An elephant never forgets
Armor Games Studioshas announcedthat they’re bringing a collection of John Cooney’s Flash games back inThe Elephant Collection.
Do you remember Flash games? I don’t, but a lifetime of self-inflicted concussions will do that to you. For those like myself who only house a big blank space, Flash was an animation platform that some internet denizens would twist to make games. It was ahead of its time, putting powerful (but flawed) tools in the hands of everyone.
Hold on. A number of repressed memories are returning to haunt me….
Newgrounds was the nexusfor these experiments, andThe Elephant Collectioncompiles a number of high-profile games from those days. Each of these games stars a blue elephant, and many of them are a subtle (or not-so-subtle) commentary on the games industry at the time. These include the mind-bendingThis is the Only Leveland the more on-the-noseAchievement Unlocked.
With Flash getting sucked down the Adobe tube and replaced with a disparate selection of other platforms that don’t have quite the same security issues, a lot of people have been left trying to preserve what is at risk of being lost. In that regard, The Elephant Collectionis an important glimpse of a part of the past that could otherwise be forgotten.
To be clear, Newgrounds does still exist, and these games can still be run using the Newgrounds Player. That would be the site’s own (effective) attempt at preserving its content. The collection, however, will upgrade the quality of these games, rather than just present them as-is. I’d just warn caution in re-visiting Newgrounds, as its reminder of better days may suck you down memory lane. I’m seriously getting kind of misty-eyed here.
