Detecting circle-rect collisions is not trivial (but not that complicated either).
@kuroi neko's solution is correct and about as simple as the code is going to get.
Luckily, you don't need to fully understand the math theory to use the hit-test function.
If you do want more details about how the function works, here is a description using 4 steps to test if a circle and a rectangle are colliding:
Demo: http://jsfiddle.net/m1erickson/n6U8D/
First, define a circle and a rectangle
var circle={x:100,y:290,r:10};
var rect={x:100,y:100,w:40,h:100};
Step#1: Find the vertical & horizontal (distX/distY) distances between the circle’s center and the rectangle’s center
var distX = Math.abs(circle.x - rect.x-rect.w/2);
var distY = Math.abs(circle.y - rect.y-rect.h/2);
Step#2: If the distance is greater than halfCircle + halfRect, then they are too far apart to be colliding
if (distX > (rect.w/2 + circle.r)) { return false; }
if (distY > (rect.h/2 + circle.r)) { return false; }
Step#3: If the distance is less than halfRect then they are definitely colliding
if (distX <= (rect.w/2)) { return true; }
if (distY <= (rect.h/2)) { return true; }
Step#4: Test for collision at rect corner.
- Think of a line from the rect center to any rect corner
- Now extend that line by the radius of the circle
- If the circle’s center is on that line they are colliding at exactly that rect corner
Using Pythagoras formula to compare the distance between circle and rect centers.
var dx=distX-rect.w/2;
var dy=distY-rect.h/2;
return (dx*dx+dy*dy<=(circle.r*circle.r));
Heres the full code:
var circle={x:100,y:290,r:10};
var rect={x:100,y:100,w:40,h:100};
// return true if the rectangle and circle are colliding
function RectCircleColliding(circle,rect){
var distX = Math.abs(circle.x - rect.x-rect.w/2);
var distY = Math.abs(circle.y - rect.y-rect.h/2);
if (distX > (rect.w/2 + circle.r)) { return false; }
if (distY > (rect.h/2 + circle.r)) { return false; }
if (distX <= (rect.w/2)) { return true; }
if (distY <= (rect.h/2)) { return true; }
var dx=distX-rect.w/2;
var dy=distY-rect.h/2;
return (dx*dx+dy*dy<=(circle.r*circle.r));
}