It's quiet in here... - Armor Games Community

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offline

16,463 posts

King

Posted June 28, '17 5:15pm UTC Edited June 28, '17 5:15pm UTC by armorplayergc

*sigh* to tell you the truth, I don't know, man... I have no idea what happened

I wish I could give you a better answer, but I simply don't know. I guess that users started to stop being active, little by little, and then, everyone followed that pattern continuously. I remember that ~1 year ago, I posted like 20 times a day in the forums. Now, I have 15,034 posts, but I reached 15k 24 days ago, which is less than 2 posts a day

I don't know why that happened to me... That's sad

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Reton8

3,173 posts

King

Posted June 28, '17 8:24pm UTC Edited June 29, '17 6:41pm UTC by Reton8

I have a long theory or observation here.

____________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 1 - The Golden Era: When Flash Gaming was at it's Peak
____________________________________________________________________________________

Around 2007 to 2010, web browser based gaming was at it's peak. There are a few reasons behind this:

1.) iPhones didn't exist until 2007, meaning that the smartphone gaming market was not existent or very small during that time (as it most likely took a few years for it to catch on).
2.) iPads weren't released until April 2010, according to Wikipedia. Again, this means no iPad or other tablet gaming.
3.) S.T.E.A.M. although released in 2003, probably wasn't as popular as it is now, back in the 2007 to 2010 period.
4.) The YouTube gaming scene was incredibly small. Let's Plays were in their infancy, and there were less classic game reviewers and less game reviewers in general making videos on YouTube.
5.) Reddit wasn't as popular during that time.

What this means, is that browser gaming was one of the few places that people could go to play free (or mostly free) games, many of which games had a nostalgic classic feel of older games from the 90s and earlier 00s. New developers probably created browser games to help flesh out resumes or gain some notoriety or because it was one of the few platforms in which they could share their creations to large audiences.

Yes, there was the Xbox Arcade, Playstation Network, and Wii had options, but I'm going to guess the barrier of entry, of getting a game released on that platform, was much more difficult than a hosting website.

____________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 2 - The Golden Era: Why Flash Gaming was at it's Peak
____________________________________________________________________________________

What did this mean for browser based-gaming (a.k.a. Flash gaming). A few things.

1.) Flash games was one of the few platforms were new developers could reach large audiences.
2.) Many Flash games had a classic retro vibe to them, meaning people craving retro-gaming had few other places to go. Yes, someone might play on an old console you might have or use emulators. But, Flash games offered people new experiences, new games, but in the retro style.
3.) Flash games were almost all free at the time. (I say at the time because even though many are still free, you have more free-to-play style games now, with micro-transactions. I feel micro-transactions were much less at the time, if a Flash game had a pay option, it was typically a one time fee of $5 to unlock additional content.

Browser based gaming (or Flash gaming) was the place to be. It was the only place to fill those free, retro gaming needs, it was ubiquitous, and there was no where else to go to fill those needs. People played games on the websites, talked about the games and discussed strategy on the same website.

____________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 3 - The Golden Era: But it's the Golden Era for Smartphones and Tablets
____________________________________________________________________________________

However, once smartphones, tablets, and S.T.E.A.M. took off things changed.

1.) For developers it offered an even bigger market audience than browser based Flash games.
2.) Smartphone, mobile, and S.T.E.A.M. games allowed indie developers to make those new retro style games on other platforms removing the uniqueness Flash games had over the current (at that time) console and computer gaming markets. In other words, if you wanted to play a new retro-style game, you could now use your phone, tablet, or go on S.T.E.A.M.instead of just browser games.
Note: Xbox Arcade and Playstation Network, as well as the Wii, offered actual retro games and new but retro-styled games. However more of them cost money, and they reached a smaller audience as you needed to own a console.
3.) Reddit become popular and so did S.T.E.A.M., both offering communities in which people could discuss games and game strategy, thus splintering the communities and funneling users away from browser based website.
4.) For developers, they could now charge for the games upfront or do micro-transactions with less hassle
Note: Micro-transactions can happen in browser games, but I want to say around 2011, it was more difficult on the user end as they typically needed a pay pal account. Charging through a phone or tablet that is already hooked up to an account is easier for the user).

____________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 4 - Why it's Not the Golden Era for Flash Games Anymore
____________________________________________________________________________________

This is my theory as to why the forums are so slow. Flash games aren't as popular, for the reasons stated, and the discussion communities have been splintered, thus taking users away from the forums.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 5 - The Golden Era: This is just a Sidenote, but I Wanted to say Golden Era One More Time to Keep with my Running Joke
____________________________________________________________________________________

One last note, I know that Chrome now disables Flash by default and many browser games have moved to Unity using the WebGL support. Obviously the games are still playable in browser, but it really kind of marks how "Flash" gaming is ending.

I have a long theory or observation here.

