Flash
From Homestar Runner Wiki
Adobe Flash (now called Adobe Animate) is the program used by the Brothers Chaps to create the cartoons and games of Homestar Runner, and it has made multiple appearances within the body of work. Most notably, it is also the software used by The Cheat to create the Powered by The Cheat cartoons. Once called Macromedia Flash, it was renamed to Adobe Flash when Macromedia was bought out by Adobe, and later renamed again to Adobe Animate, due to the increased usage of HTML5 and the deprecation of Flash Player.
Mike and Matt previously used a PC to run Flash. Mike stated in the Late Night JengaJam Interview in 2007 that he would rather animate on a Mac, but "[they] use Flash 5, which is like six versions old, or something, and Flash 5 will only run in Classic. ... It doesn't run very stable at all. It crashes a lot and stuff. So if we could ever figure out a way to make Flash 5 run smoothly on a Mac, we would be more likely to just do more work on that." Matt immediately suggested to just run a Windows emulator under Mac OS X. The Brothers Chaps later upgraded to using Flash Professional CC on a Mac, as seen on their Screenland appearance in 2017. This preference for Mac computers is shared by The Cheat.
Flash Player
Prior to December 31, 2020, the site was made up of embedded Flash files which could be played using the browser plugin Adobe Flash Player, which was included with most desktop web browsers at the time. Most of the content on the site required version 6.0 of Flash Player to play, but some required version 7 (such as Stinkoman 20X6) and would recommend 8. The FAQ would recommend that you get the latest version of Flash Player, version 32 at the time of its discontinuation.
In 2015, major browsers such as Google Chrome and Firefox stated that they would be dropping native Flash Player support on their browsers in favor of the more modern and secure HTML5, and Adobe later announced that Flash Player would be discontinued at the end of 2020. In the 2017 Lost in the Stacks interview (entitled "Homestar Runner, Gone in a Flash"), the Brothers Chaps discussed how they might update their website, such as exporting the toons to a different format, reprogramming the games, or running the website through a Flash emulator. At their Pax EAST panel in 2018, Matt explained that HTML5 files were larger than Flash files, so converting the website to HTML5 would cause a bandwidth issue.
On January 13, 2018 (Trogday), an HTML version of the TROGDOR! game was released, and HTML text was added below the Index Page discussing alternatives to Flash, such as YouTube. Some toons, such as Marzipan's Answering Machine Version 17.2, Decemberween Dangeresque, Mr. Poofers Must Die, and Fan Costumes 2020, were posted to the website in the form of embedded YouTube videos instead of Flash files. On July 17, 2018, an unfinished HTML redesign of the website was released via The Deleteheads Download. However, this redesign was limited in that it could only play embedded YouTube uploads, and ended up being scrapped in favor of the Flash Player emulator Ruffle. In September 2019, the @StrongBadActual Twitter account began replying to Tweets regarding the development of Ruffle. On December 31, 2020 (the last day of Flash support), the entire website was updated to use embedded Ruffle players instead of Flash, and the old website with all the Flash files was moved to old.homestarrunner.com. As of January 12, 2021, Flash content is blocked from running in Flash Player, prior to which viewers with Flash Player installed could still access it.
Appearances
- Email crazy cartoon — The "Timeline" area of Macromedia Flash is briefly seen on The Cheat's computer before he plays his cartoon.
- Labor Dabor — The Cheat is once again seen animating in Flash.
- Email virus — The "Mixer" toolbox appears when the Sketchbook button is clicked.
- Main Page 22 — Tangerine Dreams can be seen running Flash.
- Flash's 10th Birthday — The toon is set entirely in the program itself, and was made to celebrate its tenth birthday. Ironically, this toon cannot be viewed as a Flash file, as it is a DVD exclusive.
- Flash is Dead! — Following the announcement of Flash Player's deprecation, the Homestar Runner universe begins to fall apart.
See Also
- Ruffle
- Where the Crap Are We?, a hidden Easter egg found in Macromedia Central
