Welcome to the new Sly5 Blog!

November 8, 2008 at 1:36 pm · Filed under Blog News ·Tagged , , , ,

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If you arrived here via my old blog at www.fingermonkey.wordpress.com then thanks very much for your continuing interest in my ramblings here. If you’re new to this blog then welcome and thanks for visiting. So what’s new and what’s not? Well if you had followed my original fingermonkey arcade blog you will know that it was attached to an arcade by the same name that I used to run. I no longer own that arcade but I still wanted to continue blogging.

After selling fingermonkey.net, along with a couple of other arcades I struggled to keep posting on the fingermonkey.wordpress.com blog because I felt it no longer really represented what I stood for. Just recently I had a bit of spare time so I decided to keep the blog going by transposing all the content from the original blog onto a new blog that reflects my current position in a more satisfactory way. I currently run an arcade called sly5.net (in case you missed it!) and hence the title of this new blog.

In terms of the type of content, resources and discussions you can expect to find here, that’s still the same. If you read any of my other posts you’ll no that I’m not one to put up with bullshit. I speak as I find and I call out the crap when necessary. So yes it’s critical and at times scathing, but I do my best to keep content informative and arguments relevant. If you’d like to follow me on this blog, please feel free to subscribe to my RSS Feed here. Please also drop me a line if you have any questions or recommendations. You can either leave comments on the blog posts or you can find my email address on the contact page.

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The Game is Changing

November 8, 2008 at 1:16 pm · Filed under Flash Arcades, Games ·Tagged , , ,

This is a follow up to a post I made on TalkArcades.com. I was discussing the way in which more and more flash games are being released at over 2MB file size, some even exceed the 10MB level. My point was that flash games are beginning to compete with downloadable PC games of the likes of bigfishgames for example. While these new large sized games are a good idea on paper and will no doubt come into their own in the near future, right now we’re stuck with broadband connections and server speeds that still struggle to load these games in under a minute.

So from a Webmaster’s perspective, and I’d be interested to hear other webmasters opinions on this later on, unless you pay for a high speed dedicated server, chances are that these mega flash games will be more of a deterrant to your visitors than the smaller games. Looking over my stats for Sly5 for example has shown a clear preference from visitors for the fast loading simplistic games. The load time factor is hugely significant for any website and a matter of 30 seconds can decide whether a visitor returns to your site or not.

In the interests of gauging a response from gamers and webmasters alike, I’ve decided to make use of a neat new feature on WordPress.com blogs which is the polldaddy integration. I’d like to find out what you think works the best: big game files with complex and visually stimulating games or small game files and simple games?

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10 Free Flash Games That Rock This World!

November 6, 2008 at 9:01 am · Filed under Games ·Tagged

The following is a personal selection of some of the best flash games for 2008. Follow the link beneath each game to play or simply click on the graphic banners. All games are featured on my arcade website sly5.net. Leave a comment here on this blog and let me know what your favourite games of 2008 are. Enjoy!

1. DogFight 2

This is an shooter game which takes place in the skies, where you assume control of a fighter plane engaged in a series of missions for the German side during World War I.

Play DogFight 2 Now »

2. Devil Run

Devil Run is an amazing zombie shooter game with superb animation and amazing graphics. It’s quite challenging killing the zombies, shoot fast and remember to reload. Aim for the head and try to reload away from the zombies.

Play Devil Run Now »

3. Vinnie’s Shooting Yard 4

This is the latest installment of the great Vinnie’s Shooting Yard game series. In this game you get to choose your weapons, choose the number of enemies in each round and then get immersed in some awesome sniper action game play!

Play Vinnie’s Shooting Yard 4 Now »

4. Warfare 1917

Lead the British or German army through the trenches of Europe in this First World War strategy game. Use infantry, armor and fire support to take control of the ground or bombard your foes into submission. Choose between 2 Campaigns. British and German. Custom battle mode. Setup skirmishes the way you want!

Play Warfare 1917 Now »


5. Shadez

Shadez: The Black operations is the first in a series of strategy defense games by Sean Cooper. You take the role of General of a Mercenary force. This force has been hired by the governments around the world to fight the wars they do not want to fight, keeping it top secret and out of the hands of the press. Have you got what it takes to lead your squadrom to victory?

Play Shadez Now »

6. The Last Stand 2

This is probably the best flash game ever. If you’re any bit of a 28 Days Later fan or you love the old Romero Zombie movies then this game is for you. One surviving human out to save the world from endless zombie hordes. TLS2 boasts great new game play, graphics, weapons, scenarios and most amazing of all are the realistic sound effects. Play now people! Play now!

Play The Last Stand 2 Now »

7. Flatliner

Flatiner is your very own track designing game! Each track you build can be submitted to an online list where users can play and vote on your track, each track will also record the fastest world time. Place bombs, magnets boosters and even things that change gravity, turn your vehicle into a helicopter a motocross bike and many others. What are you waiting for, start building your dream track today.

Play Flatliner Now »

8. Dice Wars

Dice Wars is a fun turn based strategy game based on the popular Risk board game. Play against 4 computer opponents to occupy the most territory. Battle it out by the throw of the dice. This is simple gaming at its best, fast, fierce and a whole lot of fun!

Play Dice Wars Now »


9. Bomb Bot 2

Here comes the second part of the physics engine puzzle game BoomBot. Once again you have to get the Bomberman to the exits by placing bombs and destroying your enemies. It’s far more difficult than it looks!

Play Bomb Bot 2 Now »

10. Punkomatic

Punk-O-Matic is an awesome music making game. Mix bass, drums and shredding guitar and come up with your own hard core tracks. Rock on!

Play Punkomatic Now »

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FingerMonkey Arcade Blog News!

September 24, 2008 at 3:20 pm · Filed under Flash Arcades ·Tagged ,

Dear fellow arcaders,

So it’s been aeons since I updated this blog, but there’s been good reason too. If you read any of the previous posts here you’ll know that I used to run fingermonkey.net, littleloki.net and craverz.com, 3 pretty cool arcade sites. I’m pleased to say that those are now in the hands of a new owner and while I didn’t reach the $6000 mark that I initially set out for, I think $2500 is a very reasonable deal given the current market climate.

Craverz was the arcade I built from the bottom up and in just a short amount of time it gained fairly decent traction. At its first google page ranking it got a PR4. This just confirms my points about WordPress as a superior platform for a games arcade in terms of SEO and google friendliness.

After the sale of those sites I kicked back and took some time away from the arcade scene. However, I decided to give it one last try, this time only focusing on one site. I launched Sly5.net a couple of months back and have since been fine tuning it to maximise on SEO and usability. I moved away from the FingerMonkey pseudonym while the sale of the other sites was going on, but I will keep it going here for the sake of this blog.

Over the coming months I’ll be updating this blog with more tips and tricks for arcade webmasters and I’ll be giving feedback on traffic exchange strategies and monetization. I also intend to reinstate the usability review section, but more on that later on. For now I wish you all a happy end to the summer.

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3 Arcades For Sale Now On SitePoint!

July 6, 2008 at 7:42 pm · Filed under Flash Arcades ·Tagged ,

Ok so I but the bullet and put my arcades up for sale on SitePoint.com. Follow the link via the box below. There’s a Buy it Now price that is considerably lower than before so this is a prime opportunity to get in on some great arcade action! Check it out.

3 Exceptional Arcade Sites For Sale

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