[casual_games] future of shockwave

[Austin Haas]

There's now way to know why, but I would bet that the install base would 
have to be the biggest factor.

We were also targeting kids, and they were very quick to adopt the 
newest version of Flash, so I can't believe that they just weren't 
willing to download a new plug-in. That said, I believe that upgrading 
Flash has always been easier than Shockwave, too, but I could be wrong.

The shockwave games weren't any larger. We had the same requirements for 
either Flash or Shockwave based games.

I should also mention that many of our vendors started moving away from 
Shockwave, too, because they were able to find more people with Flash 
skills. (But that is unrelated to my previous comment about the 
popularity of the games.)

-austin

Austin Haas
Pet Tomato, Inc.
http://www.pettomato.com

BRENT SILBY wrote:
>  > the games
>  > made in Flash would ALWAYS be downloaded significantly more often than
>  > games made in Shockwave.
>  
> Hi,
> Is this because of the reluctance to install the shockwave player? Or is 
> it because shockwave games are often larger and take too long for 
> dial-up users?
>  
> Brent.
> 
> /DEF-LOGIC
> VIDEOGAMES
> www.def-logic.com <http://www.def-logic.com>/
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Austin Haas" <austin at pettomato.com <mailto:austin at pettomato.com>>
> To: "IGDA Casual Games SIG Mailing List" <casual_games at igda.org 
> <mailto:casual_games at igda.org>>
> Sent: Saturday, October 22, 2005 9:05 AM
> Subject: Re: [casual_games] future of shockwave
> 
>  > As far as Shockwave vs. Flash, I can tell you this: I used to work at a
>  > company that had hundreds of online games with millions of players every
>  > week. Regardless of our subjective opinion of a games quality, the games
>  > made in Flash would ALWAYS be downloaded significantly more often than
>  > games made in Shockwave.
>  >
>  > -austin
>  >
>  > Austin Haas
>  > Pet Tomato, Inc.
>  > http://www.pettomato.com
>  >
>  > 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> 
> <http://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> 
> <http://www.def-logic.com>/ <http://www.def-logic.com>/>
>  >>>
>  >>>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>  >>>
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>  >>>Casual_Games at igda.org
>  >>>http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/casual_games
>  >>> 
>  >>
>  >>     
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