I haven't gone through the games they have, but it makes sense to preserve ALL games for future generations. I'd even go so far as to offer games in an original variant; but also in modified variants, aka one being mostly focused on fixing bugs and doing modest upgrades (simplifying playability and SLIGHT improvements to the user interface), as well as slightly more aggressive upgrades, including UI, making them visually beautiful but retaining the spirit of the game. For instance, of all the simcities, the first one was IMO the best. The graphics lateron were much better of course, but playability wise I found the first one the most addictive; similar with colonization, first one was quite good. The last 3 releases had better graphics, but playability wise it felt like 100 steps back.
What I would love to see is that we retain old flash games too. HTML5 was promoted as "making flash obsolete", but they never fulfilled that promise. Many flash-games simply died and there was no replacement in HTML; similar with some java applet games. Or at the least I could not find a replacement (that's also a problem - with google search having become nearly useless, finding things is super-hard; and of course old websites tend to die, that is also a problem).
Just an aside, but I've recently taken up Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition. To a large extent it's the same game I played as a kid. But with lots of quality-of-life improvements. Like better queuing of actions. But also modernized with better graphics, animations, matchmaking where the original servers of course are gone etc. But under the hood, it's the same engine and game, not just a reimplementation that's similar.
Great way of reviving a game. Because it's those small things that make it hard to go back to older games. Old graphics I can live with, but it often looks weird if made for crt. And the interface breaking on bigger screens etc is hard. But mainly it's often the nicer mechanics and QoL things one miss.
I think the interface breaking on newer screens is a key point - AOE2 definite edition looks great on a 4k screen now, but when I tried one of the other variants beforehand the UI didn't scale properly and so all the elements were tiny to the point of being unplayable without adjusting the resolution
I play lots of old games, but the thing I have the hardest time with is playing in 4:3 on a 16:9 monitor. I didn't6 know why... Maybe I need to try an actual 4:3 monitor and see how I feel.
God bless the Ruffle project, but it's so frustrating that they've covered almost everything in AS3 except the NetConnection class (and the .connect() call).
Lots of wonderful single player games were made in Flash, and it's awesome that there's a way to play them again. But almost all of my work was multiplayer or relied on amfphp or other Flash versions of XHR to draw in data for levels, multiplayer, music or graphics after my engine loads. I still have all the server code... but all we can resurrect still are games that are entirely self-contained. That's still alright but it relegates Flash to a museum.
Hi, one of Ruffle maintainers here. AFAIK, we do have most of NetConnection API implemented; but direct socket connections are just impossible in browsers. The games should (hopefully) work and connect when run via the desktop player. We also implemented socket emulation in the browser via WebSockets, so they should also start working there if you put a WebSockify proxy on your server (no need to touch the game server code).
I assume this is because web API's don't allow such connections.
However with the source code and server code it seems like a perfect task to set an AI agent (IE. Please patch out these API's and replace them with websockets on both client and server, then recompile)
I believe that the art of the past, created by humans before the advent of AI, deserves a reevaluation. It seems increasingly rare these days to find works that reflect pure human effort. In that sense, I believe the effort to preserve these games from the past is well worthwhile.
I remember that years ago when the android phones started there was a app for flash games....I don't remember the name the app (and maybe this app does not run in current android phones)
There was a browser-streaming app that would play them remotely, can't remember what it was called.
There was an official plugin by Adobe on Android but it was awful, I remember watching them showcase it at a conference it was tragic even with their handpicked and simple example.
Then there was a transpiler that produced native apps from Flash, this was actually pretty good but Apple then banned transpiling which killed its viability entirely, six months later they un-banned transpiling but the damage was done.
But on the plus side, Apple got to monopolize transaction fees in Flash games like Farmville for nearly two decades!
What an amazing feeling to see my flash animations I made when I was 13 on this site. Great project! What a unique era that time on the internet was. Can hardly imagine what my life would be today had it not been for Flash.
I sometimes watch (in horror) as my nephew uses his Dad's phone to play whatever shallow, glossy muck he finds in the play store. He spends as much time swatting ads, refusing to upgrade to the pro version and hitting 'back' to get out of the play store than playing the games. It's amazing to watch a 6 year old develop muscle memory on these things. I see him swat away an ad almost before I've even noticed that it wasn't part of the game. He has effectively learned to be an ad / upgrade swatting machine. That is the game. Because he has absolutely no "sticking power" with any game. It's the play store / game / ad version of doomscrolling.
I've realised that giving him a reduced hand-picked library of games, with no ads, no automatic prompts to try another game, might be a good idea. These flash games are easily as good as most of the junk I see him play anyway.
I don't mean to sound like the old fart that I am, but you keep describing games in terms of "junk" and "as good as [junk]": maybe instead of giving a bundle of ad-free junk, none of which actually captures his attention and all of which amounts to "doomscrolling," you might consider finding something that does get his attention and occupies it more usefully.
