[quote=dank]Flash is the only program available because it is the only one that will produce files that are playable in the web browser.[/quote]
not true in fact Yoyogames (http://www.yoyogames.com) allows you to upload .exe gamefiles that you make... and play them in the browser... it is for games made with gamemaker only i think... but who knows if you can upload games not made with gamemaker...
yoyogames basically only allows game maker,but you still have to realize that AG is not yoyogames.com,and neither is majority of other professional sites for free online games.What I suggest is that if you want to make a game for AG then you save up the money for Flash or get it as a present like I did,but I don't think AG is going to start allowing other types of game files.
You can't play them in the browser though. You must download them and play them in a standalone format. (.exe)
oh yeah I forgot about that part,Game Maker forces you to download all of the games that you want to play form their site,which can be a bit inconvenient.
Anything that can produce a SWF file can be used. Personally, I use FlashDevelop in combination with Adobe's Free Flex SDK. It costs nothing, but it does require that you learn how to do things via code rather than relying on a GUI.
Eras speaks the truth, you can create some legit stuff with the flex SDK from adobe, but it's still much easier with actual Flash, although I have never dabbled in FD, I might take a look for fun.
Yargling please check the time in which he made that post. He beat you by a couple of months.
well i think that AG should let other types of games be submitted
Well if you can find another format that can be viewed on the internet browser, that is well known and either does not require a special player, or uses a player that most people already have(like how Adobe Flash Player is used for more then just flash games it is used for all sorts of things across the web) then I would say that it might be OK, but until then I seriously don't see that happening.