Adobe Flash ruled the internet for a long time. It was the go-to choice for web designers seeking to incorporate multimedia elements such as animation, video, and games into a website interface. However, owing to glaring security gaps, performance, and stability issues that Flash games presented on mobile devices, a need for change became more pressing.
The advent of HTML5 – the open web standard – with versatile native multimedia features offered the alternative needed for a departure from Adobe Flash. Between 2014 and now, a large number of tech platforms have converted multimedia elements, games in particular, to HTML5, signaling an end of the Flash era. Let’s take a look at the differences between the software platforms and why you stand to benefit from making the switch.
What is Flash?
Adobe Flash is a software platform designed to support multimedia content production and display. When it was first launched, this platform transformed the web spaces with its ability to create animations of images and texts that could be incorporated with games, videos, and other interactive elements and delivered to the end-user through a web browser.
It accepts inputs from the end-users through a mouse, camera, microphone, or keyboard, thus supporting bi-directional streaming capabilities. 3D elements were also added to the platform in 2011. The interactive animation on this platform is created using the ActionScript programming language. In addition, it relies on Adobe Integrated Runtime (AIR), a cross-platform environment, for creating and delivering content to users on their desktop computers as well as mobile devices.
However, Flash Player’s popularity began to decline sometime after 2010, given its vulnerability to malware attacks. Serious gaps in its security came to light every now and then. Two precarious vulnerabilities being exposed back-to-back in 2015, with Adobe conceding that it had no viable patch in place, came as the final blow to this platform’s universal appeal. From Apple to Google, all leading tech behemoths denounced this platform and began recommending an immediate deactivation of the Flash plugin. This effectively forced the hands of developers to convert their Flash games to another platform, and HTML5 emerged as the de-facto choice.
Related Read: Time to Migrate eLearning Courses from Flash to HTML5
HTML5 – The Alternative to Adobe Flash
The emergence of HTML5 as the alternative to Flash is supported by a host of underlying causes. Of these, the most prominent is that HTML5 is an open web standard. This means that it can operate without requiring any additional plugins. Unlike Flash, HTML5 is not proprietary software, which means it is accessible to developers all over the world without licensing restrictions.
Besides, multimedia content developed with HTML5 can be integrated into the website source code. This eliminates the need for an additional plugin, making the end-product more user-friendly. Due to this, it is also a more secure platform.
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7 Reasons Why You Should Convert Flash Games to HTML5
The major chunk of users, as well as the tech force today, comprises of millennials and Gen Y – both digital natives. For them, on-the-go access to content is a baseline expectation. Something that Flash cannot deliver. Therefore, converting Flash games to the HTML5 format becomes more of a necessity than an option. Besides, such conversions present the perfect opportunity to improve on the existing features and functionalities, fix issues, and consequently, grow your audience.
In addition to these very clear benefits, here are seven reasons why you should convert Flash games to HTML5 – and do so on priority –
1. Mobile Device Compatibility
Converting games from Flash to HTML5 makes them more mobile-friendly. It also brings in touchscreen support, which is a must for playing a game on the present-day smartphones. Both Android and iOS operating systems today support this open web standard platform, which means games designed on or converted to HTML5 can operate seamlessly on most mobile devices, delivering up to 60 FPS with ease.
2. Improved Performance
If you compare Adobe Flash and HTML5, the latter is undoubtedly faster and more efficient in terms of performance. Converting Flash games to this platform allows you to optimize them, remove redundant functionalities and code, as well as revisit its algorithms and make them more relevant to present trends.
3. Bug Fixtures for Improved Gameplay
HTML5 developers revisiting an existing game for conversion presents an opportunity for the game’s source code to be re-examined from a fresh perspective. They can not only fix known existing bugs but also discover new ones and eliminate them, thus, improving the gameplay experience. This, in turn, uplifts the user experience, encouraging them to spend more time on the game as well as explore your other offerings.
4. Introducing Web Analytics
Analytics rule the roost in all aspects of web operations today. The ability to gain insight into your traffic, user behavior, trends, and preferences can provide you a gold mine of information for improving your products. Knowing where your users get stuck in a game, at what point do they typically exit the game, how they behave during gameplay can be a game-changer for your existing and future products. Flash games conversion to HTML5 offers you the opportunity to take action based on the insights offered by analytics.
5. Customization of Gaming Interface
A wider outreach is the holy grail of business growth. The web offers you the opportunity to take your game to users across the globe by customizing its features and functionalities as per their local cultural references. HTML5 being a more versatile platform, allows you to do just that. From localizing gaming features and characters so that they strike a chord with users in different geographical locations to adding support for regional languages, the conversion process gives you the chance to widen your horizons.
6. Opportunity for Restructuring
The process of converting Flash games to HTML5 also gives you a chance to objectively review your gaming content. You can identify the parts and portions that need to be restructured, revised, or removed altogether so that the end product is in line with the changing expectations of the end-user. The conversion process also allows you to change design elements, delivery methods, and functionalities.
7. Capitalize on New Trends
Gamification has undergone a paradigm shift in recent times. From its introduction in educational and training spaces to more interactive interfaces and social media integrations, there is a whole new world of emerging trends that your existing Flash games may be deprived of. Conversion to the HTML5 format accords you the flexibility of incorporating these existing trends as well as creates scope for future modifications and upgrades.
Related Read: Best Content Authoring Tools for Flash to HTML5 Conversion
A Necessity for Growth
Adobe Flash, for all its merits, is now a thing of the past, whereas HTML5 is a more future-ready alternative. Anyone who wants to keep their games (or other multimedia elements, for that matter) relevant in the present and the future must get on with the trend of migrating to this agile, versatile open web standard platform.
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