Swift Playgrounds was (is?) ad-free and teaches programming. There are music studio apps that let him compose his own music. Plenty of apps let kids create things actively instead of just playing games. There are also all sorts of non-electronic activities that could occupy his time more fruitfully, but I'll skip over that.
I really like flashpoint but I wish there was a plugin for curation / recommendation. I have an index of games in my head from my childhood and so does my SO. Together we can play the games we know, but have little ability to discriminate between trash and gem. There are simply too many to reasonably pick at random. The old flash sites offered some curation.
I'm feel old.. My library of childhood games in my head are from the 80s, for the Spectrum. Dizzy, Jet Set Willy, Operation Wolf, R-Type, and original movie/game conversations for Robocop, Batman etc.
What's odd is the apparent chasm between those games and the earliest flash games, but really it's just a few years. That's just a trick of the mind. When you're a kid, turning into a young adult, a few short years feel like a lifetime. Man, it speeds up after that...
A shame that they require a special software download. Do we not have any web-based Flash renderers yet? Seems like WASM should be able to do anything.
I thought the same. But it is necessary for the vast majority of games. It is not just an emulator for the .swf (and other formats) content you need, you often need bespoke proxy servers and server emulators to bypass some of the old DRM.
I periodically check if Top Dog II (from teagames, now nonexistent) has been added as it was one of my favorite flash games, but it still isn't there. I admire the work and I really support preservation projects. Hope Top Dog II can be rescued one day, along with other teagames titles.
Attak by JohnnyTwoShoes[0,1], is one of the standout games from that era: super-saiyan type battles using an underlying physics/ragdoll engine with fully destructible buildings and terrain.
Half the strategy was digging out an underground bunker to shield yourself from your enemy's 500m vertical drop attacks. It was an incredible feat of programming for the time.
The game unfortunately is in that final tiny percentage of AS3 games with missing features and thus does not work with ruffle yet, I suspect because the game was so cutting edge.
There's honestly a ton more, you can download the archive and go through the various community lists in there. I've spent a few evenings just having a few drinks and playing some old games! :D
Most of the good flash games later turned into something you could buy on steam. Great example of this was mud and blood, which has a proper steam based continuation.
Nice. Glad to see someone is doing this. Everyone on HN hates on things like Flash, but they were genuinely innovative technologies that showed the world what was possible online. And the content was unmatched. The Internet today can’t compare.
That's clearly not true. Is that a rhetoric expression? Because I just wrote about Flash games being great - and I wasn't the only one doing so either.
I haven't gone through the games they have, but it makes sense to preserve ALL games for future generations. I'd even go so far as to offer games in an original variant; but also in modified variants, aka one being mostly focused on fixing bugs and doing modest upgrades (simplifying playability and SLIGHT improvements to the user interface), as well as slightly more aggressive upgrades, including UI, making them visually beautiful but retaining the spirit of the game. For instance, of all the simcities, the first one was IMO the best. The graphics lateron were much better of course, but playability wise I found the first one the most addictive; similar with colonization, first one was quite good. The last 3 releases had better graphics, but playability wise it felt like 100 steps back.
What I would love to see is that we retain old flash games too. HTML5 was promoted as "making flash obsolete", but they never fulfilled that promise. Many flash-games simply died and there was no replacement in HTML; similar with some java applet games. Or at the least I could not find a replacement (that's also a problem - with google search having become nearly useless, finding things is super-hard; and of course old websites tend to die, that is also a problem).
Just an aside, but I've recently taken up Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition. To a large extent it's the same game I played as a kid. But with lots of quality-of-life improvements. Like better queuing of actions. But also modernized with better graphics, animations, matchmaking where the original servers of course are gone etc. But under the hood, it's the same engine and game, not just a reimplementation that's similar.
Great way of reviving a game. Because it's those small things that make it hard to go back to older games. Old graphics I can live with, but it often looks weird if made for crt. And the interface breaking on bigger screens etc is hard. But mainly it's often the nicer mechanics and QoL things one miss.
I think the interface breaking on newer screens is a key point - AOE2 definite edition looks great on a 4k screen now, but when I tried one of the other variants beforehand the UI didn't scale properly and so all the elements were tiny to the point of being unplayable without adjusting the resolution
I play lots of old games, but the thing I have the hardest time with is playing in 4:3 on a 16:9 monitor. I didn't6 know why... Maybe I need to try an actual 4:3 monitor and see how I feel.
Open source flash player emulator: https://ruffle.rs/
Interesting, they have one of my games[0], but somehow managed to misspell my username. There must have been a manual process, or even OCR somewhere?
0: https://flashpointproject.github.io/flashpoint-database/sear...
