Adobe is pulling the plug on Flash support at the end of 2020. And the company would be condemning thousands of Flash games to death too, if it wasn’t for BlueMaxima.
The organisation’s ‘Flashpoint’ archive is doing its best to save as many Flash games as possible before the end and do its bit to preserve gaming history.
Related: Here’s how to access thousands of retro games for free
Flash is being dismantled largely due to growing security concerns and the development of better alternatives. It’s fallen to BlueMaxima to save the remnants of Flash gaming.
Ben Latimore started the project in December 2017 and has been working tirelessly to save Flash games from the scrap heap. He credits them with mapping out the origins of modern indie games, and says they were the starting block for many games developers.
Blue Maxima’s website tells users: “Internet history is important, and content made on platforms such as Adobe Flash are a significant portion of that culture doomed to obscurity. This project is dedicated to preserving as many games and animations from these platforms as possible, so that they aren’t lost to time. Since early 2018, Flashpoint has saved more than 38,000 games and 2,400 animations running on 13 different platforms.”
Latimore added: “We’ve created the most robust system for saving even the most stubborn Flash files, and in the process, created the most robust system for saving several other kinds of web content as well.”
Of course, if you played Flash games, you might remember them in a less serious, highfalutin light. They were basically the memes of their day, poking crude fun and making strange jokes. That said, the range of titles available went from some actually impressive games, to some downright weird ones.
You can download Flashpoint from the BlueMaxima website. There is a 290GB version, or a less hefty version that only downloads games as you select them to play.
Related: The Epic Game Store will have 52 free games this year
So far around fifty people have helped Latimore to build the library and they could still do with one or two extra hands. Get in touch if you’re interested – helping could be as simple as play-testing games for bugs.
A bit late to the party on this, but BlueMaxima’s Flashpoint is really incredible – basically one modest Windows download and you can play 38,000 flash games, completely searchable, automatic and free. So much culture saved from the jaws of death https://t.co/PzpYkooRu3 pic.twitter.com/Zu6eL8uwrI
— Bennett (@bfod) January 31, 2020