The Death of Flash and The Rise of free Indie Games

It’s a well-known fact that on December 31st Adobe will stop support for Flash, meaning that the number of flash games being made will drastically drop into nothing and a whole bundle of games that children during the early 2000s grew up on will become unavailable, I know I can’t be the only one disappointed in the fact that these games in time will be forgotten about and without the proper support, games like these can’t be looked back on as many browsers are also be dropping support for Flash. I understand that it's all a business and they will drop something if it doesn’t make them money, it’s still sad to see some of these great games disappear. As the deadline edges ever closer for your chance to relive some of your childhood, there is no better time to look back at some jewels of the industry that came from flash, and other classics you may have played or at least heard of.

 

The first website that comes to anyone’s mind when they think of flash games is Newgrounds. The reason being is that anyone could put anything on there, which means you did get a lot of mediocre work, but also a lot of quality. One of the most famous solo indie developers Edmund Mcmillen got his start on the website when he first uploaded Super Meat Boy in 2008 which later went on to achieve incredible success in the main steam industry. Alongside that, you can also still find the demo version of the Binding of Isaac is also still available on the website before it went on to be one of the highest-selling and top-rated indie games on steam. That shows the strength that these games have in terms of quality, as they can not only work as a flash game but as triple-A games. Similarly, Castle Crashers started as a simple flash game and then went on to get a full release with music from members of Newgrounds. The benefits of sending out games like these are that they can be small, with little financial investment, games that won’t make or break your career. The games mentioned are all classics that can be easily remembered by anyone who played them at the time, and also those without the funds to buy titles made by a full studio.

But without support for these kinds of titles, they will be no more or become rarer. And it could become more difficult for a one-man team to get a jump start in the game industry. That doesn’t mean these unique and special games don’t have their space, after all, there needs to be a place for experiments as that’s what makes the industry grow. Some websites still house these experimental games though, a website like Game Jolt has free indie games that are well developed by people with different cultures and origins, if you have any spare time, I would recommend checking it out since mostly all the games are free and fun too. Another place to experience unique types of games is the Global Game Jam website, every year, independent game developers come together for 48 hours to make a game in that short time. Obviously, with this special environment, it grows very different kinds of games that could only be done like this, all over a weekend. But during this, there is no winners or losers. “The GGJ stimulates collaboration and is not a competition.” These places always need support and you won’t regret checking it out. If you enjoy video games but need something out of the ordinary don’t hesitate to check these out.