____________________________________________________________________________________
[b]Chapter 1 - The Golden Era: When Flash Gaming was at it's Peak[/b]
____________________________________________________________________________________

Around 2007 to 2010, web browser based gaming was at it's peak. There are a few reasons behind this:

[b]1.)[/b] iPhones didn't exist until 2007, meaning that the smartphone gaming market was not existent or very small during that time (as it most likely took a few years for it to catch on).
[b]2.)[/b] iPads weren't released until April 2010, according to Wikipedia. Again, this means no iPad or other tablet gaming.
[b]3.)[/b] S.T.E.A.M. although released in 2003, probably wasn't as popular as it is now, back in the 2007 to 2010 period.
[b]4.)[/b] The YouTube gaming scene was incredibly small. [i]Let's Plays[/i] were in their infancy, and there were less classic game reviewers and less game reviewers in general making videos on YouTube.
[b]5.)[/b] Reddit wasn't as popular during that time.

What this means, is that browser gaming was one of the few places that people could go to play free (or mostly free) games, many of which games had a nostalgic classic feel of older games from the 90s and earlier 00s. New developers probably created browser games to help flesh out resumes or gain some notoriety or because it was one of the few platforms in which they could share their creations to large audiences.

Yes, there was the Xbox Arcade, Playstation Network, and Wii had options, but I'm going to guess the barrier of entry, of getting a game released on that platform, was much more difficult than a hosting website.

____________________________________________________________________________________
[b]Chapter 2 - The Golden Era: Why Flash Gaming was at it's Peak[/b]
____________________________________________________________________________________

What did this mean for browser based-gaming (a.k.a. Flash gaming). A few things.

[b]1.)[/b] Flash games was one of the few platforms were new developers could reach large audiences.
[b]2.)[/b] Many Flash games had a classic retro vibe to them, meaning people craving retro-gaming had few other places to go. Yes, someone might play on an old console you might have or use emulators. But, Flash games offered people new experiences, new games, but in the retro style.
[b]3.)[/b] Flash games were almost all free at the time. (I say [i]at the time[/i] because even though many are still free, you have more [i]free-to-play[/i] style games now, with micro-transactions. I feel micro-transactions were much less at the time, if a Flash game had a pay option, it was typically a one time fee of $5  to unlock additional content.

Browser based gaming (or Flash gaming) was the place to be. It was the only place to fill those free, retro gaming needs, it was ubiquitous, and there was no where else to go to fill those needs. People played games on the websites, talked about the games and discussed strategy on the same website.

____________________________________________________________________________________
[b]Chapter 3 - The Golden Era: But it's the Golden Era for Smartphones and Tablets[/b]
____________________________________________________________________________________

However, once smartphones, tablets, and S.T.E.A.M. took off things changed.

[b]1.)[/b] For developers it offered an even bigger market audience than browser based Flash games. 
[b]2.)[/b] Smartphone, mobile, and S.T.E.A.M. games allowed indie developers to make those new retro style games on other platforms removing the uniqueness Flash games had over the current (at that time) console and computer gaming markets. In other words, if you wanted to play a new retro-style game, you could now use your phone, tablet, or go on S.T.E.A.M.instead of just browser games.
[b]Note:[/b] Xbox Arcade and Playstation Network, as well as the Wii, offered actual retro games and new but retro-styled games. However more of them cost money, and they reached a smaller audience as you needed to own a console.
[b]3.)[/b] Reddit become popular and so did S.T.E.A.M., both offering communities in which people could discuss games and game strategy, thus splintering the communities and funneling users away from browser based website.
[b]4.)[/b] For developers, they could now charge for the games upfront or do micro-transactions with less hassle 
[b]Note:[/b] Micro-transactions can happen in browser games, but I want to say around 2011, it was more difficult on the user end as they typically needed a pay pal account. Charging through a phone or tablet that is already hooked up to an account is easier for the user).

____________________________________________________________________________________
[b]Chapter 4 - Why it's Not the Golden Era for Flash Games Anymore[/b]
____________________________________________________________________________________

This is my theory as to why the forums are so slow. Flash games aren't as popular, for the reasons stated, and the discussion communities have been splintered, thus taking users away from the forums.
____________________________________________________________________________________
[b]Chapter 5 - The Golden Era: This is just a Sidenote, but I Wanted to say Golden Era One More Time to Keep with my Running Joke[/b]
____________________________________________________________________________________

One last note, I know that Chrome now disables Flash by default and many browser games have moved to Unity using the WebGL support. Obviously the games are still playable in browser, but it really kind of marks how "Flash" gaming is ending.

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R2D21999

18,319 posts

Treasurer

Posted June 29, '17 12:45pm UTC

Yeah... that makes a depressing amount of sense.

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armorplayergc

16,463 posts

King

Posted June 29, '17 7:53pm UTC Edited June 29, '17 7:54pm UTC by armorplayergc

Wow... that... that is correct I guess, I feel sorry for Flash/browser gaming

Flash games are/were what is/was bringing new people to AG (I actually created my account here because I wanted a nice place to play GemCraft), if Flash games die, so does AG unfortunately...

