I wish to initiate a discussion about the future of Flash. If anyone knows of any relevant discussions that have already been posted please let me know. I found the discussion initiated by
FritzPablo entitled “html5 animation: Flash CC vs. Edge Animate?.” It was helpful but didn’t address my central question, which is how to respond to the decreased popularity of Flash.
Let me explain why this is so important to me. I am a professor of genetics and embryology, not a graphics designer. I learned Flash and used it to develop an extensive series of animated lessons. I submitted these for publication, but publishers are reluctant to invest in a technology that may go the way of Word Star. To investigate the problem I attended the recent Adobe MAX meeting. My conclusion was that Adobe is focused on transitioning from Flash to Edge, not on supporting Flash. Although they have bolstered Edge substantially, it still does not meet my needs. For instance, it does not shape tween, which is critical to 90% of what I do. One speaker suggested that I compose shape tweens with Flash and import them into Edge. That may be an answer but I foresee multiple problems. For instance, would users still need the Flash player to run the animations? I wouldn’t want to devote a year or two to convert my work, if it will become obsolete a year or two thereafter.
So that’s my question, what’s the best strategy for converting and/or salvaging Flash animations. Should we commit to Edge and hope future upgrades to HTML will incorporate advanced
features like shape tweening? Are there programs that will run SWFs without the Flash reader? Are there other programs that meet the need? Any advice that anyone can provide will be
greatly appreciated.