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Would it be ridiculous to write a Flash game then package it with Electron bundled with a Flash Player? I feel like the issues most people have with Flash are

Would it be ridiculous to write a Flash game then package it with Electron bundled with a Flash Player? I feel like the issues most people have with Flash are one of two things. It isn't a great choice for rich interfaces (especially things that aren't games) when considering accessibility and different screen sizes. It also presents security vulnerabilities when it was intended to be sandboxed. By moving it from web browsers to standalone applications, you lose any expectation of sandboxing. When only using it for games, it ceases to have the same accessibility constraints.

exikyut 7y ago
There are many interesting potential outcomes that could emerge from such an idea. Here is one that would be a tad awkward: - The concept goes appreciably (if not crazily) viral, people start distributing "SWF-lectron" containers, and much fun is had by all. - Flash is officially deprecated (incidentally 20 days from now, the 11th of January 2020). It dies; the bitrot process is exponentially accelerated because of the huge installed base yet abrupt and utter lack of updates. Many, many, MANY vulnerabilities are found in the platform. How much impact do they have? Theoretically little to none. But you never know. - The Electron containers used in this idea probably never get updated. It proves surprisingly easy to just wait for Chrome 0days to float to the top of the pond, scoop them up, and rework them. Practically speaking I know the above will never really eventuate. But it's what I envisage; more generally, that anything that leverages Flash will fall victim to a very mature ecosystem of hackers (the cracker kind) who've been studying the platform for years, and have a once-in-a-lifetime moment to attack while the platform remains installed. Flash will have a half-life of years, but it's going to become a VERY big target, I think. I think. Maybe I'm wrong/being overdramatic/freaking out/am wearing too many security hats at once/none of the above?
- hjhhftgy 7y ago
  Dude, just wow. There are many flash games in Steam and elsewhere. Your whole rant is clueless.
- true_religion 7y ago
  I am not really seeing how any of the hacking discussion relates to a self distributed game, using a packaged version of Flash. It’s not the browser, so it’d be easier for hacker to just distribute their malware directly than go to the trouble of making malware that hacks an unrelated game, then does something else.
tomku 7y ago
Unless I'm missing something that Electron adds to the equation, that's already possible (and common!) via standalone Flash player packages or Adobe AIR. There's a fair number of smaller indie games on Steam distributed that way, for example.
tomc1985 7y ago
Dude just export to Flash Player. Electron is such a ridiculous resource hog

exikyut 7y ago

There are many interesting potential outcomes that could emerge from such an idea. Here is one that would be a tad awkward: - The concept goes appreciably (if not crazily) viral, people start distributing "SWF-lectron" containers, and much fun is had by all. - Flash is officially deprecated (incidentally 20 days from now, the 11th of January 2020). It dies; the bitrot process is exponentially accelerated because of the huge installed base yet abrupt and utter lack of updates. Many, many, MANY vulnerabilities are found in the platform. How much impact do they have? Theoretically little to none. But you never know. - The Electron containers used in this idea probably never get updated. It proves surprisingly easy to just wait for Chrome 0days to float to the top of the pond, scoop them up, and rework them. Practically speaking I know the above will never really eventuate. But it's what I envisage; more generally, that anything that leverages Flash will fall victim to a very mature ecosystem of hackers (the cracker kind) who've been studying the platform for years, and have a once-in-a-lifetime moment to attack while the platform remains installed. Flash will have a half-life of years, but it's going to become a VERY big target, I think. I think. Maybe I'm wrong/being overdramatic/freaking out/am wearing too many security hats at once/none of the above?

hjhhftgy 7y ago
Dude, just wow. There are many flash games in Steam and elsewhere. Your whole rant is clueless.
true_religion 7y ago
I am not really seeing how any of the hacking discussion relates to a self distributed game, using a packaged version of Flash. It’s not the browser, so it’d be easier for hacker to just distribute their malware directly than go to the trouble of making malware that hacks an unrelated game, then does something else.

tomku 7y ago

Unless I'm missing something that Electron adds to the equation, that's already possible (and common!) via standalone Flash player packages or Adobe AIR. There's a fair number of smaller indie games on Steam distributed that way, for example.

tomc1985 7y ago

Dude just export to Flash Player. Electron is such a ridiculous resource hog