Ace of Aces

Last updated: March 27, 2026

Overview

Ace of Aces is a 2008 browser-based World War I dogfighting game developed by Mad Otter Games and published through the InstantAction platform¹. The game was designed by Damon Slye, co-founder of Dynamix and creator of Sierra On-Line’s legendary flight simulation series including Red Baron, Aces of the Pacific, and Aces Over Europe²³.

Ace of Aces represented Slye’s return to flight combat games after a 12-year hiatus from the gaming industry⁴. Having left Dynamix in 1994 to pursue other interests—including obtaining his pilot’s license and flying his own Bonanza A36 aircraft—Slye founded Mad Otter Games in 2007 with fellow ex-Dynamix employees in Eugene, Oregon⁵⁶. The game served as a spiritual successor to his earlier WWI flight sim Red Baron, bringing his signature approach to accessible flight combat to the then-emerging browser gaming market⁷⁸.

The game launched on the InstantAction platform in 2008 and featured both single-player training modes and competitive multiplayer battles¹. When InstantAction shut down in November 2010, Ace of Aces became unavailable, with planned re-release efforts never materializing⁹.¹⁰

Game Info

Developer: Mad Otter Games¹ Designer: Damon Slye² Publisher: InstantAction¹ Engine: Torque Game Engine¹¹ Platforms: Web Browser (InstantAction plugin)¹ Release Year: 2008 Status: Unavailable (platform shut down November 2010)⁹ Sierra Lineage: Alumni Project

Setting

Ace of Aces takes place during World War I, the conflict that gave birth to aerial combat as a new dimension of warfare¹. Players take to the skies over the Western Front, engaging in dogfights reminiscent of the legendary aerial battles between Allied and Axis powers¹¹².

Unlike the detailed historical campaigns of Damon Slye’s earlier Red Baron, Ace of Aces focused on competitive multiplayer action rather than narrative progression⁷. The setting served primarily as an atmospheric backdrop for fast-paced dogfighting, with period-appropriate biplane fighters providing the visual and gameplay framework¹.

Gameplay

Interface and Controls

The game featured browser-based controls optimized for accessibility, allowing players to jump into aerial combat without extensive tutorials or complicated keybindings¹³. This streamlined approach reflected Slye’s evolved design philosophy, moving away from the simulation-heavy complexity of his earlier work toward broader accessibility⁴.

Core Experience

Ace of Aces is a World War I dogfighting game where players fly fighter planes and attempt to score points by shooting down enemy aircraft or destroying enemy ground targets¹. Players can choose to fly for either the Axis or Allied powers, piloting period-appropriate biplane fighters in aerial combat over stylized WWI battlefields¹⁹.

The game featured intuitive browser-based controls designed to be accessible to casual players while still offering depth for more dedicated flight sim enthusiasts¹³. This balance between accessibility and simulation depth was a hallmark of Damon Slye’s design philosophy, which he later articulated: “I’m a real pilot, and I understand all the intricacies of flight and weather and airplanes, but I want to bring in many more people. Right now many flight sims are really daunting to new players. The controls are difficult.”⁴

Game Modes

Single-player Training Mode

The single-player component offered two tutorial missions designed to teach new players the fundamentals¹:

• Marksmanship Tutorial: Taught basic flight controls and aerial combat targeting
• Ground Attack Tutorial: Instructed players on techniques for assaulting enemy ground installations

Multiplayer Battle Mode

The primary focus of Ace of Aces was competitive multiplayer, featuring five distinct game modes¹:

Mode	Description
Team Dogfight	Team-based aerial combat with coordinated squadron tactics
Furball	Free-for-all dogfighting melee
Fox and Hounds	Asymmetric pursuit mode
Rescue the Spy	Capture-the-flag variant with objective-based gameplay
Base War	Strategic mode focused on destroying enemy installations

Technical Implementation

Ace of Aces ran through the InstantAction platform’s browser plugin, a compact 150KB download that enabled console-quality 3D graphics directly in web browsers¹³⁹. The underlying technology utilized the Torque Game Engine, developed by GarageGames—a company founded by other Dynamix veterans including Mark Frohnmayer and Jeff Tunnell¹¹⁹.

The InstantAction platform was designed to deliver “core-oriented mechanics and high-end visuals” through streaming technology that broke game downloads into small chunks, allowing players to begin playing before the full game was downloaded¹¹⁹.

Development

Origins: Mad Otter Games

After leaving Dynamix in 1994, Damon Slye spent 12 years away from the gaming industry⁴⁵. During this sabbatical, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from the University of Oregon and obtained his pilot’s license, buying a Bonanza A36 single-engine aircraft that he flew up and down the West Coast⁵¹².

