I’ve been off writing for a while mostly because most my time had been taken up with work. If I did get any time off, I preferred spending that time away from the desk. But lately I’ve been missing writing, so thought of starting off with a short article on how I view the platform I’m investing my time in – HTML5.
Rewinding back by four years
It all began in April 2010 when the then CEO of Apple, Steve Jobs issued a public letter titled “Thoughts on Flash” dismissing it as platform no longer relevant for web based content. All of a sudden it sparked debates in the media and developer circles with HTML5 by being pitted against Flash, threatening to topple it down. The general opinion was that HTML5 is King and will change the way people look at content on mobile, as Flash will languish in oblivion.
As time passed, the glory of HTML5 starting fading a bit. In 2012 Mark Zuckerberg was quoted saying at the Disrupt conference that his biggest mistake was “betting too much on HTML5 as opposed to native”.
In 2013 LinkedIn too switched from mobile web-based apps to native because of performance issues and crashes.
In 2012 at the Intel Developer Forum, Intel admitted that HTML5 was over hyped, while continuing to be a strong developer supporter for HTML5 development even today.
HTML5 games was a small, almost non-existent market.
Back to recent times
Times are better today. There is still a constant conflicting debate on whether HTML5 is sustainable in comparison to native or platforms like Unity.
Native and web based apps can never be compared because they both work differently. While a native app runs on a mobile’s OS and machine firmware, HTML5 apps run within a browser. It is upto project stakeholders to decide whether their product is best designed for native or web.
SpilGames and SoftGames have the largest catalogue of casual HTML5 games. They have built this catalogue to target their casual game audiences that play games on the web. They along with FGL are encouraging developers with an ecosystem that includes monetization across platforms. Amazon too has started excepting HTML5 web apps.
GREE, a Japanese social games company recently announced a shift of focus from HTML5 to native apps. I don’t see this as a news that will damage the current HTML5 ecosystem. It is known that HTML5 can never compete with console quality games, especially on mobiles. What HTML5 can provide though, is quick access to games when a user visits a website without having the pains of connecting to app stores, downloading content or paying for it. HTML5 is best suited for quick game-plays and easy discovery through web browsers.
What I also loving about the platform is its community. The community is responsive and constantly building and improving frameworks to make the process of HTML5 development easier.
So to sum it up, the adaption of HTML5 has been like a wave curve. It’s seen adaption and abandonment. The platform is yet evolving, and it’s only going to get better, while mobile phones will get more powerful.
If you have thoughts on the HTML5 ecosystem please feel free to share it. I to hope continue sharing more articles on developing games and apps using HTML5.
Also check out
Chrome experiments; they have some fantastic work but never tested them on mobiles
Mariam
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