Adobe has announced it will offer developers the chance to produce games with 3D graphics with the ‘milestone release’ of the new Flash 11 and AIR 3 next month.
The company says the new software enables 1000 times faster rendering compared with Flash Player 10 and AIR 2, along with native extensions for tools like vibration control, light sensors and dual screens.
Anup Murarka, director of product marketing for the Adobe Flash platform, says in a conference call with Asia-Pacific media that users can expect console-quality gaming on their PCs, as well as on tablets and smartphones.
"We’re going to see a dramatic jump forward in the quality of games,” Murarka says.
Adobe’s platform general manager Danny Winokur hinted last week that Flash was preparing for a big jump forward, in response to the announcement at Microsoft’s Build conference that the ‘metro’ version of Internet Explorer 10 that will ship with Windows 8 will not support browser plug-ins.
Flash is already barred from Apple’s Safari browser, but apps can be run packaged with the closely-related AIR.
"We expect to see over 200 million devices in consumers’ hands this year using flash, including Apple iOS devices via Adobe AIR” Murarka says. "By the over end of 2015, that will increase to one billion devices.
"98% of internet-connected desktops have flash installed, and more than 70% of casual games on the web are based on Flash.”
The new updates also include additional support for HD video, as well as rental and subscription support to help media companies make money from their content.
