Jeff Fulton (8bitjeff)

In about 2005 I started this blog with help from 8bitsteve purely to experiment with game development and design. Many of the older posts are gone or missing after many transitions between various blogging software, but many still exist.  When I first started to make a few indie Flash games there was no real way to make any money off of them other than sell a license to a large gaming portal.   Mochi Media changed all of that. They allowed any game to be ad sponsored and the make at least a small amount per 1000 game plays. Other companies joined the fray, and large portals (Kongregate, King, etc) swooped in and started to sponsor and or put their own ads in games to help developers make some cash from their games.

Luckily, we were never in it for the money, just for experimentation with technology to help write a couple books, one on Flash: The Essential Guide To Flash Games and one on the HTML5 Canvas.  The earnings from those books far out weighted the ad revenue we received from games a good 20 to 1 ratio.  But, to some developers, who were working on games to make a living,  much more ad revenue could be made.

The great news is, Flash Game License, which  was one of the first companies to offer similar and extended services that Mochi offered, are still around.  Not just still around, but thriving and expanding because they have embraced HTML5 games FGL offers a wide range of services all for the indie developer, including a $200 bonus for any HTML5 game they decide to publish.   It’s a great service and should be considered for all of the older or new Flash games you have hanging around, (in Mochi or waiting to go into Mochi) or newer HTML 5 games you may have or want to create.  Bedroom coders rise again!

I might even start up again and make some HTML5 games that use their services.  That would be pretty fun.  Until then, RIP Mochi and hello to new frontiers.