Raising the Bar on File Quality

Can you believe that FlashDen has over 7000 files?! There are over 1000 files in the image galleries category alone. This is amazing for buyers because there’s almost nothing they could possibly search for that we don’t already have. We’ve got everything from 3d image galleries to shooting games to dancing rats! We’ve focused pretty hard on making our library huge and diverse, and I think we’ve done a fantastic job achieving that goal.

The next step in helping FlashDen continue to be the best stock Flash site on the web is to raise the quality standards. Right now, the library is jam-packed with really good files. From now on, we’re looking only for great files!

So, what exactly will we be looking for?
The main thing we’ll be looking at is the visual quality of the design. How good a file looks can be very subjective, but we’ve come up with a standard that will help things stay consistent. Some of the things we’ll be looking at are:

• Use of color – Sometimes your choice of color can make or break your design. There are various color tools available online for free that are perfect for finding and creating color palettes that work well together and complement one another. Here are some examples:Color Scheme Designer, Color Schemer, Color Blender, Adobe Kuler, Color Palette Generator, Color Lovers.
• Use of fonts - Make sure your fonts are clear and fit the style of your project. Often times fonts that aren’t on an exact pixel (y:14.3 vs y:14) will look blurry and distorted. Also, avoid using too many fonts in one project.
• Too simple – Simple is great. Authors like Parker&Kent have portfolios whose success is based on keepin’ it simple. Some examples of what we won’t be accepting anymore are very simple animations and overly generic and simple preloaders.
• Too busy – Designs should be clean, not busy.
• Movement and Tweens – Make sure the movement in your file flows well and isn’t jumpy.
  

  
  

• Use of drop shadows, bevel, and other filters – Don’t overuse filters as that can make your design look messy.
  

Occasionally a file’s visual appeal isn’t a factor, including tweening engines and right-click menus. For all other files, these new standards will apply.

We’ll also be looking at the quality of the code and structure of the file. Some very common problems are:

• Bad hit areas – When you have a button that moves on rollover, often times the hit area will move away from the mouse, causing it to bounce erratically.
  
  
• Undefined or NaN – You should never see either of these in your file. The most common time to see them is when the preloader is added before there’s actually something to load. The preloader says Undefined%, then 0%, then starts counting.
• Break when clicked too fast - Often times a file works fine when you click slowly and wait for things to load, but if you click a thumbnail image, for example, before the previous image is loaded it will break.

So, what won’t we be rejecting?
One of the concerns people have had is that files that are too unique and therefore irrelevant to the library. In my opinion, there’s no such thing as too unique. Those are the files that make our library diverse and great. We’ll never reject a file because we can’t think of an immediate need.

What does this mean for authors?
Every FlashDen author has the potential to make great files. We don’t expect everyone to be a djankey. All this means is that every author will have to work a little harder to do their best work. This may mean more rejections, but in the end you’ll be a better author and sell more because of it. For examples of great work that would definitely be accepted, check out the popular files, featured files, files of the week blog series, and FlashDen’s top 40 list. If you want some pre-upload advice and a critique, post your file in the item discussion forum. Our friendly and experienced community is always more than happy to help a fellow author out.

What does this mean for buyers?
With the exception of having slightly fewer new files to choose from, this is all good news for buyers. The files you buy will be higher quality and the library will be cleaner and easier to search through. Need I say more?

When will this take effect?
The new quality standards will take effect June first. That way files that are already in the queue or about to be uploaded won’t be affected.

Though there may be some minor growing pains, raising the quality standards is going to make FlashDen better in every way. Good luck and feel free to email me through my profile if you have any questions.