CODEWITHSUNDEEP
javascripthtmlflash
afiori
afiori

Reputation: 639

Comparison between HTML5/js and flash-like

the framework html5/js is now easily usable to make application and game http://html5games.com/ and even major online game site started using it http://www.kongregate.com/html5-games.

My question is: in term of foreseeable future is html5/js going to be developed with an eye to game development? i mean, is this being considered by the dev-team? and at present time is html5 offering support, compatibility, portability and tools comparable to long date standard like flash?

I'm not asking for the best way to develop an interactive site, browser game or animation; I am interested in the usability of HTML/javascript in game and animation development because i prefer it over flash.

Upvotes: 0

Views: 467

Answers (2)

d13
d13

Reputation: 10077

You can replace your Flash development workflow with this set of tools:

  • Pixi: Fast WebGL 2d rendering and scene graph
  • Babylon: Fast WebGL 3d rendering and scene graph with integrated physics and collision
  • Tweenjs or Greensock: Tween algorithms
  • Howler: Sound using the WebAudio API
  • Proton: particle effects
  • P2 or PhysicsJS: 2d physics
  • PathfiningJS: A* and other pathfinding algorithms
  • HammerJS: Multitouch events

Or you could use a higher-level framework like Phaser, Grapefruit, Goo Engine or Playcanvas (or dozens of similar ones) that wrap all this stuff up for you.

However, In 2014, HTML5/JavaScript is just a compile target. That means you can author with any language and environment you like and just compile to HTML5. If you like working in Flash and AS3, you can continue to do so:

http://www.openfl.org

Upvotes: 2

Creative Magic
Creative Magic

Reputation: 3141

Flash still has a lot to offer:

  • There's a complete set of tools to make graphics and animation
  • Great API to satisfy your needs to create rich and interactive content
  • Lots and lots of free libraries and frameworks make by the community
  • Overall great performance

That being said JS already can do all the advanced things and even 3d at a near native speed. You have libraries like ThreeJS and others that allow access to the GPU and that means very fast rendering!

The problem is that different browsers cannot agree on what features to include by default. For example Chrome has the most variety of canvases to render graphics, while Internet Explorer continues to be a pain for the web-developers. And that's where flash has the upper hand again, as it runs 99% equally on all platforms and all browsers. I would still choose Flash for non-mobile development, but you definitely can make content that would run great on HTML5/JS.

Then it all comes down to the actual development:

  • JavaScript is non-strict type language, and that quickly becomes an issue on larger projects
  • JavaScript does not have classes. It can fake them, but these wouldn't be real classes.
  • JavaScript pushes you to write deep nested/hard-to-debug code much more.
  • There's a lack of libraries and frameworks that would work well across multiple platforms.

The choice of tool is up to you. In the current scene I see that Flash cannot be ruled out completely because of how much it can already to; at the same time JavaScript can give you really great performance even now and it will get only stronger in the future.

Upvotes: 0

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