So since the beginning of the year, I've been working on a major project in C++ with a buddy of mine but due to some issues with real work (that actually pays) and just no real progress reinventing the wheel in C++, I'm a little burnt out. So I really want to maybe make a couple hobby games to test out some concepts I have, and just get some practice in even if I can't turn a profit on my results. I've decided to go with HTML5 because its A) very interesting to me, B) would be very easy to share with other people, and C) is a LOT cheaper than trying something, say, like Flash.

Considering I have basically a $0 budget (maybe $20-$50 if its a good week and I'm caught up on bills) what's the best way to go about HTML5 games from the hobbyist angle at least? I guess these are the basic things I would like to know:

1) I don't want to reinvent the wheel like I've kind of had to do with my main project, I'm almost just interested in some rapid prototyping to get a couple ideas out while the creative urge is still in me. What's a good engine, framework, or tool you would suggest to forgo a lot of tedium associated with writing a game from scratch in HTML5?

2) Once I've managed to make something, is there any online community that allows HTML5 game submissions, kind of like Newgrounds and Kongregate for Flash games? Or would I most likely have to invest in some cheap hosting to get them out there?

3) Any other advice you may have to pass on after experimenting with HTML5 yourself.

I'll be doing my own research as well, but I just figured the best advice would probably come from an actual person responding to my specific questions speaking from experience, rather than just trusting Google to know what I'm talking about XD

Thanks!

1) I don't want to reinvent the wheel like I've kind of had to do with my main project, I'm almost just interested in some rapid prototyping to get a couple ideas out while the creative urge is still in me. What's a good engine, framework, or tool you would suggest to forgo a lot of tedium associated with writing a game from scratch in HTML5?

I would usually highly recommend ImpactJS, but this is not free. There are free engines like CraftyJS which seem to get good feedback. You can find a list here: https://github.com/bebraw/jswiki/wiki/Game-Engines

2) Once I've managed to make something, is there any online community that allows HTML5 game submissions, kind of like Newgrounds and Kongregate for Flash games? Or would I most likely have to invest in some cheap hosting to get them out there?

You can host for free on GitHub, but there are also plenty of other communities where you can host your game. Look into Chrome Web Store, for example. With a bit of googling around it shouldn't be difficult to find one you'd like to host with as they are quite common.

3) Any other advice you may have to pass on after experimenting with HTML5 yourself.

1. Browser compatibility is a pain in the butt. Test early (as I'm only working on HTML5 games for fun in my spare time I'm kind of half-assed about this and only really focus on Chrome and Firefox)
2. I recommend Chrome Canary to use as a primary browser during development.
3. Chrome Dev Tools are extremely useful