HTML5 Game development

One of the most common questions we get asked these days is, "Can you guys develop games in HTML5", which is usually followed by, "we want games in HTML5!".

There is a really strange absoluteness about the statement.

There are some people, businesses and developers who are aligning themselves with HTML5 in ways which are a little (and not so little sometimes) evangelistic. They appear to want HTML5, regardless of whether it will work or not and specifically whether or not it will work for them and what they want to do. They want HTML5 without thinking through some of the implications either and from a business sense, those implications can be serious. It is often because they have heard of a game (maybe Angry Birds) and played a game which has been developed in HTML5 and they now think that it is the only development environment worth thinking about and that anything can be done with it.

In reality, lots can be done and most things can be achieved, but with a cost and right now, more often than not, that cost is prohibitive for commercial game development.

With all the hype around HTML5 and the propensity to rubbish Flash, we often feel like we are alone in our thinking. It was great to read this article on Ars Technica which goes on to describe a 1 year 'experiment' in HTML 5 game development by Wooga, and their conclusion is summed up with, 'has potential, but not ready for the mainstream yet'.

We've been saying for a long time that the comparison between Flash and HTML5 has, in general, been a very unfair one. It has been the HTML5 of the future (what everyone hopes it will turn into) that is being compared to the Flash of today (or more often, the Flash of yesteryear). People often forget that Flash is evolving too and whilst we are the first to admit that it is not perfect, it is still a serious contender for cross platform development, especially for the right type of game.

 Proof of the pudding? Have a play of Swords and sandals 5 now on iPhone, Android, the web and there are Windows and Mac desktop versions. head over to www.swordsandsandals.com

Before you insist on HTML5 for game development, at the very least explore the alternatives.