Computer Architechs International Corp. releases HTML5 game for the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons’ “A Nation in Motion” website

When the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) was searching for a technology vendor to create a web version of their “A Nation in Motion” board game, they decided to partner once again with Computer Architechs International Corporation (CAI).  CAI has been working with AAOS since 2001 building the Mobile version of AAOS’  flagship medical coding application for Windows and Mac desktops called Code-X.  The Mobile version named “Code-X X-Lite” initially ran only on the PalmOS and then eventually also supported Microsoft’s PocketPC and Windows Mobile operating systems.  More recently, Code-X X-Lite was completely rewritten to run on Apple iOS, Google Android and RIM Blackberry OS devices. 

CAI also created a Mobile web version of Code-X X-Lite in 2011 to support a wider range of Internet capable mobile devices.  Currently CAI is also working on a completely overhauled version of Code-X to be released in 2013.  This new version is built on top of the latest web technologies to take advantage of all of the flexibility, versatility and features that this new development environment provides.

For the “A Nation in Motion” HTML5 application, AAOS’ requirements were not trivial ones. They wanted a web game that looked as closely as possible to AAOS’ board game version and that would also run on the widest range of platforms which included most desktops, smartphones and tablets.  They also wanted the game to be interactive and provide users with a fun  and consistent multimedia experience regardless of the device’s screen size.

Working hand-in-hand with AAOS, CAI proceeded to develop the HTML5 application which eventually supported the following full range of platforms:

• Microsoft Windows
• Apple Macintosh
• Linux
• Google Android Smartphone
• Google Android Tablets (including Amazon Kindle Fire)
• Apple iPad
• Apple, iPod Touch
• Apple iPhone
• RIM Blackberry Smartphones
• Microsoft Windows Phone 7
• All other platforms with advanced browsers supporting HTML5

Some of the biggest challenges encountered included:

1. Support for Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 browser

IE 8 is still widely used in the corporate world given that many companies are still standardized on Windows XP which only supports IE 8 as the latest browser.  IE 8 does not support HTML5, so adjustments had to be made to the application for it to run properly on the older browser.  In particular the “Femur Spinner” used to advance the game piece had to be changed to a simple counter to function properly.

2. Support for the wide range of Android smartphone devices

Given the wide proliferation of Android smartphones by different manufacturers, naturally we also see a wide range of different screen sizes, processor speeds, and different versions of the Android OS.  Therefore, additional time had to be spent testing the HTML5 application on these different phones to ensure the widest range of compatibility as possible.

The final product lived up to and exceeded expectations.  It is available right now on AAOS’ A Nation in Motion website.  Go ahead and give the game a try yourself!