By 2006, Slye felt the pull to return to game development. As he later explained: “It was a pretty good life. It was fun until about 2007. Then I just got bored. I thought, what’s the point? This is dumb. I miss making games. I like working with a team of creative people.”⁷

The catalyst for his return came unexpectedly. Slye was driving through downtown Eugene, Oregon when his former Dynamix co-founder Jeff Tunnell walked across the crosswalk in front of him. “I yelled out the window, ‘Hey Jeff!‘” Slye recalled. “And he replied, ‘Hey Damon, want to make games again?‘”⁴

Slye founded Mad Otter Games in 2007, assembling a team of talented developers, many with roots at Dynamix¹¹⁴. The studio was based in Eugene, Oregon—the same city that had been home to Dynamix for nearly two decades¹.

The InstantAction Platform

InstantAction emerged from GarageGames, which was founded in 2000 by Dynamix veterans after Sierra shut down the studio in 2001¹¹⁹. The company had licensed the source code to the Tribes 2 game engine from Sierra and developed it into the commercially successful Torque Game Engine⁹.

In September 2007, media mogul Barry Diller’s IAC (InterActiveCorp) acquired GarageGames and announced the creation of InstantAction.com¹¹⁹. The platform’s goal was to deliver graphically impressive multiplayer action games directly through web browsers—a revolutionary concept at the time¹³⁹.

“We’ve been looking at the video game sector for years and it wasn’t until we found GarageGames and their idea for InstantAction.com that we believed IAC could participate in a true internet innovation in online gaming,” said Barry Diller at the announcement⁹.

InstantAction launched its open beta on March 31, 2008, with Ace of Aces among its initial slate of games⁹¹³. Other launch titles included Marble Blast, Think Tanks, and Fallen Empire: Legions—a spiritual successor to Tribes developed by GarageGames itself¹³¹⁵.

Platform Shutdown

InstantAction’s life was short-lived. Louis Castle, co-founder of Westwood Studios, became CEO in July 2009 as the company restructured¹⁶. In March 2010, InstantAction.com was taken down as a gaming portal, with the company pivoting to support embedding 3D games on external websites⁹.

On November 11, 2010, InstantAction announced it was “winding down” operations entirely⁹. The platform’s closure meant all its hosted games, including Ace of Aces, became instantly unavailable⁹.

Re-release Efforts

Shortly after InstantAction’s shutdown, Mad Otter Games announced plans to re-release Ace of Aces through a dedicated website at AceofAcesthegame.com¹⁹. The website launched in November 2010 with a news post stating “the website is ready to take her maiden flight!”⁹

However, the game itself was never re-released. The website hasn’t been updated since 2010, and no forum posts from the developers have appeared⁹. As of 2013, Slye indicated continued interest in reviving the game, but no concrete progress has materialized⁹. The game remains unavailable to play.

Reception

Contemporary Reviews

Given the game’s browser-based distribution and relatively short lifespan, formal critical reviews of Ace of Aces are scarce. The game existed primarily within the InstantAction ecosystem, where it served as one of the platform’s marquee titles demonstrating the capability for action-oriented 3D games in web browsers¹³.

Contemporary coverage focused more on the technological achievement of the InstantAction platform than individual games. TechCrunch’s March 2008 preview of InstantAction noted the platform’s ability to deliver “graphically complex games that appeal to competitive gamers” directly in browsers¹³.

GamesIndustry.biz’s coverage of Mad Otter Games described Ace of Aces as a “browser-based flight simulation” representing the studio’s commitment to “putting the fun into our games”¹.

Modern Assessment

The game’s legacy is perhaps best understood through its context: it represented Damon Slye’s return to the flight combat genre that had made him famous, demonstrating that the creator of Red Baron and Aces of the Pacific still had the passion for WWI aerial combat even after more than a decade away from the industry⁴⁷. Retrospective analysis by flight simulation historians recognizes Ace of Aces as a transitional title between traditional desktop flight sims and the emerging mobile and browser-based gaming era¹⁷.

Legacy

Mad Otter’s Continued Journey

After Ace of Aces, Mad Otter Games shifted focus to Villagers and Heroes (originally titled “A Mystical Land”), a free-to-play MMORPG that launched in 2011¹¹⁷. Unlike Ace of Aces, Villagers and Heroes found lasting success, growing from a player base of twenty people to over 20,000 active players and continuing to receive updates as of 2026²¹⁷.

The Red Baron Revival Attempts

Slye’s passion for WWI flight combat didn’t end with Ace of Aces. In October 2013, he launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund a full remake of Red Baron, seeking $250,000 to create a game featuring both single-player campaigns and multiplayer modes including MOBA-styled maps and tech trees⁴.

The Kickstarter failed, reaching only $21,908 of its goal⁴. Slye later attributed the failure to poor campaign execution: “We didn’t build a community before we launched the Kickstarter. We didn’t present it very well. The game didn’t look right. It looked a little arcade-ey.”⁷

A subsequent 2015 effort to raise $50,000 for a prototype also failed to gain traction⁷. Despite these setbacks, the continued attempts demonstrate Slye’s enduring connection to the WWI flight combat genre he helped define.

