Archive for the ‘Animation’ Category

Previously I wrote a post about the current options available to export Flash to HTML5 canvas.
I thought it was about time I uploaded a Flash to HTML5 export test I did a while ago to show the result of Google’s Swiffy conversion tool.

To view the comparison below you will need Flash player installed to see the original swf, and also have a compatible browser to see the exported HTML5 version.

Original Flash version [34kb]

HTML5/Swiffy export version [62kb]

I have to say Swiffy is a pretty good tool and I have had a fairly high success rate when exporting my animations with it. One slight negative point is file size of converted files compared to the size of the original swf’s. As a rule of thumb, the Swiffy exported file is around double the size of the original swf file!

Swiffy certainly isn’t the silver bullet solution if you are trying to find something that can convert all your Flash content into HTML5 at the click of a button, but for simple animations, it is pretty quick and easy to do. I do advise taking a look at the supported features and browsers before you embark on converting your animations, and perhaps keep these in mind if you are creating any new animations you know will need putting through Swiffy.

What is great is that in the latest version of Flash Pro CS6, support for HTML5 is now an inbuilt feature. To assist with optimization of your HTML5 animations, they have also included an integrated sprite sheet tool which will hopefully alleviate the file size issue I experienced with Swiffy.

As of yet I have not upgraded from Flash Pro CS5, but I think with the plethora of updated features that will help me take my Flash animations into the uncertain realms of HTML5 and mobile, it will be worth the £190 upgrade cost.

Tags: Adobe Flash, Animation, Google, HTML5, Swiffy

May 1, 2012 Off

Mayday Mayhem fame

By Pete in Animation, Game

For anyone who isn’t familiar with the Oxford May morning tradition – hundreds of people gather near Magdalen College to listen to the college choir singing from the top of Magdalen tower at 6am, invariably followed by brave/drunk/insane people jumping from Magdalen Bridge into the river Cherwell below. Due to serious injuries sustained by people jumping from the bridge in recent years, a heavy police presence is at the bridge to discourage people from doing this.

A couple of years ago I teamed up with a developer friend to conceptualize and create a Facebook game which we called Mayday Mayhem. Our aim was to recreate this bizarre May morning Oxford ritual, in a fun, lighthearted way. The aim of the game is very simple: you are a Policeman patrolling the river Cherwell below Magdalen Bridge, you have to do your utmost to apprehend as many of the drunken May Day revelers as you can in your boat as they throw themselves from the bridge parapet.

As Part of the May Day reporting this year, The Oxford Mail ran a short story about our MayDay Mayhem game which you can read here!