Global InformationAdobe Shockwave information
 | |
| Developer(s) | Adobe Inc., Macromedia, MacroMind |
|---|---|
| Target platform(s) | Web browsers, Windows, macOS |
| Editor software | Adobe Director |
| Player software | Shockwave Player |
| Format(s) | DIR, DCR, DXR |
| Programming language(s) | Lingo |
| Application(s) | Browser games, desktop apps, video games |
| Status | Discontinued on April 9, 2019 |
| License | Proprietary[1] |
| Website | www |
Adobe Shockwave (formerly Macromedia Shockwave and MacroMind Shockwave) is a discontinued multimedia platform for building interactive multimedia applications and video games. Developers originate content using Adobe Director and publish it on the Internet. Such content could be viewed in a web browser on any computer with the Shockwave Player plug-in installed. MacroMind originated the technology; Macromedia acquired MacroMind and developed it further, releasing Shockwave Player in 1995. Adobe then acquired Shockwave with Macromedia in 2005.[2] Shockwave supports raster graphics, basic vector graphics, 3D graphics, audio, and an embedded scripting language called Lingo.[3][4]
During the 1990s, Shockwave was a common format for CD-ROM projectors, kiosk presentations, and interactive video games, and dominated in interactive multimedia.[5] Various graphic adventure games were developed with Shockwave then, including The Journeyman Project, Total Distortion, Eastern Mind: The Lost Souls of Tong Nou, Mia's Language Adventure, Mia's Science Adventure, and the Didi & Ditto series. Video game developers developed hundreds of free online video games using Shockwave, publishing them on websites such as Miniclip and Shockwave.com.
In July 2011, a survey found that Flash Player had 99% market penetration in desktop browsers in "mature markets" (United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand), while Shockwave Player claimed only 41% in these markets.[6] Adobe Flash and Adobe AIR are alternatives to Shockwave, with its 3D rendering capabilities, object-oriented programming language, and capacity to run as a native executable on multiple platforms.[7]
In February 2019, Adobe announced that Adobe Shockwave, including the Shockwave Player, would be discontinued effective April 9, 2019.[8]
- ^ Adobe Software License Agreement. Retrieved November 10, 2011.
- ^ Elia, Eric (1996). "Macromedia unveils Shockwave and Director 5". Newmedia. HyperMedia Communications. ISSN 1060-7188. Retrieved September 23, 2010.
- ^ Macromedia Shockwave for Director User's Guide, Volume 1, New Riders Pub., 01-Jan-1996
- ^ Macromedia Shockwave for Director, Volume 1, Hayden Books, 1996
- ^ Kelly Hart; Mitch Geller (2008). New Perspectives on Dreamweaver CS3, Comprehensive. Cengage Learning. p. 429. ISBN 978-1-4239-2531-6.
- ^ "Flash content reaches 99% of Internet viewers". Adobe. Archived from the original on October 2, 2011. Retrieved 2014-08-07.
- ^ Adobe Director 11 review Archived 2015-05-28 at the Wayback Machine, Page 2, KEVIN PARTNER, 1 May 2008, PCPro Magazine, "Adobe's AIR technology makes it possible to deploy Flash as a desktop application"
- ^ "End of Life (EOL) for Adobe Shockwave". helpx.adobe.com. Retrieved 2019-12-23.