Re:How Flash Games Shaped the Video Game Industry
by bloomingkales on Sunday March 02, 2025 @01:04AM
(#43227852)
Hmm. You ever just stumble upon your reason for living?
Re:How Flash Games Shaped the Video Game Industry
by tombert on Sunday March 02, 2025 @02:03AM
(#43228085)
Ha, if you were to make a decent Flash clone I would pay a not-insignificant amount of money for it as long as it’s not a subscription thing. I don’t have enough interest in that level of programming to make it myself.
Re:How Flash Games Shaped the Video Game Industry
by praptak on Sunday March 02, 2025 @09:39AM
(#43230894)
My theory is that it's hard to create a usable tool in general and even harder if the domain is complex. Interactive animations are pretty complex.
Re:How Flash Games Shaped the Video Game Industry
by tombert on Sunday March 02, 2025 @11:01AM
(#43231748)
Yeah, there’s some truth to that.
It also doesn’t help that it’s two pronged: Flash is an animation tool and a software development environment.
There are some great animation software packages out there like Toonboom or even something like Moho or Opentoonz, but as far as I am aware they do not have the same kind of direct integration with a programming language like Flash did.
On the other end of the end of the spectrum, you have tools like Game Maker which do have programming as a core feature, but you’re expected to do animations elsewhere and import them in.
So Flash is a competent tool across two complicated domains.
Still, I wish someone would make a clone of the Adobe Animate program that directly exports to WASM, with all the artsy bells and whistles that I loved about it. Specifically, I would like something that I don't have to pay a monthly fee for forever. It was my first "real" experience with writing code, and I know I'm far from alone with that.
Pico8 and Game Maker and GDevelop and Scirra Construct are still fun, so it's not like there's a shortage of game making toolkits for younger people to get into this stuff. I just miss Flash in particular.