FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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How can I play Flash games?
I lost my save/progress in a Flash Game, why?
Unity Web Player not working
Shockwave game not working
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“ How can I play Flash games? ”
Unless you just popped out of a cave recently, you should already know that the plugin Adobe Flash Player is discontinued since December 2020. Therefore, almost all browsers are now not supporting this plugin, meaning that you can’t play Flash games anymore.
If you try to open a flash game in any modern browser, you will have something like this:
The only ways to continue playing them is to go through emulators (Flashpoint or Ruffle type) or by using the Y8 browser (downloadable here)
It is possible that despite these solutions, some Flash games no longer work. This is mainly due to the disappearance of many sites and the servers that hosted them.
We always try to find viable sources, when possible.
“ I Lost my save/progress in a Flash Game ”
The loss of save or progress in a Flash game is a question that comes up often. If overnight you’ve lost your progress in a game, here are some things to check.
a) Stay on the same browser and computer
It will seem obvious to most of you, but it is essential to stay on the same computer and the same browser if you want to resume a backup.
b) Do not empty your browser cache
Data is stored in your browser’s cache. If you empty it, you may erase your save at the same time!
Software like CCleaner, when you launch it, often clears the cache for you as well.
c) Check data storage
Finally, to be sure that your browser is recording the data of the Flash game you are playing, a small easy check is required. Right-click on a Flash game and go to Settings, then click on the icon with a folder. This takes you to the menu titled Local Storage. Make sure the Allow box is checked. If not, your game will fail to save.
If despite all these checks a game does not save your progress, it is possible that the problem comes from the game itself.
Also keep in mind that Flash is an aging, obsolete and abandoned technology that is no longer updated in any way by Adobe, which means that issues may arise that won’t necessarily have a solution.
“ I want to play a game using Unity Web Player but it's not working, even after installing the plugin ”
It’s a bit technical but as of 2019, majority of the browsers have ended support for Unity Web Player. These browsers include Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge etc. As time goes by, numerous browsers have started to deprecate support for NPAPI plugins which include Unity 3D Web player, making it difficult or impossible to play games using them.
Now, the player itself has shifted to WebGL technology.
NPAPI (Netscape Plugin Application Programming Interface) is an API which allows browser extensions to get developed and was first released for Netscape browsers around 1995. As HTML5 continues to gain popularity and support with the newer versions of browsers, plugins which utilize NPAPI are slowly phased out.
“ I want to play a Shockwave game but it doesn't work. ”
Shockwave Player is a discontinued platform for building interactive multimedia applications and video games. In February 2019, Adobe announced that Adobe Shockwave, including the Shockwave Player, would be discontinued effective April 9, 2019.
If complex alternative solutions exist on the web to play certain Shockwave games, it is becoming more and more complicated and will become even more so in the years to come.
Shockwave games are, in a way, like dinosaurs; an extinct species.