Flash on mobile web stopped ! What’s about game development based on it ?
Not long after Adobe announced they’re going to stop development of Flash over mobile web as HTML5 is a big futurist to be a replacement, it rises question on my head “What’s about game community whose flash-based technology is applied over ?”.
The fact that I’ve researched to these kind of information is that I used flash-based technology in which I developed my own game framework on top of FlashPunk called RESTfoo to create game which runs on web and desktop. The most important thing I would like to know is “Will the stoppage in development of Flash mobile web is going to effect game development based on this kind of technology ?”.
Surely, creating games on platform in which in a couple months or few years or (deadly) stop is not a good thing to continue doing so. Developers need to know the information to decide and find alternative solutions backing them up before time.
Before I conclude this dilemma whether the game community of flash will be still alive or we should continue develop games on it, let me take you back a little while to see how this kind of announcement steps progressing forward like it is now.
Adobe was threaten by the business driven of Apple.
Back in April, 2010, Steve Jobs stated in the open letter explaining the reasons why all of Apple’s mobile devices rejected to have Flash installed. Those reasons ranges from being slow in decoding video prior to the fact that Flash didn’t take advantage of hardware acceleration but relies on software to do the job, closed system (rather than open as Adobe cited), and the most important one is the slow in adoption of Mac OS X platform by Flash to use Apple’s touch technology fully in its runtime as the touch system developed by Apple called Cocoa is a must to leverage the experience of applications running on iOS platform over mobile devices.
Apple decided they would not be risk to wait Flash to add more features, and adopt Apple’s innovative technogy anymore. So they cut the things out, and built their own ecosystem with the hope to fully control the API and not interfere with the applications created on top of 3rd party layer like Flash.
Although, there was a try Adobe responded to those statements but I don’t know exactly what actions they took. As far as it is now, the time passed til we discover HTML5. It brings the realization in Adobe side for taking another action to bypass this dilemma. So they cut out the Flash on mobile web, and try to be one of key players to support Flash with HTML5 and use another solution, running Flash-based application as a normal application over those mobile device. That comes AIR to help !
The concept is to build Flash application in AIR version. When users come across the website and found the link ie. game url, the system will automatically switches from browser to application page the similar behavior you saw in iOS when you try to download/buy a particular application over website as it will triggers iTunes to show up. The switching will be seemlessly, and this might solves the Flash dilemma.
Take a great example over Machinarium originally created on Flash-based technology, and next got boom up again on iOS mobile device (only on iPad 2 as it’s acclaimed that only top notch mobile device can be able to run Flash-based game in smooth sense.).
Also for the big names in game industry,
Unity, and Unreal already added their own game engine ability to be able to export game into Flash content readily to be played over web or the ways the flash can be played.
In additional, Flash also announced Stage3D or as a codename “Molehill” the next generation of 2D/3D rendering included in Flash Runtime version 11. It’s a lot faster than the previous rendering system. See demo video here.
To be conclude
This could prove that Flash-based game / community will be still alive over the several years to come at least. Thanks god to hear that !
Despite the fact that Flash on mobile web is the history but Adobe itself has more time to focus and invest on (sort of) native applications, of course including GAME !
PS: The announcement from Adobe is merely scary. Don’t let those words insult your routine working on projects in hands. See this post as it’s more positive and let’s spread the words.
{Edited}
- 9.27 PM, 13 Nov 2011
You can see this talking over FlashPunk’s community here.
See Comb Over Charlie, another success story for creating Flash-based game over multiple platform with great frame-rate.
- 8.17 AM, 14 Nov 2011
Fixed the link to Steve Jobs’s Open Letter on “Thought on Flash”.