Probably just scraped -- you are listed as "Mollerjoi" on https://flashgames.cx/game/supermax and on http://play.ee1234.com/en/all/9a9ead34-cfd7-43a2-b0be-0c2b75... -- interestingly on the "Source" you're not even credited (https://www.y8.com/games/supermax)
God bless the Ruffle project, but it's so frustrating that they've covered almost everything in AS3 except the NetConnection class (and the .connect() call).
Lots of wonderful single player games were made in Flash, and it's awesome that there's a way to play them again. But almost all of my work was multiplayer or relied on amfphp or other Flash versions of XHR to draw in data for levels, multiplayer, music or graphics after my engine loads. I still have all the server code... but all we can resurrect still are games that are entirely self-contained. That's still alright but it relegates Flash to a museum.
Hi, one of Ruffle maintainers here. AFAIK, we do have most of NetConnection API implemented; but direct socket connections are just impossible in browsers. The games should (hopefully) work and connect when run via the desktop player. We also implemented socket emulation in the browser via WebSockets, so they should also start working there if you put a WebSockify proxy on your server (no need to touch the game server code).
I suspect this is why one of my most favourite games of that era, Attak by JohnnyTwoShoes[0], does not make it past the loading screen
0: https://flashpointproject.github.io/flashpoint-database/sear...
I assume this is because web API's don't allow such connections.
However with the source code and server code it seems like a perfect task to set an AI agent (IE. Please patch out these API's and replace them with websockets on both client and server, then recompile)
I believe that the art of the past, created by humans before the advent of AI, deserves a reevaluation. It seems increasingly rare these days to find works that reflect pure human effort. In that sense, I believe the effort to preserve these games from the past is well worthwhile.
I remember that years ago when the android phones started there was a app for flash games....I don't remember the name the app (and maybe this app does not run in current android phones)
Now thanks to https://f-droid.org/es/packages/rs.ruffle/ (it has high % compatibility but it is ok) another we have again a handful flash games in the phone.
There was a browser-streaming app that would play them remotely, can't remember what it was called.
There was an official plugin by Adobe on Android but it was awful, I remember watching them showcase it at a conference it was tragic even with their handpicked and simple example.
Then there was a transpiler that produced native apps from Flash, this was actually pretty good but Apple then banned transpiling which killed its viability entirely, six months later they un-banned transpiling but the damage was done.
But on the plus side, Apple got to monopolize transaction fees in Flash games like Farmville for nearly two decades!
What an amazing feeling to see my flash animations I made when I was 13 on this site. Great project! What a unique era that time on the internet was. Can hardly imagine what my life would be today had it not been for Flash.
I sometimes watch (in horror) as my nephew uses his Dad's phone to play whatever shallow, glossy muck he finds in the play store. He spends as much time swatting ads, refusing to upgrade to the pro version and hitting 'back' to get out of the play store than playing the games. It's amazing to watch a 6 year old develop muscle memory on these things. I see him swat away an ad almost before I've even noticed that it wasn't part of the game. He has effectively learned to be an ad / upgrade swatting machine. That is the game. Because he has absolutely no "sticking power" with any game. It's the play store / game / ad version of doomscrolling.
I've realised that giving him a reduced hand-picked library of games, with no ads, no automatic prompts to try another game, might be a good idea. These flash games are easily as good as most of the junk I see him play anyway.
I don't mean to sound like the old fart that I am, but you keep describing games in terms of "junk" and "as good as [junk]": maybe instead of giving a bundle of ad-free junk, none of which actually captures his attention and all of which amounts to "doomscrolling," you might consider finding something that does get his attention and occupies it more usefully.
Swift Playgrounds was (is?) ad-free and teaches programming. There are music studio apps that let him compose his own music. Plenty of apps let kids create things actively instead of just playing games. There are also all sorts of non-electronic activities that could occupy his time more fruitfully, but I'll skip over that.
> Swift Playgrounds was (is?) ad-free and teaches programming. There are music studio apps that let ...
And that works until they have 1 conversation with other kids, in school or whatever.
Until they find that one other kid in school with the same interests. Then they find a lifelong friend, and they create things together.
I really like flashpoint but I wish there was a plugin for curation / recommendation. I have an index of games in my head from my childhood and so does my SO. Together we can play the games we know, but have little ability to discriminate between trash and gem. There are simply too many to reasonably pick at random. The old flash sites offered some curation.
I'm feel old.. My library of childhood games in my head are from the 80s, for the Spectrum. Dizzy, Jet Set Willy, Operation Wolf, R-Type, and original movie/game conversations for Robocop, Batman etc.
What's odd is the apparent chasm between those games and the earliest flash games, but really it's just a few years. That's just a trick of the mind. When you're a kid, turning into a young adult, a few short years feel like a lifetime. Man, it speeds up after that...
Greatest flash game of all time (if you hate yourself)
https://flashpointproject.github.io/flashpoint-database/sear...
