Have you ever had the inclination to play a game where you, as Paul Blart, drive around the mall on your segway, catching criminals? Well, if this was

The Story Of Shockwave And 3D Webgames

submited by

Style Pass

2024-10-25 03:00:05

Have you ever had the inclination to play a game where you, as Paul Blart, drive around the mall on your segway, catching criminals? Well, if this was somehow your fantasy, you could do it from the convenience of your web browser, in the webgame Paul Blart: Mall Cop.

Yeah. Advergames are weird… but did you know there’s a secret behind this game? Well, okay, not really. It’s essentially shovelware. On the other hand, the technology which powered many 3D browser games — such as Paul Blart: Mall Cop — does have an interesting story behind it, and it’s a story with a surprising beginning.

Let’s roll the clock back to Y2K, well before the existence of HTML5. Flash was the hot new browser plugin on the block, and everybody wanted to get their hands on it. However, there was one thing Flash didn’t do well: 3D. Infusing the internet with 3D content was all the rage, and for that, Shockwave was the right tool to use. In fact, one could say that Shockwave was relegated purely to use in 3D applications, while Flash took centre stage for anything else — but it wasn’t always this way!

Before we begin, I want to bring up BlueMaxima’s Flashpoint. If you just want a hassle free way to play Shockwave games, Flashpoint provides a way to do so on modern Windows. For more information, check out Flashpoint’s website. Now then, let’s continue.