I'm Ira Willey. Founder of AddictingGames.com. AMA!

How does it feel to know that AddictingGames provided entertainment to kids and teens waaay back in the hayday of flash games? Because I spent so much time on AG with my friends just goofing around

It feels great to know how many hours of people's lives I helped waste!

Honestly, the best part for me is looking back at those games and talking about them with other people, that's why I did this AMA. I get instant nostalgia and a smile on my face when I load up Helicopter Game or Curveball.

I STILL love curveball

Me too! These games will always be fun.

How do you feel about the seeming decline of interest in flash games, now that more games are being released as paid indie games on steam?

Platforms change, and it's true Flash is declining. But the cool thing for me is seeing developers port their Flash games to iOS or Steam and breathe new life into these franchaises.

what percentage of the flash games belong to 18+ games/hentai game/etc?

I never put any adult themed games on my site, but I would guess there's a LOT. Maybe 30% of overall games?

What's wrong with Meet n' Fuck? /s

A weak storyline. Meet n' Fuck 2 was were the series really got good.

what are your plans on getting into the native mobile game markets like ios and android?

Personally I have had a few failed ventures into the mobile market, it's extremely competitive and nothing like releasing games on the web. Web games are very easy to market, you can get organic SEO boots, share them on other portals, etc. I am working on Free Rider HD with a great team and mobile is definitely in our sights. We hope to build up and leverage our existing web community to get that initial mobile boost.

Why not go for the more grammatically correct 'addictive games'?

A mistake on my part, blame the Canadian education system!

That always kind of bothered me too, but I think it worked out in my favour since "Addicting Games" has a nice ring to it.

Will there be an Impossible Quiz 3?

I hope so! Slapp-me-do is a genius!

I checked his blog and it says he's working on a new game, The Impossible Dream.

Is addictinggames your full-time job?

I no longer own Addicting Games, but games are still my full-time job, yes. I am extremely lucky to get paid to do what I love.

I run OneMoreLevel.com, work on Free Rider HD with an amazing team and I just started a Youtube channel.

I used to play games on your site all the time as a child but as games are becoming more accessible to a younger and younger audience through consoles and other devices what does the future hold for the free flash game industry?

The future is not good for the Flash game industry.

Luckily, most of the skills and games translate really well onto other platforms. Flash games are the first true casual games, and they work extremely well on iOS. In fact, I would say most of the hit mobile games were "inspired" by Flash games.

What flash game should I be playing right now?

http://www.playkeepout.com

It's WebGL not Flash, but extremely well made a great example of the technology we have available for web games.

Flash game:

Crusaders of the Lost Idol's on Kongregate is a really fun Idle game in beta:

http://www.kongregate.com/games/Codename_Enter/crusaders-of-the-lost-idols?haref=HP_HNG_crusaders-of-the-lost-idols

First of, congrats. I started frquenting AG around 2003 and never got enough of Spank The Monkey.

That said: What's your take on development packages or suits (think Flixl, Stencyl 2, etc)? Yay or nay?

Also, do you believe Unity to be the heir to the Flash? Any chances it will bring a resurgence in web based games and get a new boom going?

Anything that makes development easier and more accessible to more people is good in my books. I haven't used Stencyl or Construct, but I've seen some great games made in them. I think you can miss some important programming fundamentals if you rely on them too much though, learn Javascript as well!

Haha, I just did a playthrough of Spank the Monkey, you may enjoy this:

https://youtu.be/lt8-ysqbr1o?t=85

After what Google did to Unity, I don't know. I think HTML5 will improve and succeed Flash.

Oh god yes! Curve ball! That thing would have been rad if it ever got a LAN multiplayer.

LAN parties were the best gaming experiences of my life, I miss those days!

What is your most memorable moment while running addicting games?

Getting kickbanned off Geocities Hosting for using about 1000000x my bandwidth limit on their $25 a month plan.

Also, a 3rd grade kid in Bountiful, Utah of all places wrote a report about me for his school project. He sent me a copy of it, and I still keep it up in my office.

Do you have any games that my work doesn't do all in their power to keep me from? Yea, that'd be great

Yes, try this one:

http://cantyouseeimbusy.com/games/crashplanning/

You play a game in a spreadsheet (assuming your work involves some kind of spreadsheet!).

Hey there! Wanted to preface my questions with a little bit of praise-singing. I grew up hooked on AddictingGames (what a fitting name!) and it was always my favorite site to visit back in middle school/early high school when i was trying to procrastinate from homework. Actually, sometimes my friends and I would log on during Computer class, and then the school blacklisted the site, and then we learned how to get around the blacklist. We were obsessed! AddictingGames was definitely a big part of my childhood gaming, before I got into stuff like Starcraft and Diablo II, and even for some time after. So, I just want to thank you for contributing to the cure for my schooltime blues!

Anyway, questions:

Who made the original AddictingGames logo?

