Our next game will be built on Javascript/HTML5 Canvas rather than ActionScript/

Question

Our next game will be built on Javascript/HTML5 Canvas rather than ActionScript/Flash.

Clearly there are not enough experienced HTML5 Developers in the market (yet), so we'll need to be creative in our hiring efforts.

So the question is what the profile looks like for that model developer who can learn the necessary skills on-the-job as efficiently as possible.

Here are the options we have considered--really just the two obvious and opposing models.

1. Hire Flash developers

disadvantage: they will have to learn not just a new language but also a new development environment, because of the idiosyncratic nature of Flash Builder every component of an HTML 5 Dev environment is likely to seem new and unfamiliar

advantage: already fluent in client-side development--the tasks remain the same only the language has changed.

2. Hire the most talented developers available

disadvantage: latency--most or all of their time for (8-12?) weeks should be spent in a pure learning mode with no other demands on their time.

advantage: they will learn quickly and they'll continue to learn; outstanding programmers will become outstanding Javascript programmers; it will just take some time.

The best answer to this Question might offer a third recruiting model, or it might present a more refined analysis of the two presented below. In other words, i did not intend the prior discussion to constrain the responses in any way.

Explanation / Answer

I am going to go against the grain.

Person 1: Find someone who has done games in the style that you want to use (ie scroller, 2.5D) and who has done it in a "modern" language (sorry, C is out for this one). They don't need to have Javascript experience. Get them some Javascript training (read "buy em some books and google.com" ^^) and give them a month to develop a proof-of-concept on using the HTML5 canvas platform.

My opinion is that good game design/development is the hard part. Learning a language is easy (even if their 1st Javascript looks like C#, Python, or Java).

Person 2: (If you can have more than one (Now that I wrote this paragraph, you really really need someone to do this also)) Find a Javascript expert. This person will have plenty to do with building the quality web site stuff around the game itself.

Don't hire a Flash developer, not worth it. Note: If the flash developer has done games then they fall into Person 1. Sorry for the confusion

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