HTML5 discussion / opinions

Ninjadoodle

Hi guys

I'm a few days from finishing my game. During the making of this game, I've decided to try using multiple engines / frameworks to allow myself to make the best possible decision.

My original plan was to use Gideros as a one stop shop. After realising that I couldn't get 'Gideros HTML5' working on mobile, I've decided to make a version using Gideros and a port using C2 and Phaser.

After this experiment I can safely say that Gideros has got the smoothest workflow of all. Even tho the HTML5 specific engines engines work well on mobile, there are other issues.

With C2, I have to change my workflow a lot. I use tweens and containers a LOT in my games, and C2 doesn't do either (natively). It has some workarounds, but they are far from perfect.

Phaser on the other hand is almost like using Gideros, as far as my workflow goes, but, I find it quite rough around the edges. Even tho I get mobile performance, I have several issues which don't seem to be getting fixed.

*** to the point now lol ***

As I'm almost done, I have pretty much decided to focus fully on developing in Gideros. It's been a REALLY hard road for me getting to this point, after I stopped using Flash.

I can get my HTML5 Gideros game working across all the main browsers on both Mac and PC, so I'm happy with that - the only problem is the mobile now.

Like discussed in my other thread, not many people are currently playing HTML5 game on mobile devices. I feel like it is only a matter of a couple of years before the speed of a device will be fast enough to run Gideros HTML5 sufficiently.

One of the main reasons for my decision, is the fact that I absolutely love working with Gideros and I would love to help in getting it's name out there. The more games HTML5 and Native that are floating around, the better for the future of this awesome product.

What are your guys thoughts on this? Am I right in thinking that in a couple of years the speed issue on mobiles will start disappearing etc?

PS. Thanks for reading all of this

simwhi

@Ninjadoodle I agree that mobile devices will get much faster in the future so this will less of an issue for HTML5 games. In fact, I think we are seeing this now, even with entry level devices.

We also used C2 initially with a degree of success, but it has its idiosyncrasies. We definitely prefer Gideros to ALL other frameworks. And we have tried a few!! The workflow is good and Lua in such a great language to program games in.

We are 100% behind Gideros, and will help in any way to promote it.

antix

If the browser can run the game in full-screen then I'm all good with that, If it's a window inside a browser window then I wouldn't even bother personally.

SinisterSoft

I think that apps are always better for mobile/tablet. html5 is better for desktop. I also prefer apps on my touch screen laptop - over html5.

Html5 on Gideros though is really fast and smooth on all my devices (that I use in everyday life, I do have slow test devices though) - but I just prefer the different feel and app gives.

Ninjadoodle

@simwhi - I check your website often for any updates etc. I like what you guys are doing and I'm always inspired by other peoples work You're website is clean and I like the educational genre of your products.

@antix - I can do fullscreen on PC and Mac no issues. If it was just for my own website, this would be a much easier decision. I just want to make sure that the HTML5 games I give to sponsors perform well. Desktops seem to be all good tho, so just hoping the mobile improves.

@SinisterSoft - I'm using some pretty hi-res assets (@1x @2x and @4x). I also have a game where the graphics are different on each level. This leaves me with about 10 atlases to load.

Loading these on PC or Mac (or native mobile export) is no issue, but currently the HTML5 Gideros exporter tries to load the whole game in one go. This means I need to up the memory to 512mb, which just ends up crashing the mobile browser.

If it was loading atlases, scene by scene (like it does in the native version), that would take one mobile issue away. The other issues are sound problems, scaling and performance.

I'm confident that in a few years the speed thing will be redundant and Gideros will work flawlessly on mobiles (HTML5).

Like I said - my main issue is that I'm selling licences to sponsors and I would love to use Gideros for this. It would prove to other people that there are many ways to monetise Gideros games - not just iOS and Android. I really want to take this step, just a little bit hesitant because of the mobile issues.

SinisterSoft

Ahh - I see your sponsors want the game to run on html5 mobile and not as an app on mobile as they don't gain revenue from that.

Ninjadoodle

Hi guys

Thank you all for the replies!

I've decided to dive into Gideros development 100%.

My plan is to release Gideros powered HTML5 'desktop' games, and like suggested to me on this forum - redirect mobile visitors to Google Play or the App Store.

I believe the mobile HTML5 issues will become irrelevant within a couple of years, and developing my game twice, in order to gain performance for a market, which isn't currently there, is probably not the best strategy.

I really appreciate all you help and feedback - you guys are the best and most helpful community online!

Thanks again!

simwhi

@Ninjadoodle

I think that is a great decision. Good luck, and let us know how you get on.