2004 Web and Downloadable Games White Paper 

IGDA Online Games SIG 

I.  INTRODUCTION 

A. 

Presentation at 2004 Game Developers Conference  

The findings of this paper were discussed at the 2004 Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Jose, 

California, and a summary of this paper was included in the conference proceedings. This White Paper is 

the complete version produced by the International Game Developers Association 

s (IGDA 

s) Online 

Games Special Interest Group (SIG). It is available for download at no charge courtesy of the IGDA and 

the Online Games SIG via the IGDA website, at http://www.igda.org/online. 

B. 

Background and Purpose 

Web and downloadable games are one of the most exciting and fastest growing areas of the game 

development industry. All game developers strive to deliver a product that is able to catch interest amidst 

a sea of competing products, with as few technical barriers to play as possible. However, our games are 

truly mass market, and as such to be successful they must appeal to many different kinds of players, 

young and old, male and female. 

Many of the challenges in creating successful games in this space are unique to the market. This White 

Paper is intended to address the needs of small to medium sized game developers as they navigate the 

peculiarities of the web and downloadable market. The paper provides a snapshot of the current state of 

the industry and gives developers useful information and guidance for developing their businesses. 

C. 

Definitions  

This paper includes information on companies and technologies working with web and downloadable 

games.  

Downloadable game:

 A game, typically less than 15MB, where the primary method of distribution 

requires download to, installation on, and execution from the end user's hard drive. These games are 

almost exclusively available by downloading from websites. In the majority of cases they will have a trial 

mode, with the option to purchase the full version for unlimited offline play. Examples of downloadable 

games can be found at almost every casual online gaming site or games channel on the major portals. 

This 

does not

 include demos of video game or PC game titles that are primarily sold through retailers. 

This 

does

 include titles that are primarily available for download, even if the game is also distributed on 

CD ROM. 

Web Based game:

 This term describes games that are launched via a web page with 

no prior 

installation

 of software required. This does not include games that are downloaded to the user's hard 

drive and run outside of the web browser but it 

does

 include games launched from a web page that might 

require/install a general or custom ActiveX control. Common examples of this are the Flash , 

Shockwave , Java , etc. games found on many game websites, as well as custom C++ games 

delivered via an ActiveX control. 

D. 

Audience and Scope 

The target audience for this paper is small to medium sized web and downloadable game developers. It 

includes information on the companies, technologies, publishers, and ideas relating to the business of 

web and downloadable games. 

It should be noted that there are several larger multi player games which may fit into the category of "Web 

Games," such as many of the offerings from Simutronics (www.play.net).  While these games technically 

meet our definition of web based games, we felt that many of their qualities lead them to be more like 

persistent world games, which are discussed in another White Paper from this SIG.  As such, these 

games and their specific issues are not largely discussed in this paper. 

E. 

Disclaimer 

This work was created and written by volunteers on behalf of the community at large. The White Paper 

content is based on the individual input of the contributors, and does not necessarily reflect the opinions 

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