Editing Browser game (section)

=== Flash era (1999–2010) ===
In 1999, [[Tom Fulp]] kickstarted the Flash games scene with the release of the game ''[[Pico's School]]'' on his site [[Newgrounds]] that featured a "complexity of design and polish in presentation that was virtually unseen in amateur Flash game development" of the time.<ref name="ars">{{cite news |last1=Moss |first1=Richard C. |title=The rise and fall of Adobe Flash |url=https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2020/07/the-rise-and-fall-of-adobe-flash/ |access-date=7 August 2021 |work=Ars Technica |date=7 July 2020 |language=en-us}}</ref><ref name="interactiveweb">{{cite book |last1=Salter |first1=Anastasia |title=Flash : building the interactive web |date=2014 |isbn=9780262028028 |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts |pages=74–75}}</ref><ref name="history">{{cite book |last1=Williams |first1=Andrew |title=History of digital games : developments in art, design and interaction |date=2017 |isbn=9781138885530 |location=Boca Raton, FL}}</ref>

Many Flash games in the late 1990s and early 2000s received attention through the use of shock comedy or [[Serious game|real-world events]], like ''[[McDonald's Video Game|McDonald's Videogame]]'', a satire of [[McDonald's]]{{`}} business practices, or ''[[Darfur is Dying]]'', about the [[War in Darfur]], [[Sudan]]. In 2017, Julie Muncy writing for [[Wired (magazine)|''Wired'']] said, "Flash games lent themselves to the exaggerated and cartoonish, a style that eventually evolved into an affection-at least amongst its best creators-for beautiful grotesquerie. Like much of the younger gaming internet, Flash games defined boundaries simply to cross them; the best titles straddled a weird line between innocence and cruelty, full of gorgeous gore and enthralling body horror".<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Muncy |first=Julie |date=2017-07-29 |title=You Might Not Miss Flash, But Videogames Will |url=https://www.wired.com/story/rip-flash-games/ |access-date=2019-07-11 |magazine=Wired |issn=1059-1028}}</ref> In ''Pico's School'', based on the [[Columbine High School massacre|Columbine shootings]], the player must take down a [[Goth subculture|goth]] school shooter.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Salter |first=Anastasia |last2=Murray |first2=John |date=2014-11-29 |title=How Flash Games Shaped the Internet |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/11/how-flash-games-shaped-the-internet/383136/ |access-date=2025-05-06 |website=The Atlantic |language=en}}</ref> There are a few other controversies involving browser games and real-world events, such as the 2007 [[Virginia Tech shooting]] reenactment ''[[V-Tech Rampage]]'',<ref>{{Cite news |title=Virtual school shootings: interviewing two of the most hated game creators alive |url=https://www.destructoid.com/virtual-school-shootings-interviewing-two-of-the-most-hated-game-creators-alive-31610.phtml|access-date=2017-10-01 |work=destructoid}}</ref> and [[National Rifle Association|NRA]] CEO [[Wayne LaPierre]] targeting the game ''Kindergarten Killers'' after the [[Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting|2012 Sandy Hook shootings]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Beekman |first=Daniel |date=2012-12-21 |title=NRA blames video games like ‘Kindergarten Killer’ for Sandy Hook Elementary School slaughter |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/2012/12/21/nra-blames-video-games-like-kindergarten-killer-for-sandy-hook-elementary-school-slaughter/ |access-date=2025-05-06 |website=New York Daily News |language=en-US}}</ref>

Expansion of broadband connectivity in the early 2000s drew more people to play browser games through these sites, as well as added attention as [[viral phenomenon]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ward |first=Mark |date=2008-03-18 |title=Casual games make a serious impact |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7301374.stm |access-date=2025-05-06 |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref name=":8">{{cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/gone-in-a-flash-the-race-to-save-the-internets-least-favorite-tool/|title=Gone in a Flash: The Race to Save the Internet's Least Favorite Tool|last=Koebler|first=Jason|date=2015-04-10|website=Vice|language=en-US|access-date=2019-07-10}}</ref> New sites like [[Kongregate]] and [[Armor Games]] arose for hosting Flash-based games while also offering their own titles,<ref name="gameinformer flash death">{{cite magazine | url = https://www.gameinformer.com/2018/12/22/how-flash-games-changed-video-game-history | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181226024524/https://www.gameinformer.com/2018/12/22/how-flash-games-changed-video-game-history | url-status = live | archive-date = December 26, 2018 | title = How Flash Games Changed Video Game History | first = Ben | last =Reeves |date = December 22, 2018 |access-date = March 31, 2021 | magazine = [[Game Informer]] }}</ref> while companies like [[PopCap Games]] and [[King (company)|King]] launched their own portals featuring titles they had developed. [[Social media]] sites also drove more players to browser games. [[Facebook]], after launching in 2004, added support for browser game functionality that integrated with its [[social network]] features, creating [[social network game]]s, notably with [[Zynga]]'s ''[[FarmVille]]''.<ref name="polygon1">{{cite web|url=https://www.polygon.com/2017/7/8/15942194/flash-video-games-where-are-they-now|title=The rise and fall of Flash gaming, explained|last=Good|first=Owen S.|date=2017-07-08|website=Polygon|access-date=2019-07-10}}</ref> The success of browser games did hurt some developers. [[Humongous Entertainment]] reported that they lost players to Flash games in the early 2000s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/from-putt-putt-to-freddi-fishhow-humongous-entertainment-made-edutainment-fun/|title=From 'Putt Putt' to 'Freddi Fish'—How Humongous Entertainment Made Edutainment Fun|last1=Clark|first1=Nicole|last2=Walker|first2=Austin|date=2019-05-09|website=Vice|language=en-US|access-date=2019-07-11|last3=Zacny|first3=Rob}}</ref>

==== Indie games ====
Browser games were an important platform for the emergence of [[indie game]]s. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the video game industry had started to coalesce around [[AAA (video game industry)|triple-A]] development, games made by large studios with multi-million dollar budgets. Because of the money involved, the industry took few risks in these major titles, and experimental games were generally overlooked.<ref>{{cite magazine | url =http://www.pcgamer.com/from-shareware-superstars-to-the-steam-gold-rush-how-indie-conquered-the-pc/ | title = From shareware superstars to the Steam gold rush: How indie conquered the PC | first = Richard | last = Cobbett | date = September 22, 2017 | access-date = September 25, 2017 | magazine = [[PC Gamer]] }}</ref> Browser games gave a venue for such titles during the early 2000s, and the broader interest in-browser games by the mid-2000s highlighted several of these titles. Subsequently, a number of early indie games are those based on browser games, such as [[The Behemoth]]'s ''[[Castle Crashers]]'', inspired by Newgrounds' ''[[Alien Hominid]]'' and [[Edmund McMillen]]'s ''[[Super Meat Boy]]'' based on his ''Meat Boy'' browser game.<ref name="gameinformer flash death" /> Other indie developers got their start in browser and Flash games, including [[Vlambeer]], [[Bennett Foddy]], and [[Maddy Thorson]].<ref name="gameinformer flash death" />