The icing on the cake was that, possibly due to the success of Dino Run, PixelJam accepted two "for hire" jobs -- one for Comedy Central's The Sarah Silverman Program and another for Cartoon Network's Adult Swim. Tilmann would only reveal that each commissioned project generated slightly less than what PixelJam earned from Dino Run -- but they took considerably less time to build.

"I guess you could say that, on paper, our business would flourish more if we just did work for hire," he adds. "But we'd be very, very miserable. We're just not happy working for other people."

That is, in fact, how Sean T. Cooper got started as a Flash developer. In 1987, he began his career at UK-based Bullfrog Productions where he led, designed, and programmed many hit titles until 1995 when Electronic Arts bought the studio. He spent 11 more years at EA until 2006 when, on a whim, he built a little Flash game. It took him eight days and a sponsor paid him $1,500 for it.

"I said to myself, 'that's not quite enough to keep me going, but it's a good start,'" recalls Cooper who, at that moment, decided to go indie.

The next step was to create more games, many of them incorporating what would become his signature Boxhead brand, which he describes as "a collection of fast-paced, zombie-killing games full of action, guns, and loads of blood." In all, his Web site now contains five Boxhead games plus three under his Wone Games brand, and the first in his newest Shadez series brand.

"The brand is the key thing for me; it's number one," he explains. "If gamers like the first game in a series, they'll come back for more when you release the sequels. It's just like the cinema business. That's what drives the revenue."

Much of that revenue now comes from sponsorships -- which Cooper says currently go for about $20,000 per game -- and from load-in ad revenue produced by the 1,009 web domains that carry his titles.

There's also the online store on his web site that sells Boxhead and Shadez shirts, buttons, and mouse pads. His plan is to add a fourth revenue stream shortly -- in-game advertising.

For a game like his highly successful Boxhead: Zombie Wars, that adds up to approximately $53,000 which the game has generated since March 2008. The title took him six weeks to build.

What then can a good Flash developer make in a year?

"Let's say I can write 10 games in a year," calculates Cooper, "perhaps three or four Boxhead games, one Shadez game, and a few others. The new starts can bring in, say, $18,000 each, the less-well-known Shadez series games can bring in, say, $25,000 each, and the four top-end Boxhead games can generate, say, $50,000 each. Which means that one person can -- with a lot of hard work, meaning every day of the year -- expect to bring in close to $400,000 a year, I think."

In addition, Cooper -- whose game quality is, of course, one of the best in the Flash game business, one of the reasons he can do so well -- intends to allow other companies to develop Boxhead games which will entitle him to 50% of the revenue for the privilege of using his brand's name.

"But remember," warns Cooper. "That first game generated just $1,500. The bigger money doesn't come until you've become popular and built up your brand. It took me four other Boxhead games before I produced one as popular as Boxhead: Zombie Wars. Until then, you just have to be highly motivated. What motivates me? I live every day wondering how I'm going to eat that night."