[casual_games] future of shockwave

Jordan Lee jordan at 1g.com
Fri Oct 21 16:17:17 EDT 2005


Yes, that's a huge advantage of dhtml.  We were toying with the idea of 
developing some dhtml games, but we couldn't protect the source code to 
a level that we were comfortable with.

Jordan Lee
CTO, 1 Gaming Inc.

BRENT SILBY wrote:
> The development issues are not really a concern. The game logic needs 
> minimal work. Its the sprite engine that needed to be rewritten, but 
> now that this has been complete it should be relatively 
> straightforward to do the conversions.
>  
> The first issue you mention is a concern, but something that we cannot 
> predict. One of the advantages of dhtml is that we do not need to rely 
> on the continued support of 3rd party plugins. As long as browsers 
> continue to support javascript and DOM level 2, our stuff will work.
>  
> Cheers,
> Brent.
>
> /DEF-LOGIC
> VIDEOGAMES
> www.def-logic.com <http://www.def-logic.com>/
>
>     ----- Original Message -----
>     *From:* Jordan Lee <mailto:jordan at 1g.com>
>     *To:* IGDA Casual Games SIG Mailing List
>     <mailto:casual_games at igda.org>
>     *Sent:* Saturday, October 22, 2005 9:04 AM
>     *Subject:* Re: [casual_games] future of shockwave
>
>     We were in a similar situation with our products, where we had to
>     make a decision between shockwave and flash.  For us, shockwave
>     turned out to not really be an option at all, as our user base is
>     reluctant to install any new plugins at all.  If you are going to
>     continue with dhtml versions, than you can't really loose by
>     developing alternative shockwave versions.  And since you say it
>     would be very straightforward, development time/costs shouldn't be
>     a problem either.
>
>     The only two problems I can see are:
>
>     1. Macromedia discontinuing shockwave/director altogether
>     2. Development issues resulting from two separate product lines
>
>     I can't comment on the first problem, as I don't know if thats
>     likely, and the second problem can be minimized by careful
>     planning and re-using as many of the game assets as possible.
>
>     It would be a much harder decision if you were dropping your
>     current products and switching to shockwave.
>
>
>     Jordan Lee,
>     CTO, 1 Gaming Inc.
>
>     BRENT SILBY wrote:
>>     Thanks for your thoughts,
>>     Our games target casual browser gamers--currently aiming mostly
>>     at the male market. Our target audience will grow as we develop a
>>     range of puzzle based games in the future.
>>      
>>     We are thinking of continuing with dhtml but offer shockwave
>>     ports of the games. I'd like to continue with dhtml because it is
>>     perfect for building widgets for macs and gadgets for the Windows
>>     Vista sidebar (I think sidebar gadgets will really take off in
>>     the next couple of years).
>>      
>>     The reasoning behind offering shockwave ports of the games is to
>>     overcome some browser specific issues (for eg Firefox can't
>>     display the content at full speed). Shockwave would also give us
>>     the opportunity to offer downloadable versions of the games.
>>      
>>     So to answer your question, we are still in an evaluative stage.
>>      
>>     Cheers,
>>     Brent.
>>
>>     /DEF-LOGIC
>>     VIDEOGAMES
>>     www.def-logic.com <http://www.def-logic.com>/
>>
>>         ----- Original Message -----
>>         *From:* Jordan Lee <mailto:jordan at 1g.com>
>>         *To:* IGDA Casual Games SIG Mailing List
>>         <mailto:casual_games at igda.org>
>>         *Sent:* Saturday, October 22, 2005 8:31 AM
>>         *Subject:* Re: [casual_games] future of shockwave
>>
>>         Which audience are you targeting with your games?  The
>>         shockwave installation process tends to agitate some people,
>>         so you might have some problems.
>>
>>         Macromedia isn't really doing anything to push shockwave, or
>>         even director in general, so it's future doesn't seem too bright.
>>
>>         Have you made the decision to switch to shockwave, or are you
>>         still evaluating it?
>>
>>
>>         Jordan Lee
>>         CTO, 1 Gaming Inc.
>>
>>
>>
>>         BRENT SILBY wrote:
>>>         Good morning,
>>>         We are converting some of our dhtml games to shockwave. The
>>>         reason we chose shockwave is because it can handle
>>>         javascript, so the conversion is reasonably
>>>         straightforward--just requiring a reworking of image
>>>         handling code etc.
>>>          
>>>         The purpose of the conversion is partly to overcome some
>>>         browser consistency issues with dhtml and partly to open up
>>>         new opportunities for licensing.
>>>          
>>>         My question is this: What is the future of shockwave? I
>>>         think that it currently has about a 55% penetration
>>>         (compared to 97% in flash). Is this figure predicted to
>>>         remain static, or will it rise (or drop) over the coming years.
>>>          
>>>         I know its difficult to predict future trends, but if anyone
>>>         can make a good guess, I'd be interested to know.
>>>          
>>>         Cheers,
>>>         Brent Silby.
>>>
>>>         /DEF-LOGIC
>>>         VIDEOGAMES
>>>         www.def-logic.com <http://www.def-logic.com>/
>>>
>>>         ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>
>>>         _______________________________________________
>>>         Casual_Games mailing list
>>>         Casual_Games at igda.org
>>>         http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/casual_games
>>>           
>>         ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>         _______________________________________________
>>         Casual_Games mailing list
>>         Casual_Games at igda.org
>>         http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/casual_games
>>
>>     ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>     _______________________________________________
>>     Casual_Games mailing list
>>     Casual_Games at igda.org
>>     http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/casual_games
>>       
>
>     ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>     _______________________________________________
>     Casual_Games mailing list
>     Casual_Games at igda.org
>     http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/casual_games
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> _______________________________________________
> Casual_Games mailing list
> Casual_Games at igda.org
> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/casual_games
>   
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://seven.pairlist.net/pipermail/casual_games/attachments/20051021/45403a11/attachment.htm


More information about the Casual_Games mailing list