Flash vs HTML5 for games on Facebook - a business perspective

Question

I am in the planning and training stages of creating a facebook game. Last year, my main question was: "Flash or HTML5?" Instead of trying to solve the answer to this question, I thought that I would let the markets ripen for some more time and learn how to develop the game and how to manage the server element.

Over the past year, I have devoured thousands of pages of text related to game development and business development, and also got a solid foundation in AS3, python, php, C # and javascript. So, I'm most interested in choosing the system that is best suited to work, and not, for example, starting with the assumption that the logic of the game will be in python, because I like it the most.

The game is the main strategic game, and I plan to use many mobile phones in addition to the standard facebook features “Invite all your friends”. The graphics will not be flashy and in most places will be quite flat due to thematic elements, rather than three-dimensional isometric ones, such as farmville or other flash facebook.

So, from a technological point of view, HTML5 has no real advantage that I can see compared to flash, and none of the flash drives has a real advantage compared to HTML5. If you see that someone has a clear advantage over others, I would be glad to hear that in your comments.

I have five main questions that I need your opinion on:

1) What platform makes sense to build a game in facebook, taking into account future market trends?
2) On which platform are the best essential elements that help prevent fraud? (e.g. flash is compiled in .swf vs javascript as plain text)
3) Which platform will be most attractive to the best talents in the development of games for future mercenaries?
4) Which platform is the easiest to use in one game and use it for other future games? (e.g. development of isometric graphics in flash memory)
5) Which platform is the easiest to develop with a team?

Answer 1

Here are a few thoughts. Please consider their opinions, not the facts. I'm sure I forgot something, otherwise people might think differently. I hope for a fruitful discussion, because I believe that your questions are important and deserve an exchange of views;)

• It's hard to predict the future, but considering that the HTML5 standard will not be final over the next few years and that Microsoft browsers are lagging behind (only the latest beta version of IE supports HTML5), developing exclusively for HTML5 seems to me a big risk. This makes a lot of sense for iOS and Android devices, as the implementation of Safari and Chrome Webkit is pretty far away. But if you want to extend your game to "regular" PCs and laptops, I would not want to do HTML5 without a backup solution. In short: if you can afford it, do both, if not, go with Flash (it works everywhere except iOS).

• I would say that both platforms have the same vulnerability problem: the user downloads most of the game to the client computer. You can use obfuscation and encryption tools, but with some effort and effort, the code can be decompiled and / or analyzed to find loopholes for cheating. You can never be completely safe on a client computer, so the only "real" security mechanism is to save most of the game logic on your server. However, this is not always possible due to performance and capacity limitations. In addition, you will always need a client application, so at least interference with communication channels is possible. Use all possible precautions you can think of, be vigilant, have some routine methods for checking violations (validation checks, reports of unusually high scores, etc.) and be prepared to respond quickly when something happens oddly. You have to do it on all platforms, really.

• Both HTML5 and Flash support vector graphics, which is a good basis for hiring. Flash has one important advantage in this area, in my opinion: it offers a decent IDE for creating keyframe animations. I’m sure that Adobe is working on the SVG export function, which allows using animations created using Flash in HTML5, but not yet. And I don’t know any 2D animation tool that can export SVG animations. (If anyone else knows, please comment!)

• If you are designing your program architecture as modular and extensible, you should have the same opportunity on both platforms. The only significant difference is that in HTML and JavaScript, your source files are also your final product: all resources (HTML pages, JavaScript files, images, CSS files, etc.) are available as separate files, and any of your staff can replace things on an FTP server without interrupting other parts of the program. In Flash, the source code must be compiled, and resources are often packaged directly into the resulting binaries. Therefore, when, say, the image changes, you will have to redeploy the Flash binaries, unless your project is programmed to load resources from the outside. Be sure to determine your resource management strategy at an early stage and not only rely on technical requirements, but also on workflow needs.

• Successful command programming, in my experience, is not so much a question about the programming language used. With modern tools, you can configure useful command-line utilities, such as version control, unit testing, and continuous integration for almost every platform. I would try to go to a platform in which most of the people I work with understand and / or study well (for example, if there is a core group), or one that is comfortable enough for me, at least to be able to follow the process development. It also depends on the talent that you can find and afford. It all boils down to the following: what good is the best technology when you don't have people to use it effectively?

Answer 2

It depends on the game, but to be honest, Flash is a way to go IMHO. Browsers will always provide rendering. HTML 5 is more of a noise thing, and it's a driving force if you want to have iPhone and iPad support. Many other Social Game companies simply transfer their successful names to their native apps if they make a lot of money.

1) What platform makes sense to build a game on facebook, taking into account future market trends?

There is no alternative to Rich Media for Flash. For any challenging game, Flash is the only way to go. As for the back, it is very subjective. Ruby, Python, C #, Php are all common in the social gaming industry.

2) On which platform are there more inherent elements that help prevent fraud? (e.g. flash is compiled in .swf vs javascript as plain text)

Cheating extends to any social gaming platform. Flash can be completely decompiled, so your security should always be handled on the server side. Flash and HTML 5 will have the same anti-fraud solution: server-side validation of everything.

3) Which platform would be the most attractive for the best talent for developing the game for future employees?

Personally, fighting HTML 5 visual addictions is a huge pain. Flash has a problem, but all this is a breeze, and you are fighting the Rendering Speeds and pushing the Flash Player to it.

4) Which platform is the easiest to use in one game and use it for other future games? (e.g. development of isometric graphics in flash memory)

outbreaks. But I would not be ahead of myself. Make one funny name, and then take care of moving it. Porting games from the Internet to the mobile platform is not a 1: 1 port, you need to rethink the interface and someday the game itself. Ideally, you just don’t need to recode the game logic on the server.

5) Which platform is the easiest to develop with a team?

Also.