HTML5: Next Steps

reprinted from revUp

Well, what an exciting ride that was! Thank you so much to everyone that helped make HTML5 deployment for LiveCode a reality. Together we made the total and we’re setting the wheels in motion.

This truly was a community driven project. From the first survey indicating the depth of feeling for HTML5 deployment, to the last pledge that put us over the line, its been you the users, powering the campaign all the way. It was a fascinating study in crowdfunding, and you might want to check out this blog post for a deeper analysis of what goes into a successful crowdfunded project. I feel privileged to work with such a dedicated, creative and enthusiastic community. Thank you all. You have entrusted us with this project, and we will work hard to bring you what you’ve asked for: an HTML5 capable version of LiveCode we can all be proud of.

Team Driven

I’ve thanked the community for your contribution. Thanks are also due to our small but dedicated marketing team that ran the campaign, engineered the page, raised awareness, answered your questions, and processed all the pledges. The last day especially was intense in terms of managing the last minute rush of queries and pledges. The upside of running the campaign on our own site instead of on Kickstarter was the additional flexiblity this allowed us, but this did mean we had to meet all the technical challenges ourselves. A very big Well Done to Steven, Heather and especially Arnaud for creating the highly complex webpage, making all the last minute changes demanded of him and keeping it up and running successfully through some very challenging traffic spikes.

Ramping it up

What’s next? We have some major plans to put into motion. Making the campaign total means we will secure the matchfunding, so we are now ploughing through the necessary paperwork and red tape for that. The HTML5 Dev Team needs put into place, trained and briefed. We’re working hard to ramp it all up. It’s a long runway, with our projected delivery date July/August next year, but thanks to you we are getting started! We’ll bring you more information in the coming weeks.

Why HTML5?

I’ve discussed the importance of this additional deployment platform a lot over the last few weeks. Being able to run your app straight in the browser, using the same natural language and drag/drop interface to create it widens the scope for LiveCode projects to a whole new audience. Schoolchildren gain greater accessibility, phone apps can be deployed without going through the app stores and the long tail of niche platforms that LiveCode doesn’t currently address can be supported via the browser. No plugin and no app to install removes barriers to adoption. Anywhere you can run an HTML5 capable browser, you will be able to run your app.

I’m really looking forward to the huge potential opened up by LiveCode HTML5!