I wonder if we can do anything about it?

The past is past, I guess we should try to look at a way to "revive" AG in the future?

And also, let's enjoy AG while it is still alive... right? Talk to your friends here, YAY in the forums, post whatever you want (except spam), play games, get quests, count to 100...

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Reton8

3,173 posts

King

Posted June 29, '17 11:00pm UTC

Well also keep in mind my theory is based on conjecture. I didn't do any hard research or anything like that.

As well, I still feel browser games have some strong positives.

1.) Although Flash itself might be on the way out, Unity (and other such programs) now support WebGL, which allows games to be played in browsers without additional plug-ins. Flash is an additional plug-in and for a brief period Unity had a Unity plug-in. The Unity plug-in has fallen out of favor, but Unity with WebGL seems to be growing. Basically I'm saying even if Flash dies, there is already a replacement that is rather popular to allow browser gaming to continue.

2.) Someone will need to verify this, because I really don't know much about the technical specs here, but If things move to WebGL, it may mean that you could play browser games on tablets. (I'm really not certain about this though.)

3.) The only software requirement for browser based games is a browser, whilst S.T.E.A.M. needs to be downloaded, installed, an account needs to be made, and then the games need to be downloaded and installed. As for tablets, the games must be installed to be played, and I believe the tablet itself usually needs to be connected to an account.

This means browsers games can be more quickly accessed and require less hassle to play (accounts aren't necessary, installation of game isn't need, etc.). So browser games have an advantage of immediacy.

4.) I still feel browser games reach a broad audience and is still chosen alongside or over tablets, S.T.E.A.M. and mobile for choice of platform when creating a game.

So it's not all gloom. :]

Well also keep in mind my theory is based on conjecture. I didn't do any hard research or anything like that.

As well, I still feel browser games have some strong positives.

1.) Although Flash itself [b]might[/b] be on the way out, Unity (and other such programs) now support WebGL, which allows games to be played in browsers without additional plug-ins. Flash is an additional plug-in and for a brief period Unity had a Unity plug-in. The Unity plug-in has fallen out of favor, but Unity with WebGL seems to be growing. Basically I'm saying even [b]if[/b] Flash dies, there is already a replacement that is rather popular to allow browser gaming to continue.

2.) Someone will need to verify this, because I really don't know much about the technical specs here, but If things move to WebGL, it may mean that you could play browser games on tablets. (I'm really not certain about this though.)

3.) The only software requirement for browser based games is a browser, whilst S.T.E.A.M. needs to be downloaded, installed, an account needs to be made, and then the games need to be downloaded and installed. As for tablets, the games must be installed to be played, and I believe the tablet itself usually needs to be connected to an account.

This means browsers games can be more quickly accessed and require less hassle to play (accounts aren't necessary, installation of game isn't need, etc.). So browser games have an advantage of immediacy.

4.) I still feel browser games reach a broad audience and is still chosen alongside or over tablets, S.T.E.A.M. and mobile for choice of platform when creating a game.

So it's not all gloom. :]

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Doombreed

7,022 posts

Templar

Posted June 30, '17 6:29am UTC

Don't forget the hardware. Back in 2005 - 2009 or so, not many people even COULD play the games that were coming out because they were really demanding for that time. Then technology stopped improving that rapidly and took a slower pace. Prices fell, and now, even with a mediocre computer you can play games that are infinitely better than flash games. Flash game making improved too but it is still based on the same medium (flash). No matter how much it improves it cannot fill that gap.

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nichodemus

14,987 posts

Grand Duke

Posted June 30, '17 7:16am UTC

One can only hope and continue posting. Maybe it's because it's summer and everyone is out.

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MrDayCee

14,747 posts

King

Posted June 30, '17 11:31am UTC

Stuff that was fun 'back in the days'...

- Game tournament competitions : matching the best highscores for a certain level of a game chosen by the OP.

- Voting contests : Battle of the Brands / Games / Bands where you could choose your favorite.

- Fictional stories : Armor Games High etc. (Any chance for you to continue with a new school year @R2D21999 ? )

Just some ideas...

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nichodemus

14,987 posts

Grand Duke

Posted June 30, '17 11:33am UTC

We've all grown up now, I suppose you can call it Armor Games High, but it's a different kind of high now haha...

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R2D21999

18,319 posts

Treasurer

Posted June 30, '17 4:54pm UTC

(Any chance for you to continue with a new school year @R2D21999 ? )

Aww, dang. I'm working on a few Wattpad stories already I feel as if another story would just put more work on top of me. Not to mention I don't even know what I WOULD do in that story.

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Reton8

3,173 posts

King

Posted June 30, '17 5:22pm UTC

@Doombreed
Good point! That actually applied to me back during that time, my laptop wasn't that great so Flash games were a good fit. It wasn't the only reason I played Flash games, but my computer struggled to play almost all the modern titles at the time, even on low settings lol.

___

Armor Games University? Or if that's too young, Armor Games Corporation?