Re:Show HN: Thoughts on Flash in 2023, in Flash, in 2023
by rchaud on Friday April 21, 2023 @12:12PM
(#35655944)
Regarding the Play store, I just see waves and waves of the exact same game with different character textures applied.
The difference with Flash was that it was usually the work of a solo developer of a very small team, so they could be unique in what they made (not dismissing that Flash game had clones too). The mobile app landscape is different in that conformity = $$$. These apps are soulless, they have no incentive to build something that's not a Clash of Clans / Temple Run / Candy Crush type game that's inundated with microtransactions.
Flash was the most attention grabbing medium at the time (because of bandwidth constraints), and making money was not the expectation, so the two groups flocked together and created all those wonderful animations and games for free. I don't see Flash, or anything like it, winning against TikTok and app store cash grabs anytime soon.
[1] Exhibit A: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iN92RC0Lmd4 . Distinct visual style? Check. Absurdist? Check. High effort? Check. Niche? Currently 3k views, check. Available for free? Check. 15 years ago this would be on Newgrounds.
[2] Exhibit B: https://play.google.com/store/search?q&c=apps (an empty search on the Play Store). It's 100% unicorn games for small girls, and there are no small girls in my household to influence the results. 15 years ago, the less greedy version of this would be on Kongregate.