FWIW – My 10 cents on Flash -> iPhone (and Flash Player 10.1)

With the Adobe MAX keynote now over a week old, and after reading countless blog posts, articles, and hours of discussions on the subject, I feel like I should share some of my thoughts on Flash’s future capabilities to publish native apps for the beloved iPhone.

As soon as someone breathes the words “Flash” and “iPhone” in the same breath people get hysterical. (Actually, as soon as it was announced I watched multiple people whip out their iPhones and immediately check their favorite Flash site to see if it would show, only to be extremely disappointed/angry that it didn’t, like somehow FP would magically be on their phones.)

First, it absolutely can not be understated that it is not Flash Player on the iPhone but rather native iPhone apps created in the Flash authoring environment.

There are several discussions/aggravations out there about this whole concept. One being performance. I’ve read and heard several sources say something along the lines of “the applications in the app store now are slow/chuggy and don’t perform very well.” This is to be expected since the apps in the app store to date were built off of early alpha builds of the compiler. Let’s face it, anything in alpha never performs perfectly. Even after projects and products launch there will always be much room for improvement. We should not expect something that is in the early stages of its life to be able to live up to the quality we hope it would. After much refinement, eventually the product will perform well. Please, we all must keep that in mind at this point.

Another gripe I have heard/read is in regards to the Flash compiler versus using Objective-C or any other iPhone application development environment. This is a discussion as to which is best to build applications from. I see Flash -> iPhone as an inclusion to the list of possible environments to build apps out of. It’s great, really. Flash is now (or will be soon) another tool to build fun, rich, engaging applications for a large market. But is definitely not the ONLY environment.

Flash should not be considered a competitor by any means. Objective-C may still be an exceptional development environment for the iPhone, but Flash may have its upsides as well. We just have another tool at our disposal. The key to your future application’s success (or maybe even your pocket book’s) will be in figuring out which tool will be the best for the job. This should go without saying but really needs to be stress, after all, there are many different tools to create many different things.

Along the same lines, Flash developers are ecstatic that they will be able to build iPhone applications from the comfort of their Flash authoring environment. That is great and all, but really, where’s is the harm in learning a new language that sounds like it wouldn’t take that long to learn. (I personally don’t know Objective-C, but if I had the time and resources, I would totally be willing to learn. But it is not the direction I hope to move towards.)  Frankly, you – as a Flash dev – would have another language under your belt, and would be that much more valuable because of it.

Flash -> iPhone is big, but I really don’t think it is as big as so many people are making it out to be. Don’t get me wrong, I love the fact that we will be able to publish for the iPhone straight out of Flash. But what IS big is the fact that we – as the Flash community – have yet another place to deploy our content.

Which brings me right into what I consider even more important, and most under-spoken, announcement from the MAX keynote: Flash Player 10.1.

OMFG. Here is where I get the most excited. As a designer, there are two things I am most interested in when it comes to Flash. 1. Creating great content, and 2. Getting that great content on as many tiny squares of light I possibly can. With FP 10.1, I feel like this is at it’s most possible. Everything from hand-held devices and phones, to TVs and set top boxes, to gaming consoles and blue-ray players (hopefully), to anything else, will be able to display whatever my designer brain and dream of (you know, to a point).

This is awesome. I have been waiting for this for years (and still have to continue to). Quite possibly one of the first things I imagined creating with Flash when I first stepped into it was something, anything, on the TV. Soon, this will be a reality. And I can not freakin wait anymore. Just imagine, building in the same environment to deploy over multiple devices. Astounding.

(I will go on in another post at a later time.)

Yet, with as great all this iPhone and 10.1 talk is, there is still something to be said. We, as the Flash community, have a responsibility to ensure our projects perform as best as possible no matter where they may be deployed. Optimize, Optimize, Optimize. From graphics to code, we all must optimize. Performance will increase, and our work will be appreciated that much more because of it. And, let’s face it, we want people to like our stuff.

Why Designers should learn some programming

I truly believe every Flash designer should learn at least some development skills. Whether you are looking to further your career or just need to be able to speak well with your developers, it is imperative to learn some programming. That is not to say designers should be able to program complex/rich experiences but we should all know some of the basics.

Getting to know the development of your projects will help you as a designer be able to create much more interesting and engaging applications, websites, RIAs, games or whatever else you may be working on. Knowing the limitations and abilities of the development process will aid you in being able to push those limits. This also extends to some of the routines of designing. Animations, for example, look and run much smoother as programmatic animations rather than timeline based. If you are able to learn and utilize even just Flash’s Tween Class, you will be able to push your animations to the next level as well as give your developer a much more clear idea on how those animations should look and work.

On occasion your developer may not be at hand to help you with some of the programming. If you, as a designer, are able to accomplish some simple tasks of development you will be able to help get the project finished faster or created better. This comes especially handy at the final phases of the project time line. A lot of times, clients will have small changes to your projects well after its completion, and expect these changes ASAP. If your developer is not at hand to aid in the changes needed it may fall on your shoulders. So, knowing how to make these changes and deliver to your client will help to please (and hopefully keep) your clients.

Designers, take some time to learn some basic development skills. We will all appreciate you that much more, and everyone will benefit.

Quick Thought – Know Your Tools

Whether you are a designer or developer, or both, it’s sometimes easy to forget that you have a multitude of tools at your disposal – especially when under deadline. Taking some time up front to find/figure out the best tool or process for a particular job, function, or effect usually proves to be much more beneficial in the long run. Think things through before jumping into the nitty-gritty of the real work and your process afterward will be much smoother.

You may even want to experiment with some quick 5 minute solutions to see what different routes might be best for what it is you’re doing. As a good rule of thumb, keep initial experimentation under 5 minutes (especially for designers). Start blank and use the very basic elements. If what you are trying to do isn’t somewhat close to being possible within that time frame, move on to something else.

Remember these 3 bullet points
• Don’t try to force anything.
• What you’re used to may not the be best or only solution.
• Don’t be shy of failure. It’ll happen and is actually important to the creative process.

On the flip-side: There are times that lengthy experimentation is necessary. You may be trying to learn a new program, product, feature or process, or you may just really want something to work a certain way. And that’s ok. That’s called Learning, and something you should do on a consistent basis. But usually clients don’t like it when you learn while working on their projects.