Oh for serious game devs FGL was absolutely the most important monetisation stream by some distance no doubt. But for people just starting out and, say, knocki

Oh for serious game devs FGL was absolutely the most important monetisation stream by some distance no doubt. But for people just starting out and, say, knocking out a game in a weekend, unpolished, raw Mochi was incredible. With zero effort (beyond spending a couple of weekends making games) I had 3 figure annual revenue from games that would have never ever gotten sponsorship. If you were a 16 year old hacking stuff together in Flash that would have been hugely motivating. That's would drove the sheer volume and variety of Flash games. If I could apply the knowledge I have now back to past me I'd have easily been able to get 4 figure annual revenue swiftly and that would have let me focus on putting the polish on FGL level serious sponsorship games. ( I did make one full stand alone game and it flopped, I've made more money from people playing the demo than from full game purchases)