npub1rg…sc7mc on Nostr: Pawlicker 🐾😹 Also this line is not entirely true: >The problem with Flash ...

Pawlicker 🐾😹 (nprofile…0xs5) Also this line is not entirely true:

>The problem with Flash boiled down to the fact that it was a closed “standard” made by a single company, who had all the keys to the kingdom.

Technically, it was three companies: FutureWave, Macromedia, and later Adobe. FutureWave merley made the prototype before selling it to Macromedia and then Adobe bought them out. Maybe Macromedia could've open-sourced Flash instead of selling itself to Adobe.

Even before Ruffle, there were attempts to reverse engineer Flash and make alternative runtimes for it. The GNU Project had Gnash, Mozilla had Shumway, and there was also Lightspark. I think Lightspark was the most developed, but apparently Flash's EULA prohibited reverse engineering, putting these projects in a legal gray area. I know for a fact that the Gnash developers avoided installing Flash to avoid agreeing to the EULA and they had to work with information that was already documented by others.

>There are two problems with HTML5 games though. The first is that it lacks the virality of Flash games. HTML5 games have to be zipped up beforehand, and you can’t easily rip and share a HTML5 game like you could a flash game. On top of that, the bigger problem is that there’s a lot of issues with creativity.

MHTML (an HTML format that contains all of the media in a single file) could've fixed the first problem. The second problem is probably due to the fact that HTML5 Canvas doesn't have some standard SDK like Flash does. From what I have been told, FlashBuilder was a lot like GameMaker in that it was very easy to pick up and use. With HTML5, all you have is your text/HTML editor or any game engine that supports exporting to HTML5, but more likely than not, that engine also supports exporting to desktop and consoles. It just so happens that HTML5 came around the same time as the indie boom in the late 00s and early 2010s.

However, I feel like the ultimate difference between the Flash scene (or the browser gaming scene in general) and the modern indie scene is that most browser games were and are free (with the commercial games being backed by banner ads) and the indie scene is mostly paid commercial games or completely freeware games with no profit incentive. Why is this important? Well if a game is free then more people will try it out and you, the developer can still make money as long as you slap banner ads on your site. Developers can experiment without taking risks.

With modern indie games, customers have to spend wisely and are less willing to try out your game. Not to mention that purchases are a one time thing, unlike browser games where you earn money every time the banner ads load. That's why indiedevs have this make it or break it mentality and it not always works out for them and that didn't seem to be the case during the Flash days.