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Flash is coming to an end.
I asked more than 20 former Flash game developers what Flash meant to them.
Here's what they said:
(Thread)
I asked more than 20 former Flash game developers what Flash meant to them.
Here's what they said:
(Thread)
"Having grown up tinkering with animation software while programming text-based games, Flash was the first program that merged art and code in a way that I always hoped could be possible."
- @TomFulp
- @TomFulp
"I saw our games being played close to 3 billion times. It is with great sadness I am witness to the death of Flash. Flash games made me, my business and altered my life. They allowed me to connect with the world and feel slightly less alone."
- Frank Valzano, @freeworldgroup
- Frank Valzano, @freeworldgroup
"I owe my success as a game developer to Flash. We went from buying games at the mall to just clicking a link! Flash gave all these small experimental games an instant audience, and gave rise to indie games as we know them today including my own."
- @sarah_northway
- @sarah_northway
"I'd been making games using various tools and languages since I was a kid but when Flash arrived on the scene it was a 'lightbulb moment', because I was a little bit of an artist, a little bit of a coder and this bridged that gap perfectly."
- @oliver_joyce
- @oliver_joyce
"The old Flash scene was an incredible place to learn gamedev. I didn't realize until it was already over, but it was a tech bubble for strange art!"
- @2DArray
- @2DArray
"For me Flash was a way to create something and put it out in the world with no mediation. It seemed that a browser window could have absolutely anything inside of it, and it didn’t need to be explained as long as it was compelling."
- @vectorpark
- @vectorpark
"My background is in visual arts and design so Flash was the perfect gateway drug to game making. With Flash I could make a game responding to an urgent issue in a matter of days and immediately make it accessible to an audience of millions."
- @molleindustria
- @molleindustria
"Flash as a platform gave "outsiders" an accessible tool to make games. The combo "runs in browser + access to player community" put a beginner, unknown, south american developer in the spotlight and allowed me to have a career in game development."
- @danielben
- @danielben
"Flash games at their best had such a raw, personal connection to their creators. When playing them you could feel artist’s hand, and the passion they poured into their work. Most people just have no clue how absolutely massive Flash was."
- @DrNeroCF
- @DrNeroCF
"Flash had a huge influence on me as a game developer and designer. I have no idea what my life or career would look like without Flash."
- @ADAMATOMIC
- @ADAMATOMIC
"Making Flash games for Armor Games was one of the best experiences of my life, even if the fast pace sometimes did feel crushing. I still every so often hear from people who played one of my games and it's the best feeling in the world."
- @the_exp
- @the_exp
"Sensations like Minecraft and so many others can trace their ancestral lineage back to concepts that originated from Flash games. We owe a lot of the game industry's brightest stars to these funny little games that brought us all so much joy."
- Jordan Dubuc, @XGenStudios
- Jordan Dubuc, @XGenStudios
"It wouldn't be an exaggeration that Vlambeer, and with it games as Super Crate Box, Ridiculous Fishing, LUFTRAUSERS, and Nuclear Throne, would not have existed without Flash."
- @tha_rami
- @tha_rami
"I’ve been making web games for over a decade now and they’ve been played around a billion times. It was the golden age of indie game development in my opinion. The most creative and fun ideas got the most attention no matter who made them."
- @tghGaz
- @tghGaz
"A lot of new indie studios were popping up all across Indonesia in 2010. The main driving factor was Flash games."
- @kerissakti
- @kerissakti
"I basically grew up on Newgrounds and developed an interest in making my own games very early on. I made Multitask in 2009 when I was 15. It ended up getting over 10 million views across different sites like Kongregate, Newgrounds, ArmorGames, and others."
- Creed Gallagher
- Creed Gallagher
"N offered a level editor, and I submitted a couple hundred of my own design. The community would play them and give feedback. My college offered a quality game design program, but I unironically learned more from this one little community of players and designers."
- @player_03
- @player_03
"I’ve been making Flash games fulltime for 10 years (2004 – 2014), and it was the best part of my life."
- Vitaly Zaborov
- Vitaly Zaborov
"I was basically a kid during the Flash-era, and I feel like I grew up alongside it. Eventually I released my first serious game and people loved it, and that blew me away. So I kept doing it."
- @silstipro
- @silstipro
"Nitrome would not have existed without Flash. The low barrier to entry was two fold in that the application was easy to learn to a standard that you could make a game and as a platform there has never been an easier way to get your game out there."
- @mat_annal
- @mat_annal
"Working so closely with the Flash games community was such an inspiration to us all. We saw how life-changing these games could be for people around the world. I've built lifelong friendships through the community."
- @jamesonh
- @jamesonh
"Nowadays the internet is synonymous with posting your own stuff, but in 2004 there was no Twitter, Facebook, Youtube or SoundCloud. NewGrounds (and DeviantArt) was years ahead of the curve."
- @TomBrienTweets
- @TomBrienTweets
"I hope that something down the road has a scrappy tool like Flash that can allow quick iteration and collaboration. It makes me sad to think that the next generation of edgy teens wont have the outlet that we old heads had back then."
- @LuisCastanon
- @LuisCastanon
"I think I would have found a path into games no matter what, but Flash was the first thing that made it possible for me. Its ease of use combined with sites like Newgrounds meant that a kid at home could make silly games and reach thousands of players with them."
- @anpShawn
- @anpShawn
"I first got into Flash because I watched some badly animated Counter Strike parody cartoons on Newgrounds. It was so entertaining but also so scrappy that it inspired me to download the program and play around with it myself."
- @krin_jj
- @krin_jj
"I think that the Flash game scene circa 2006-2010 was a LOT more friendly to newcomers. If mobile stores worked more like the Flash portals of that era, I think there would be a much more interesting and vibrant indie ecosystem on mobile."
- @SimianLogic
- @SimianLogic
"Flash wasn't just a massive platform for games, it's a bite-sized model of our industry - the talent, the drive, the creativity - and I couldn't be happier it happened. There will never be anything like it again, and that's the depressing thing about it going away."
@BlueMaxima
@BlueMaxima
"Many years ago, I had the idea of Flash Forever. How can we treat what is created in Flash as valuable information like a book? Sadly, the need to drive business growth by adding features and capabilities, trumped the need for permanence."
- Jonathan Gay, Creator of Flash
- Jonathan Gay, Creator of Flash
"Over the years, my companies have made a number of software tools, but Flash was by far the most impactful. For me, the most gratifying thing has been having Flash animators thank me for giving them a career. Not just a tool, but a career."
- @wiredcoach
- @wiredcoach
There is also an interactive timeline of Flash games that you can explore on https://www.flashgamehistory.com/