Or you can play it here too https://archive.org/details/homerunderby_en
A bit sad not to find the whole collection of Larry Carlson's animations in there (only a few games.) Also, need full archive of Joe Cartoon!
I had the same thought, and similar disappointment when I couldn't find anything referencing Trogdor and his burninating ways.
A shame that they require a special software download. Do we not have any web-based Flash renderers yet? Seems like WASM should be able to do anything.
I thought the same. But it is necessary for the vast majority of games. It is not just an emulator for the .swf (and other formats) content you need, you often need bespoke proxy servers and server emulators to bypass some of the old DRM.
There's ruffle: https://ruffle.rs/
iirc support is generally good, but some versions of flash/actionscript have issues (at least last time I checked).
I periodically check if Top Dog II (from teagames, now nonexistent) has been added as it was one of my favorite flash games, but it still isn't there. I admire the work and I really support preservation projects. Hope Top Dog II can be rescued one day, along with other teagames titles.
Was pleasantly surprised to find two of my games preserved here. Was over twenty years ago that I submitted them!
Kind of crazy that most of the huge mobile games draw roots to flash games from the decades prior.
Previous discussion https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38850697
If you like RPGs, you gotta play Nekogame's "Parameters"! It's in there.
Can't tell if they have the entirety of Homestar Runner preserved, but I'm very glad to see they have some of it.
Homestar Runner isn't dead, and all the files are still around, so it should be back sometime within the next few years. https://homestarrunner.com/post-flash-update
Very disappointed that they don't have _Bembo's Zoo_
https://www.devicq.com/bembo-zoo/
https://soundeffects.fandom.com/wiki/Bembo%27s_Zoo_(Websites...
https://web.archive.org/web/20000816172409/http://www.bembos...
If there's a way to get it added, I'd be very glad of that (or if someone could figure out how to re-create it for the modern web)
If you’re interested in legal torrenting but GNU/Linux images are too small for you, this is for you.
Wouldn’t this still be technically a copyright violation? It seems unlikely this is all public domain stuff.
Yes, but you'd have trouble finding someone who has standing and desire to sue.
Can anyone recommend sone Flash games to try out?
Attak by JohnnyTwoShoes[0,1], is one of the standout games from that era: super-saiyan type battles using an underlying physics/ragdoll engine with fully destructible buildings and terrain.
Half the strategy was digging out an underground bunker to shield yourself from your enemy's 500m vertical drop attacks. It was an incredible feat of programming for the time.
The game unfortunately is in that final tiny percentage of AS3 games with missing features and thus does not work with ruffle yet, I suspect because the game was so cutting edge.
0: https://flashpointproject.github.io/flashpoint-database/sear...
1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTiO6o-NERw
Some of the recommendations here are good classics, but if you're looking for some REALLY good ones:
* Sonny 2 (really in-depth turn based RPG)
* Fancy Pants Adventures 1-3 (2D platformer)
* Larry and the Gnomes (Beat 'em up)
* Interactive Buddy 2 (Fun simulator toy)
* Final Ninja Zero (2D platformer)
* Bubble Tanks 2 (Twinstick shooter)
These really take me back...
Somebody already mentioned the Winnie's Homerun Derby. I also have fond memories of playing:
* N - https://archive.org/details/nv-12
* Ball Revamped - https://archive.org/details/1100_ballrevampedv2
* Mind Fcuk - https://archive.org/details/tf_20210127
* World's hardest game - https://archive.org/details/the-worlds-hardest-game_202310
* Canabalt - https://archive.org/details/canabalt_202012
* (If you're from one of the commonwealth countries) Stick Cricket - https://archive.org/details/stickcricket_flash
There's honestly a ton more, you can download the archive and go through the various community lists in there. I've spent a few evenings just having a few drinks and playing some old games! :D
Does this contain MOTAS (mystery of time and space) point and click game?
That game was fun and had some really nice music
Thanks for the archive, but the site needs to be mobile-friendly.
Most of the good flash games later turned into something you could buy on steam. Great example of this was mud and blood, which has a proper steam based continuation.
I wouldn't say most, but a good chunk yes.
You now hear Age of War soundtrack.
Nice. Glad to see someone is doing this. Everyone on HN hates on things like Flash, but they were genuinely innovative technologies that showed the world what was possible online. And the content was unmatched. The Internet today can’t compare.
I hate html, wasm, css, javascript as much as flash when they're used to waste my battery, cpu and ram with pointless effects when I'm browsing.
Love them when they're either getting out of the way of my content or used to make a great game.
I think people hate(d) working with it and the security flaws it had.
I don't think I've seen people hating the content created with it.
> Everyone on HN hates on things like Flash
That's clearly not true. Is that a rhetoric expression? Because I just wrote about Flash games being great - and I wasn't the only one doing so either.