You've already answered what some of your favorite flash games were-- what were some games that gave you a headache (either because they were difficult, or because they were just bad)?

How good was Heli Attack 3, am i right?

Heli Attack 3 was the bomb.

I made the original AG logo myself! I loaded up the site in Archive.org the other day, I can't believe how low-res I made it... you can see every pixel!

QWOP drives me insane, and everyone else, and I love it:

http://www.foddy.net/Athletics.html

What is the most complex game you've ever coded and how long did it take?

I am not a great coder. I am sort of a jack of all trades person, I can do some coding, some artwork, some design but most of my skills lie in marketing and the business side of things. Any of the games I coded myself aren't very impressive.

Free Rider, a game I conceptualized, and worked with an extremely talented developer in the UK, Pete, to develop is still technically impressive to me.

I now work with a team to take the game into the modern age, and the developers are insanely talented. You now have to think about so many more factors (different devices, authentication) and STILL keep the core game fun. I give props to anyone developing games today.

In your DOS section of One More Level, will you ever add Master of Orion 2?

I wish! MOO2 is a classic.

Sadly I can only use games that are under creative commons from Archive.org and MOO2 isn't one of them... yet!

Man, this is an honor. Your site was one of those sites I went on when I was just finding out what the internet had to offer. The big three were Miniclip, Addictinggames, and Arcadeprehacks.

Anyway, were you at all surprised with the collosal size that addictinggames became? How did you manage it all?

Hey, I'm glad AG was part of your Internet experience!

I was completely surprised and not really prepared for it. Keeping the servers online was a big challenge. I would love to go back, and know what I do now, and hire a proper team and really make a proper company out of AG.

What is your favorite Flash game of all time?

There are so many to choose from! I have probably logged the most time in Ninja Kiwi's Bloons series (including TD).

Nice, I love the BTD games.

A few more of my favs: Age of War, Duck Life, Earn 2 Die & Puzzle Farter :)

Is there anyways that I could get back all of the time I spent on your site from grades 6-11? My grades wouldn't have been so bad if weren't for Pinch Hitter 2.

That time is lost forever, but the memories are worth their weight in gold.

How does it feel knowing that you helped thousands of kids avoid schoolwork and productivity with your amazing site?

Games make people MORE productive, it's proven by science!

It is a weird feeling when I think of the actual numbers of people who played AG.

My favorite game on your site is Quest for the Crown. My question is will there ever be a sequel? I know you didn't make it but could you make it happen? I need to know what happens to the ruby emerald!

Thanks

Here's a link for the best flash game ever made. http://www.onemorelevel.com/game/quest_for_the_crown P.S. There's an after the credits scene.

It's funny you mention Quest for the Crown, I am considering doing a Let's Play video of it on my channel.

Did you know there's an official strategy guide?

http://www.lanceandeskimo.com/questwood/questforthecrown.php

Seven League Boots FTW! No idea on a sequel, maybe they are too busy working on the movie.

Why won't you sell me another OneMoreLevel t-Shirt Ira?! My old one is so old and wrecked I need a new one mate!

Haha ok. Facebook or E-mail me your address and shirt size.

I will put the new logo on it.

How did you decide which games went onto the site and which didn't?

It was easy when I started, there were so few Flash games I put ALL of them on. The first version of AG was a straight up list of every Flash game I could find, even some Java games.

That changed fast though. I personally played every game and had to be more selective.

First I just wanted to say thanks for making my childhood amazing. The first word I learned to type without looking at the keyboard was "Games" and AG was the first website to pop-up.

I guess my question would be: How did you manage AG taking off and becoming one of the biggest flash game websites? And did you ever have any interaction with other gaming sites? (Kongregate, Miniclip, andkon etc)?

My timing was excellent. I was one of the first sites to make a listing of all the Flash games out there. It really was just good timing and luck. I also have always kept a certain simplicity to all my designs, which I think people appreciate.

Yes, I have met a lot of the owners of the other sites including Kongregate. MiniClip is in the UK and I haven't dealt with them much. NotDoppler guys are really cool.

If you were to create your own flash game, what would the game be about and what would be the goal of the game?

Youtube Star Simulator.

I am fascinated by the rise of Youtube gaming celebrities like PewDiePie and JackSepticeye. I would make a game about being one.

How well are the game makers compensated?

There's a huge spectrum. It depends on the game, genre, monetization method, publishing deal, etc.

I think there used to be more developers getting a fair piece of the pie, at least with Flash games. Nowadays on mobile it seems like 1% of the companies make 99% of the profits.

If I, a new company hypothetically launched a game would my compensation be based off plays/SEO factors?

Suppose I made a game as popular as 'Kingdom Rush'. In what figures would I expect to be paid?

