Flash Games, The Death of

Hello!

So, you have evidently stumbled across my blog. Our topic today is Flash gaming, and the portals that showcase all of the wonderful creations our internet friends upload - and of course, the reason it is all going down the pan.

A few months ago I joined Newgrounds. Originally, it was just because I have an obsession with signing up to every website I use, but Newgrounds struck the creative spark within me and set me on the path of Flash Programming. It has now been 3 months, and my total creations uploaded to Newgrounds is none. Nada. Not a single one. I did upload an animation, but apparently the users of NG don't appreciate stickman MJ humour. I'm not annoyed that I have yet to complete a game, as I type this I am polishing off my first game worth playing - Kate and the PCG - and I believe that it will do well.

This little piece of background should set the scene of a patient guy, creating a masterpiece bit by bit in the hope that it could do well - maybe even get me some ad revenue! Probably not, but that's just my luck. This little piece of background should set the scene of a hard-working guy pouring hours of precious time into his computer, perfecting and re-perfecting every aspect of every frame within said masterpiece. This little piece of background should set the scene of a guy who believes the only way to make a good flash game is by hard work and constant learning.

I was wrong.

Imagine my despair when I innocently log on to Newgrounds and find 5 consecutive games have passed judgement that were made in game creation software such as 'sploder'. This basically means that any old kid with a computer can go onto a website, drag and drop a platformer or shooter level into place, then they have a game! No scripting, no animating, no nothing.

I'm not entirely sure whether these games were actually made in 'sploder', so don't take it as just that site, but all of these games were from the same site and uploaded by individual members of NG - all linking back to some 'awesome' game creator. Great. Basically, sites like these are going to kill flash portals such as Newgrounds and Kongregate - because although they are a barrel of pubes right now, it can only be a matter of time before these sites get software that can actually mimic the scripting and animating process so well that even unique ideas can be put into practice.

So, what can be done? In my opinion, absolutely nothing. Unless human nature suddenly changes and people no longer want a quick and easy way of doing something challenging, I don't see these sites disappearing. What we can do is stick to our guns.

No matter how good these sites get,. no matter how brilliant and customiseable the software gets: JUST.DON'T.DO.IT. I'm sorry I had to resort to caps lock, but sometimes it's the only language people can understand.

If you love flash games as much as I do, have a go at developing them using genuine animation programs, it's much more rewarding.

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