Visit http://kongregate.com go to the “latest games” list and play a few of the games rated 3 stars or above. 3 stars == OK game, 4 stars == high quality game (in practice).
Now, how many JAVA games do YOU have that you wrote that would be a 3-star or better on Kongregate?
OR:
if you haven’t finished any yet, how many have you played?
That’s two polls really 
We’ve written a few (and we think they’re great ;D) - and played a few more from other peeps on this forum.
Cas
Well, you know - I thought it only fair to give people a chance to participate who haven’t written any yet :).
And if anyone answers “over 1000” we all want to hear from you :).
(actually, I’d like anyone who answers “over 100” to shout up!)
I have tested at least 250 Java games and on my view, there are lots of interesting Java games, less than 100.
IMHO, there is no game on kongregate that could not be remake in java (even 1.1 :)) (NB: I love to play those one), so why developper interrest is so poor ? maybe because :
1 -> when you play a flash game it start smoothly and inside the browser (that’s why end user like it).
2 -> IMO, most flash game have not be done by hard “developpers/programmers”, the flash studio is great and designer oriented, so game maker are concentrated on gameplay & design and so bring out good gameplay & design (that’s why there is so much flash game and so good/fun gameplay).
nowadays lot of games are made using some kind of studio (flash, virtools, unity, shockwave, wild tangent, etc…,etc…), so maybe if a day a really good studio using java is bringed out story will be different. java need a good hens to be able to make a lot of good eggs
EDIT: unity is very promising http://www.willgoldstone.com/tutorialdemo/menu.html window/mac/linux and probably Wii … but that’s outside of “casual” more targeting heavier game (sry to be out of the subject…)
I’m not sure what the real question you’re asking here is. Are we comparing Flash with Java? Kongregate with Java Game Tome?
After playing about ten of the three/four star games on Kongregate, I’d say that the quality is broadly similar to what we get in Games Showcase. On the one hand, the Kongregate games I looked at were generally more complete (not work-in-progress) and better presented (good artwork, clear instructions, no pop-up warnings or crashes), to the extent of looking more like business ventures than hobbies in some cases. On the other hand, they weren’t terribly ambitious compared with the games that typically show up in Games Showcase.
How many Java games exist of ‘Kongregate three/four-star’ quality? I’d say hundreds (although there’s not many of those that wouldn’t benefit from some additional work in the presentation department).
How many have I written? Six, if I’m allowed to assign the star rating myself. Much closer to zero if it’s put to a vote. :
Simon
I have made four complete and what I would call “good” games in java.
At work, I’ve made about a dozen (or more?) release quality games in flash, and one in C++.
The reason I haven’t made more games in java is because my hobby programming isn’t as serious as a proper job is, and that I have to make all content and art myself for my hobby games, not because of some inherent problem with java.
Flash is a much cleaner start-up experience for the customer, but once the applet is running, it runs MUCH smoother than flash does.
I like your games, especially the last one in 3D in a labirynth (Chamebered…) and I discovered recently your project supporting wad files, it is quite old.
I must say I’m enjoying the update 10 startup a lot. It’s pretty much as slick as Flash once it’s installed.
Cas
As always with indie/hobby development, it’s the content issue. Most flash games are either made by artists who know how to code a bit or by people getting paid to make advertising games. The end result being that you get lots of pretty but shallow games. Most java games (particularly here) are made by programmers who know how to draw a bit, so you tend to end up with deeper and/or more exotic gameplay but filled with crude drawing and boxes. The actual polish might be high (in terms of robust gameplay, proper menu flow, tutorial, high scores, etc.) but if the graphics are crap then the perceived quality is much lower.
Putty works well partly because it only needs simple box graphics to work and partly because it’s got a coherant style (consistant palette and good choice of fonts goes a long way here). Coherant style is often overlooked around these parts, but if you look over the games showcase then those are the ones that stand out (exhibit a, exhibit b.
Play to your strengths - find something you can visually do (like, say, low-res pixely graphics) and design the visual style around that. Alternatively, find an artist. 
True. If this thread is equating “good” with “well presented”, then I’ll back-pedal on my original answer. Java games that have “mainstream” presentation are few and far between.
It’s possibly worth observing though that Kongregate offers financial incentives to developers to make games that appeal to as wide an audience as possible. In practice I suspect very few developers actually make money from their games, but the incentive is still there.
Simon
I would say Runescape was the most fun java game i played. There is also Virus Effect which is even funner!
Depends on how you’re categorising things. Some people are talking about Java games, some people about free Java games (presumably as in free-to-play), some people about indie Java games, and some people about hobbyist Java games.
I have 5 published Java games (by a large but technically indie studio I used to work for) of which 3 are free-to-play and 2 have 20% of the levels as a free-to-play taster and a small fee for the rest. One of them is definitely 3* or better, 3 of them might be, and the other is probably too niche.
I guess I’ve made 3 or 4. The process of making these games is usually more about the experience of making them than it is to get a good product to the end user, however, so although I’ve worked on 30 or 40 different games only a tenth of that are very complete at all.