Is it a good idea to write mobile games in ActionScript3 rather than Java / Objective-C?

Question

Hey,
I'm writing a simple game based on my physics engine for Android (in Java). Because I want to play with some special graphic effects performance is very important for me.
I read on the Internet that you can write an application in ActionScript3 and then just export it as an iPhone/iPad or Android application. That means, I wouldn't have to rewrite everything from Java to Objective-C if I wanted to make version also for iPhone.

Do you have any experience with writing games in ActionScript3 for both Android and iPhone/iPad? Are there any significant advantages / disadvantages?

Answer 1

I have made games with both AndEngine and air for android. Air for android is vastly slower. If you game needs performance, Air 2.6 - the current release - will not be able to handle it.

AIR 2.6 can handle simple games. One with a little performance to spare.

I am hopeful that AIR 2.7 (in beta now) will improve things, since it supports OpenGL. But for now I would have to say stay away from AIR for performance games.

To see an example of a simple game made with AIR, check out this one made my a friend of mine: http://www.appbrain.com/app/kibble-katchers-free/air.com.munchiegames.KibbleCatchersFree

It plays OK, but chugs sometimes if you have a lot of things going on at once. If your game is going to be more intensive than that, pass on AIR.

Answer 2

In my experience, it's always better to write applications in the native language for the device. Of course, depending on the scale of your game, the advantages may not matter. When using Flash to export to iOS, you are limited to what you can access on the phone (like UI widgets and features like accessing the camera). I've also read that Adobe is not going to include this feature in future versions of the Creative Suite. So you may lose support for your game. In my opinion, there are better tools to develop for both devices. Check out Corona or Unity.