Wind back a couple of years, and developers aplenty were pitching the coming HTML5 'revolution' as some sort of superhero platform.

Here was a language that was not only going to make it easy to target multiple devices all at the same time, but it would also break down those pesky walls between platform-specific app stores.

No longer would Apple and Google set the agenda – developers would.

It would fair to say that, in the intervening years, we've had something of a reality check. HTML5 remains the smaller player when compared to the native app, yet that hasn't stopped some notable parties throwing their weight behind it.

As such, we caught up with Grant Skinner – one of the developers working with both Atari and Microsoft on their move to bring classic games to Internet Explorer via a new browser-based HTML5 platform.

Speaking with experience of the venture, Skinner explained why he thinks developers have to understand HTML5 is not a 'one size fits all' platform.

Pocket Gamer: What's the thinking behind making Internet Explorer the lead browser?

Grant Skinner: Microsoft’s Internet Explorer team was a fantastic partner to work with. They brought a lot of passion for gaming and provided a lot of support for the project.

Microsoft has chosen a fairly conservative approach to adding features to the IE browser – generally only adding standards that are finalised, or close.

This means that in most cases, content developed for IE will run well on other browsers, because you do not introduce dependencies on features that may not be broadly supported.

A year or so ago, many developers foresaw a future where HTML5 web-based games dominated, breaking down the walls of App Store and helping studios to go truly cross platform. That doesn't appear to have happened yet, however. Why do you think that is?

These things take time.

Browser performance and consistency is continually improving, and we are seeing new APIs being introduced that provide the foundation for building great games with HTML5.

Flowing from that, the libraries and tools for creating game content are also maturing to make it not just possible, but also practical to design games for HTML5.

Developers such as Glu have questioned HTML5's ability to serve as a suitable platform for high quality mobile games for 5-10 years. What's your take on this?

Choosing a technology requires you to evaluate many project-specific variables, not just through the lens of your present needs, but over the life of the game.

HTML5 as a gaming platform absolutely still has challenges, but for certain types of game it is worth considering now, and as it continues to mature it will become viable for a wider variety of experiences.

It is obvious that HTML5 is the cross-device platform moving forward, but that doesn’t mean it will always be the best choice for every game, even in 5-10 years.

Are browser-based platforms such as yours the future for smartphone and tablet devs, do you think?

That's one of the exciting, but also frustrating, parts of the industry right now – there are so many options for target platforms.

As I said before, there really isn't one clear answer – it requires careful evaluation of a project’s current and future needs.

Highly abstracted platforms that run almost everywhere, like HTML/JavaScript, will always have disadvantages versus native code, most obviously performance and API access, but the ability to write your code once and deploy it virtually anywhere has a lot of value.
Thanks to Grant for his time.