Suppose I made a game as popular as 'Kingdom Rush

Games used to make money from ads, so it would have been the more plays the more money. The big games now make money from IAP, people buying in-game items. Some developers have published their revenue numbers, I'll see if I can dig a few up for you.

In your opinion, what are the ingredients of a great flash game?

Not a question, but thanks for making a piece of my childhood.

A solid core gameplay mechanic will win over anything else.

You can have the most simple graphics (Line Rider, Helicopter Game) and if your core gameplay loop is solid, people will enjoy it. It's all about mechanics and "feel."

Other ingredients are consistent UI, no long intros (give players an option to skip!), mute buttons (often overlooked!), a cute animal or protagonist and clear instructions.

How did you learn how to code and program?

I taught myself. My first programming language was QBASIC, I made a game called Bomberplane and distributed it on floppy disks around my computer lab. It went "viral" (aka ended up in one other school!).

To actually learn to code I used the For Dummies Books haha

How are you finding the change in the how games are created and medium in which they are used, by this I mean Flash is being used less and less due to its massive flaws and insecurities, do you have any plans to convert your website over any time soon?

Flash is dying a slow death, there's no denying that now. But it's still installed on a LOT (hundreds of millions) of machines so it's got a few years left.

Converting the website would be easy, converting the games not so much. There are a lot fewer Flash games being released, and more HTML5 games. Although I still think Flash is better in some ways, but in a few years it won't be around.

Would you not consider having the website as both flash and html games with and option to have say random flash and random html 5 to try and lure in some more hits/keep the site going for longer?

Yes, ideally both is the way to go.

Unfortunately game websites are now also competing with the App Store, Steam, and many other platforms. I think the days of a gaming portal website are over. And if Apple and Facebook get their way, websites as we know them will fade away too.

I wanted to thank you for helping me get through the work day. If it wasn't for you and reddit, i'd kill myself. so, thank you. I guess I have to ask a question though. Favorite tv show?

I recently binge watched Narcos on Netflix, it is amazing.

Of all time: Seinfeld & Malcom in the Middle.

did you ever submit a game? also just wanted to say this website was my entire childhood. i lived this site until i turned about 8 or 9. This website really did get me into video games, which further propelled me to my career as a youtuber today. I just wanna say, your website probably changed my life, at least a little. (Even The Weird Games )<3

What's your channel?

Glad I could be of service! I just got into Youtube streaming games myself and it is a lot of fun!

Have you played http://tagpro.gg/?

Also do you regret selling addictinggames? I know I use to waste hours on it, but I can't even get games to load now.

Yup, TagPro is a lot of fun. It kind of reminds me of Subspace which was ahead of it's time. I want to see more "pickup" massively multiplayer games, and more 2D ones.

Yeah in hindsight I probably should have held onto AG longer. I had no idea casual games would get so big, and with what I know today I think I could have done something really interesting with AG.

Do you understand the magnitude of how much homework I've neglected because of your website? That website is a staple of my childhood, it was so much fun!

Edit: word

You're welcome (assuming you aren't homeless now because of neglected studies)

What are your thoughts on Catch a Poo 2? Played it all the way back in 2004 when I was 7

That game is shit!

Oh man, I used to play AddictingGames so much a few years ago. Didn't have a question prepared so I'll have to think of one on the fly...

What does AddictingGames offer over just playing free games on Steam, or other platforms?

Hey, thanks for being a longtime fan. I should preface (probably should have put this in the description) that I no longer own AddictingGames, I sold it in 2005. I will answer the question in regard to Flash & web games in general.

I think what separates Flash games from Steam or any other platform is the amazing community of developers. Flash games are responsible for entirely new genres of games, like Tower Defense and Idle Games. It's one of the most free, and unrestricted, development platforms in the world. There's no App Store guidelines or Steam TOS to conform to.

Why should you play them rather than Steam games? Play both! But web games are easier to hide from your boss.

[deleted]

Idle games are games that play you:

http://orteil.dashnet.org/cookieclicker/

Shoutout to /r/incremental_games!

Great subreddit, Progress Quest is my all time favourite Idle game.

Most of the time I play games on Silvergames.com and OneMoreLevel. What are your favorite gaming websites beside your websites?

I like Kongregate and Itch.Io, and of course FreeRiderHD.com

Alchemy was extremely my shit in highschool.

Do you have a favorite game you ever hosted?

The Infectionator series is amazing.

http://www.onemorelevel.com/game/infectonator_world_edition

Will there be another endless war series game? That series was fucking sick!

I hope so! Endless War is an alltime classic.

What is your favorite recent "Management" // "Tycoon" (such as Theme Hospital) game?

I really enjoyed Fiz, Lemonade Stand but with beer!

http://www.brewfiz.com/

In Flash, Tangerine Tycoon:

http://tangerinetycoon.com/

Why did you aspire to destroy the productivity of middle-schoolers everywhere?

How productive could middle-schoolers really be anyway? :)