Adobe’s Flash died many deaths, but we can truly throw some dirt on its grave and say our final goodbyes because it’s getting the preservation treatment. The Internet Archive announced on Friday that it has begun cataloging Flash animations and games for us all to visit and remember the good stuff with none of the bad.
Flash was discontinued in 2017, but it spent decades making our computers less secure and nagging users for updates. In a statement, the Internet Archive said that it’s using an emulator called Ruffle to handle the technical elements in your browser. The emulator is still in development and, according to an FAQ on Ruffle’s website, it can’t handle most Flash projects that were built after 2013. But this is only the beginning.
So far, the Archive says it has preserved around 1,000 Flash items for display as their creators originally intended. They’ve put together a small showcase with some classic animations like Badger and All your base are belong to us. The larger collection includes an obligatory appearance by Salad Fingers as well as a ton of games. You can find original classics like Alien Hominid and more than a few browser bootlegs to choose from.
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The Archive wrote a nice little remembrance of Flash’s legacy if you were born after 9/11 and have no idea what we’re talking about. For the rest of you, it’s peanut butter jelly time.
