood. This build is neither.
- Engine exports ship megabytes of runtime before the first frame ever draws
- Toy demos skip the hard parts: real collision, game states, difficulty curves, and persistence
- Builders who want to learn from a finished game almost never get to see the instructions that produced it
What you get with this template
You get a full first-person shooter on a faithful rebuild of the most-played competitive map in the world, running on the canvas with nothing to install.
- The control model players already have in their hands: mouse-to-aim, click-to-fire, and WASD movement
- A hand-coded rebuild of the Dust2 layout, with the sightlines and chokepoints that make the map readable to anyone who has played it
- Map, movement, and shooting all written from scratch, so every system is open to inspect
Page sections overview
| Section | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Canvas first-person renderer | Render the full first-person view on the canvas with no engine runtime |
| Faithful Dust2 geometry | Rebuild the recognisable Dust2 layout so sightlines read correctly |
| Hand-written movement model | Code acceleration, friction, and collision from scratch |
| Round-based firefight loop | Structure play into rounds so each engagement has stakes |
| Mouse-aim input layer | Map pointer movement to view direction with pointer-lock capture |
Design and branding system
The art direction follows the source material: sun-bleached desert architecture, high-contrast sightlines, and an interface that stays out of the way of the crosshair.
- A sand-and-shadow palette pulled from the original map, chosen so player silhouettes separate cleanly from the environment
- High-contrast geometry at sightline distance, because readability at range is a gameplay requirement rather than a style choice
- A minimal heads-up display that leaves the centre of the screen to the crosshair and the fight
Mobile and speed optimization
The game targets desktop first, with keyboard and mouse as the primary controls. It stays light enough to load instantly anywhere.
- There’s no engine runtime and no asset downloads, so the whole game arrives in a handful of requests
- A capped frame delta keeps the simulation stable even when the browser tab stutters or loses focus
- The page stays lean, with no frameworks or trackers between the visitor and the game loop
How this template helps you convert
A playable game holds attention longer than any showreel. The page around it is built to turn that attention into a next step.
- Visitors play right away, with no signup, download, or install before the first round
- The finished build is fully inspectable, which turns curious players into builders who want the prompt behind it
- Paying once for the prompt is a small, concrete next step while the session is still hot
Other information about this template
Dust Protocol is a technical demonstration first. A few notes before you build on it.
- It’s a tribute build for demonstration purposes and isn’t affiliated with or endorsed by the original rights holders
- Keyboard and mouse are required, so the build targets desktop rather than touch
- The map geometry is data you can swap for your own level without rewriting the renderer
- Performance scales with resolution, so the canvas size is the first lever if you need more headroom
How it works
It runs entirely in the browser on the canvas, with no plugins and no install. The map, movement, and shooting are all coded from scratch, which proves a console-style shooter can live on a web page.
Screenshots
Captured from the live build: the title screen, then gameplay, level by level.
