Hey everyone! I hope you're all having a great day. I'm a graphics programmer currently focused on an OpenGL renderer, and I've been reminiscing about the days when Adobe Flash Player was the go-to for online games, especially on platforms like Facebook between 2010 and 2020. Many of those games have since vanished, such as 'Smurfs and Co: Spellbound,' while others have returned but no longer offer free versions, like the games from Flipline Studios. Yet, some games are making a comeback, such as 'Pyramid Valley.'
With Adobe discontinuing support for Flash, it got me thinking: why did so many developers favor Flash over JavaScript during that period? I know there are ways to convert OpenGL programs into WebGL using Emscripten, which could run in browsers. But for web games, why not just go with WebGL or pure JavaScript instead? If anyone who was part of that era or has experience in web development could shed some light on this, I'd really appreciate it!
6 Answers
Just a side note, Flash was created by Macromedia, not Adobe. Adobe bought Macromedia later. When they decided to drop Flash, it was partly due to its outdated technology and security issues. It would have been a huge challenge to modernize it while keeping everything compatible, which is why it eventually fell out of favor.
In short, JS just wasn’t ready for prime time back then. Flash was the best tool to create interactive web experiences, as WebGL wasn't even an option yet. It was really the go-to solution for dynamic content on the web.
Back when Flash was widely used, JavaScript was quite different from today. It struggled with performance and cross-browser compatibility, making it harder to maintain large projects. Flash was simply better suited for game development at the time, which is why it became the standard.
If you’re looking to relive those Flash games, check out the Internet Archive! They have a collection of Flash games and an emulator that lets you play them online. It's a nice way to revisit some of those classics.
From what I've seen, using ActionScript in Flash was a lot more straightforward than dealing with JavaScript back then. Creating animations and interactivity was much easier in Flash, especially before HTML5 and CSS3 became widely adopted.
To put it simply, it was easier for non-tech folks and artists to use Flash. The tools were user-friendly for creating dynamic content. While WebGL and WebGPU are great now, they require a significant effort to implement compared to Flash. Also, game distribution was trickier back then, and Flash played a big role in that era.
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