Web gaming: My educational video

[Manderby]

After the ban of Unity and other plugins in popular Web Browsers, the question about the future of Web gaming and Flash is more pressing than ever. I have read a lot of comments and blogs from developers lately which are simply uncertain of what the current situation is all about and especially what the future holds.

As a researcher in media technology, I know about such things and I have observed the developments of the past years with concern. And as a long-time fan of Newgrounds, I do not want game developers to waste time with technologies leading to dead ends.

Therefore, I made a video where I talk about the situation. If you are a long-time Flash game developer and are asking yourself what to do next, you may find my opinion and findings interesting (although you surely can have different opinions). I mostly talk about HTML5 and what it provides to game developers. In conclusion (just so you know what the video will be like): Stay with Flash and support Newgrounds as well as other platforms!

The video is long (50min) and is roughly split into three parts:

1. History of the Web and HTML5
2. Technologies of HTML5 without plugins for gaming
3. Developers considerations for the future

It is a summary of why I think that for Web gaming (not desktop or console gaming), there can only be Flash in the near future.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sD6gd_mZNn4

Additionally, I will release a second video about the same topic but showing me playing Minecraft and spontaneously talking. Due to the spontaneous nature of the video, it is not the best English and there are some errors as well and I do not talk about every detail. But if you are interested in another, much more emotional speak, feel free to watch the second video too:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWItneSYjXA

[23450]

Gruetzi Wohl (?)!

Interesting video. Could not listen to the entire hour, but it was a good listen. Some strange conclusions. The idea the killing Flash made the Web dull is ignoring other factors like the changes in how people use their computers. There are still active Flash Game Studios (eg. East Side Games) that just don't get the traction they once did. Its not as though computers magically lost the ability to play Flash games. People choose not to play them.

Anyway, thanks for posting.

[Manderby]

Thanks and grüzi. :)

That's right. (Many) People choose not to play Flash games. That is the ongoing situation since 10 years.

What I am worried about is new content. I do not want game developers with fresh ideas (of which there are many) to waste time with technologies they - at the current time - simply can not achieve a decent game with or to be forced to go off the Web and walk the long and difficult path via distributors which defeats the whole purpose of fresh ideas: Being published fast and being distributed in an uncomplicated fashion. Which is what the Web is here for.

I want Newgrounds to be (as it always was) a superb platform for (free, open, low-budget, fast, inspiring, untested, provocative, independent, fun, little ...) Games. Such a game to become a huge hit is not very likely, although many distributors try to tell us otherwise. So I encourage game developers to see this as a (low-payed) hobby and not waste time in trying to create the next one-in-a-million-success and equally likely fail in doing so with nothing left that a hunge amount of work and disappointing sales numbers. And as hence game development in the Web is a hobby, there is no reason to NOT use Flash, which so far still is the quickest solution for a solid game which works everywhere (except that one platform we do not talk about).