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> the work being done in Flash was leagues above the web games you see today. Wait, what? I’m not into gaming but that would surprise the hell out of me if you

by Trufa 4y ago

> the work being done in Flash was leagues above the web games you see today. Wait, what? I’m not into gaming but that would surprise the hell out of me if you’re being literal. Can you give me concrete examples?

joshxyz 4y ago
iirc its somewhere along the capabilities of flash compared to the limitations you get with html5, css, canvas, and early versions of webgl. those strengths of flash came with responsibilities though, 0days being used for sprrading malware was common back then like an endless whack a mole.
viraptor 4y ago
You'd have to look through the archives of Newgrounds, but it was like itch.io with lots of content landing every day. That community created and popularised some things we take for granted now. For example Tower Defence games existed before to some degree, but I don't believe they would become a big genre without all the different flash variations. The low barrier to entry meant that you'd get hundreds of crappy knockoffs and 1 gem every week. Just realised they published year summaries https://www.newgrounds.com/wiki/about-newgrounds/history/flash-portal-history/flash-portal-history-2001 https://www.newgrounds.com/wiki/about-newgrounds/history/fla... The stickman fight games and sniper games triggered some memories...
- andai 4y ago
  The history pages go back to 1999! https://www.newgrounds.com/wiki/about-newgrounds/history/flash-portal-history/flash-portal-history-1999 https://www.newgrounds.com/wiki/about-newgrounds/history/fla...
- viraptor 4y ago
  Ah, for specific examples castle crashers, samorost, battleblock theatre, super meat boy all came from the flash developers initially I believe.
JoeyJoJoJr 4y ago
I think the parent comment may have been slightly exaggerating with their comment regarding game quality, but I certainly agree with them on the overarching point they are making. Around 2005 to 2013 there was an extremely vibrant and creative ecosystem around browser web games facilitated by Flash. Had Flash not died, and instead been allowed to flourish I think there would now be a huge market for web games that would co-exist alongside mobile games and steam, and I’d probably be using Flash to deploy games to all platforms. Some great games at the time were N, Meatboy, and Quadradius. The were so many memorable, creative, boundary pushing, and subversive games. It was just really exciting being a part of that ecosystem as both a developer and a player. Aside from a few .io games I can’t really think of many non-Flash web games that are very memorable. Flash was such a fast and creative tool to work with that you could pump out quality games extremely fast, which turn facilitated better quality in the ecosystem as a whole. Edit: I should also mention that the most popular web game in recent years, Friday Night Funken, was made with a Flash based workflow.

by Trufa 4y ago

joshxyz 4y ago

iirc its somewhere along the capabilities of flash compared to the limitations you get with html5, css, canvas, and early versions of webgl. those strengths of flash came with responsibilities though, 0days being used for sprrading malware was common back then like an endless whack a mole.

viraptor 4y ago

You'd have to look through the archives of Newgrounds, but it was like itch.io with lots of content landing every day. That community created and popularised some things we take for granted now. For example Tower Defence games existed before to some degree, but I don't believe they would become a big genre without all the different flash variations. The low barrier to entry meant that you'd get hundreds of crappy knockoffs and 1 gem every week. Just realised they published year summaries https://www.newgrounds.com/wiki/about-newgrounds/history/flash-portal-history/flash-portal-history-2001 https://www.newgrounds.com/wiki/about-newgrounds/history/fla... The stickman fight games and sniper games triggered some memories...

andai 4y ago
The history pages go back to 1999! https://www.newgrounds.com/wiki/about-newgrounds/history/flash-portal-history/flash-portal-history-1999 https://www.newgrounds.com/wiki/about-newgrounds/history/fla...
viraptor 4y ago
Ah, for specific examples castle crashers, samorost, battleblock theatre, super meat boy all came from the flash developers initially I believe.

JoeyJoJoJr 4y ago

I think the parent comment may have been slightly exaggerating with their comment regarding game quality, but I certainly agree with them on the overarching point they are making. Around 2005 to 2013 there was an extremely vibrant and creative ecosystem around browser web games facilitated by Flash. Had Flash not died, and instead been allowed to flourish I think there would now be a huge market for web games that would co-exist alongside mobile games and steam, and I’d probably be using Flash to deploy games to all platforms. Some great games at the time were N, Meatboy, and Quadradius. The were so many memorable, creative, boundary pushing, and subversive games. It was just really exciting being a part of that ecosystem as both a developer and a player. Aside from a few .io games I can’t really think of many non-Flash web games that are very memorable. Flash was such a fast and creative tool to work with that you could pump out quality games extremely fast, which turn facilitated better quality in the ecosystem as a whole. Edit: I should also mention that the most popular web game in recent years, Friday Night Funken, was made with a Flash based workflow.