HTML5+Javascript is not viable as the client-side code will be visible and, thus, stealable. Flash is not viable since it's not supported on ipads and thus not cross-platform. Said that, what are the available tools for creating cross-platform, cross-browser multiplayer online commercial games?
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HTML5 and Javascript is the only option if you must have your game playable in a browser, and be 100% cross platform such that it'll work on otherwise closed platforms like the iPad (in the iPad browser). There's ways to obfuscate the client side code so that it isn't easy to steal, and there's other tricks that can be used to prevent outright theft. As a side note, Flash is just as easy to steal as obfuscated Javascript, so if you're really that worried, then that option is out.
One option is Unity3d, given that there's a way to compile for iOS, and since Unity works in the browser, it only requires a plugin. I do believe support is limited/non-existent in Linux, though, so depending on how cross platform you want, that could be a problem. Unity also compiles for Android, though being able to do all of this will cost money.
thedaian
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HTML5 and Javascript is the only viable tool to create a truly cross-platform game. To ensure it cannot be stolen, ensure the gameplay relies on your service - something that would be difficult to replicate.
For example, many multi-player online games currently out there now may have a client that you can download. Some people create private servers for them. But the original creators provide a service (the main server/s) where the majority of players are on. The creators remain a viable business even though the client may have been taken by other people.
Your business proposition shouldn't rely on the client never being taken or copied by other parties. Instead, ensure your service remains attractive for players to stay on.
Lionel
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The 'stealability' issue has been done to death in various game programming forums; the essence is that the only way to secure your code is not to distribute it at all - which means you need to keep a considerable portion of the code on the server, such that the client-side code by itself is useless. If it is more effort to reconstruct the server-side portion than it would be to just rewrite the whole thing from scratch, then you have succeeded.
Another thing about the 'stealability': You're going to expose artwork one way or another, and there is not really a way to technically protect that - it's going to show up on the user's screen at some point, and from there, a determined copyright infringer can just grab a screenshot.
Oh, and by the way, it's not 'stealing', the proper term is 'copyright infringement'. Those are not the same thing, regardless of what the record industry is trying to tell you.
tdammers
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