Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
HTML5 and Flash
While HTML5 is often compared to Flash and is considered as its main competitor,
the two technologies differ in many aspects.
They both allow to play audio and graphics inside web pages and to manage vector
graphics. On the other hand, Flash is a complete tool of its own, thanks to its script-
ing language called ActionScript, while interactions between elements of web apps
created with HTML5 can only be implemented through JavaScript. In the end, many
features of Flash have no counterpart in HTML5 yet!
We mentioned that Apple gave a decisive push towards the spreading of HTML5
instead of Flash. The reason is that Flash-based apps cannot be directly rendered
by web browsers. A freely available component called Adobe Flash Player is re-
quired. But, Adobe Flash Player is supported by any platform, excluding the iOS (and
Android Version 4.1 and higher)! The result is that no Flash-based application can
run on iPhones, iPad, iPod Touch, or even Apple TV.
On the other hand, the HTML5 standard is supported by all major web browsers,
both desktop and mobile. This is why some game developers turned to HTML5 to
develop iOS games and why HTML5 is considered the optimal choice for true multi-
platform game development.
Issues with HTML5
The debate on whether HTML5 is the ultimate tool to create cross-platform web ap-
plication, and thus games that can equally run on different mobile phones, is still de-
veloping.
There are in fact two main issues when using HTML5. One is that different browsers
implement HTML5 in different ways, so the performance of a HTML5 game can dra-
matically differ, depending on the specific browser it runs on.
The other is that the implementation of HTML5 games rely on the use of a complex
chain of tools: WebGL to have 3D graphics rendered by the GPU in the browser win-
dow, SVG for vector graphics, NaCl to compile C/C++ native modules, WebSockets
to support multiplayer, WebAudio, Canvas, DOM, and obviously, JavaScript; it is a
quite long list!