Sierra Connection

Ace of Aces represents a direct line of succession from Sierra On-Line’s Dynamix studio to the modern independent gaming scene. The game embodies the “Sierra diaspora” phenomenon—talented developers who cut their teeth at Sierra spreading throughout the industry and continuing to create games in the genres they helped establish⁹.

The connections run deep:

• Mad Otter Games was founded by Dynamix co-founder Damon Slye²
• InstantAction/GarageGames was founded by other Dynamix veterans including Jeff Tunnell and Mark Frohnmayer¹¹⁹
• The Torque Game Engine powering Ace of Aces descended from Dynamix’s Tribes 2 engine⁹
• The game was created in Eugene, Oregon, the same city that housed Dynamix for 17 years¹

Technical Specifications

• Platform: Web browser (requires InstantAction plugin)¹
• Engine: Torque Game Engine¹¹
• Plugin Size: ~150KB initial download¹³
• Graphics: 3D, near-console quality for its era¹³⁹
• Multiplayer: Yes, team-based and free-for-all modes¹
• Current Status: Unavailable (platform defunct since November 2010)⁹

Downloads

Unavailable

Ace of Aces is no longer available to play. The game was exclusive to the InstantAction browser platform, which shut down on November 11, 2010⁹. No digital storefronts carry the game, and no physical releases exist. The game’s browser-based architecture means it cannot be preserved through traditional means like emulation or abandonware distribution.

Purchase / Digital Stores

• Not currently available — The game existed solely on the InstantAction platform, which ceased operations in November 2010⁹. Despite announced plans to re-release the game through AceofAcesthegame.com, no playable version has ever been made available since the platform’s closure⁹.

See Also

• Damon Slye — Designer and Mad Otter Games founder
• Red Baron — Slye’s legendary WWI flight sim for Dynamix/Sierra
• Aces of the Pacific — WWII Pacific theater flight sim
• Aces Over Europe — WWII European theater flight sim
• Dynamix — Sierra subsidiary where Slye created his classic flight sims 1993 - Blue Force

2006 - Al Emmo and the Lost Dutchman’s Mine

2010 - Gray Matter

2012 - Cognition - An Erica Reed Thriller

2013 - Fester Mudd - Curse of the Gold

2014 - Moebius - Empire Rising

2014 - Quest for Infamy

2015 - Cluck Yegger in Escape From The Planet of The Poultroid

2015 - Order of the Thorne - The King’s Challenge

2018 - Bolt Riley - A Reggae Adventure

2018 - Hero-U - Rogue to Redemption

2019 - Mage’s Initiation - Reign of the Elements

2022 - SpaceVenture

2023 - Colossal Cave 3D Adventure

2023 - Summer Daze - Tilly’s Tale

TBD - Order of the Thorne - Fortress of Fire

TBD - Quest for Infamy - Roehm to Ruin

References

Footnotes

1. GamesIndustry.biz – Mad Otter Games Coverage – game description and studio overview ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹ ↩²⁰

2. Damon Slye – Creator of Red Baron, Aces of the Pacific, Aces Over Europe ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

3. Dynamix flight simulation series legacy documentation ↩

4. Damon Slye Oral History – 12-year hiatus from gaming industry (1994–2007), pilot license, Bonanza A36 aircraft details ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸

5. Damon Slye Biography – founding of Mad Otter Games in 2007, Eugene Oregon location ↩ ↩² ↩³

6. Jeff Tunnell – Dynamix co-founder, ex-Dynamix employees at Mad Otter Games ↩

7. Damon Slye interview – return to game development, spiritual successor to Red Baron ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

8. InstantAction platform legacy and game availability ↩

9. InstantAction Shutdown – November 2010 – platform closure announcement ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹ ↩²⁰ ↩²¹ ↩²² ↩²³ ↩²⁴ ↩²⁵ ↩²⁶ ↩²⁷

10. Damon Slye Biography – Mad Otter Games creator and Dynamix co-founder ↩

11. GarageGames – Torque Game Engine – engine behind Ace of Aces ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

12. Damon Slye Bonanza A36 aircraft flying details ↩ ↩²

13. TechCrunch – InstantAction Preview – March 2008 – graphically complex games, browser delivery ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰

14. Mad Otter Games founding in Eugene, Oregon – Dynamix veterans ↩

15. Fallen Empire: Legions – InstantAction launch title, Tribes spiritual successor ↩

16. Louis Castle – Westwood Studios Co-founder – CEO of InstantAction July 2009 ↩

17. Flight simulation history – browser gaming transition, desktop flight sim evolution ↩ ↩² ↩³