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Flash MX 2004 games : art to ActionScript Cover Image E-book E-book

Flash MX 2004 games : art to ActionScript

Lever, Nik 1958- (Author).

Summary: As a designer using Flash you will see how you can apply your creative skills to the many stages of game production and produce your own interactive games with this versatile package. Creating games for mobile devices is now also covered! As an animator you will be able to add interactive functionality to your own animation and produce a game. As a web developer you will see how to make the best use of the sophisticated development environment Flash offers for the production of both artwork and code to create low bandwidth, animated web content that sells! The free CD-Rom includes all the code.

Record details

  • ISBN: 0240519639
  • ISBN: 9780240519630
  • ISBN: 0240519639
  • ISBN: 9780080477770
  • ISBN: 0080477771
  • ISBN: 9781417558582
  • ISBN: 141755858X
  • Physical Description: 1 online resource (1 volume)
    remote
  • Publisher: Amsterdam ; Boston : Focal Press, 2004.

Content descriptions

General Note:
Includes CD-ROM.
Bibliography, etc. Note: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Formatted Contents Note: Preliminaries; Contents at a glance; Contents in summary; Introduction: Learn to write ActionScript and have fun doing it!; 1 Your first game; 2 Drawing with Flash; 3 Simple cut-out animation; 4 Using CGI programs to create animation; 5 Background art; 6 Creating artwork for mobile devices; 7 So what is a variable?; 8 In tip-top condition; 9 Using loops; 10 Keep it modular; 11 Debugging; 12 Using external files; 13 Small games to keep them loading; 14 Quizzes; 15 Mazes; 16 Board games; 17 Platformers; 18 Sports simulations; 19 Flash Lite -how does it affect game developers?
Source of Description Note:
Print version record.

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Subject: Flash (Computer file) -- Flash (Computer file)
Flash (Computer file) -- Flash (Computer file)
Computer games -- Programming
Jeux d'ordinateur -- Programmation
COMPUTERS -- Digital Media -- General
COMPUTERS -- Web -- User Generated Content
COMPUTERS -- Interactive & Multimedia
COMPUTERS -- Web -- Site Design
Computer games -- Programming
Genre: Electronic books.
Electronic books.

Electronic resources

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► Summaries & More
▼ Additional Content
Introduction xi
Chapter 1: Your first game 1(14)
Jumping headfirst into a tutorial-based 'getting started'. In this chapter the reader will be guided through the process of creating a simple pairs game. In a tutorial format the user is taken through creating artwork in Flash and then adding some limited interactivity. The basics of using Flash buttons are presented along with keeping track of the board state in a way that the computer can understand.
Section 1: Animation 15(66)
The first section looks at creating the artwork and animation that will feature in the games we create.
Chapter 2: Drawing with Flash
17(17)
Flash is the perfect application to create line animation and in this chapter we look first at the drawing tools available and then move on to the principles of animation.
Chapter 3: Simple cut-out animation
34(12)
Flash is often used to display animation within a web browser. In such a context the size of the animation file is of vital importance to the viewers. In this chapter we will look at how you can create animation that looks fluid with only a small number of different pieces of artwork.
Chapter 4: Using CGI programs to create animation
46(14)
Computer animation packages can offer an excellent way to create the content for your games. In this chapter we look in general at the benefits and techniques involved.
Chapter 5: Background art
60(13)
Your animated characters will need to appear in sonic context. In this chapter we look at creating backgrounds to act as a setting for the action that takes place in your games.
Chapter 6: Creating artwork for mobile devices
73(10)
With the new Flash Lite player for mobile devices, you can create games that will play on a mobile phone. This chapter examines issues of size, frame rate and user input that influence the designer producing content for these memory-limited machines.
Section 2: Action 81(102)
Having developed the animation we now look at how to add interactivity to this art using Action Script.
Chapter 7: So what is a variable?
83(18)
After the first blistering introduction to ActionScript in Chapter 1, we now take a leisurely tour through the basics of programming starting with variable types.
Chapter 8: In tip-top condition
101(17)
In this chapter we look at using conditional code using the marvellous 'if' statement. We also look at how we can extend the flexibility of the condition using Boolean logic.
Chapter 9: Using loops
118(18)
No programming language would be complete without the ability to repeat sections of code. Games regularly need to run a section of code several times. In this chapter we will look at creating sections of code that repeat.
Chapter 10: Keep it modular
136(16)
Programming can be made very hard or very easy. Good structure makes it so much easier. In this chapter we examine the options.
Chapter 11: Debugging
152(16)
Nobody is perfect and in this chapter we look at what to do when your code doesn't work.
Chapter 12: Using external files
168(17)
The game you create can be made to operate differently on different servers. Using ASP pages we can load variable data from a database. We look at linking to static files or generating dynamic data on the fly using server-based ASP pages.
Section 3: Putting it into practice 183(124)
You know your staff, so how about using this knowledge to make some games?
Chapter 13: Small games to keep them loading
185(20)
If your game is over a meg then you will have lost your audience before they even see it. In this chapter we look at creating 20 K or less games to keep their interest while the remainder of the game loads.
Chapter 14: Quizzes
205(21)
An interactive quiz where the questions are pulled in from a database forms the basis of this chapter. This develops the presentation of using external data first covered in Chapter 12.
Chapter 15: Mazes
226(18)
Mazes can be generated dynamically or statically. The graphic view can be overhead, isometric or first person. In this chapter we look at the options and how to show the user when they are doing well or badly.
Chapter 16: Board games
244(16)
A board game involves a legal move generator and a mini-max search routine for a good computer move. In this chapter we look at the strategies involved in presenting some classic board games in Flash form.
Chapter 17: Platformers
260(22)
Creating a platform-based game is quite a challenge, but by this stage in the book the reader has all the skills necessary. In this chapter we look at the problems of game world and screen space calculations.
Chapter 18: Sports simulations
282(27)
One effective way of getting input is to use the keyboard. In this chapter we look at creating games where the user has to press keys at a fast rate in order to score highly in sports simulations.
Section 4: Flash for mobiles 307(20)
The mobile games market is growing exponentially. With Flash MX 2004 developers have a new target platform, Flash Lite. This new section shows the limitations and possibilities of the new platform.
Chapter 19: Flash Lite - how does it affect game developers?
309(9)
Using the many new templates available in Flash MX 2004 Professional we can target lots of mobile devices. Flash Lite is a compromise between Flash 4 and 5; this chapter introduces you to how developing Flash Lite games differs from Flash games for desktop PCs.
Chapter 20: Using Flash on a PocketPC
318(11)
The PocketPC is as near to a desktop as mobile devices get; as such, the content you can successfully handle includes most games you can develop for a desktop. We look at porting existing content to the PocketPC.
Section 5: Flash for boffins 327(62)
Sometimes yon will need to extend what you can do in Flash using external methods. 7his last section introduces you to things you should be thinking about.
Chapter 21: High score tables
329(18)
High score tables encourage users to stay online in order to see their name appear in the high score list. The tables are usually stored in a database and then loaded into Flash when a call to a high score table is required. This chapter explores the options.
Chapter 22: Multi-player games using sockets
347(13)
Although multi-player games are possible using ASP pages, the best technique is to use a server-side listening program. In this chapter we look at creating a socket listening program using C++.
Chapter 23: Using Flash Communication Server
360(15)
The Flash Communication Server provides all the tools you will need to create multi-player games. A trial developer version is freely available; in this chapter we walk through an introduction to this important technology.
Chapter 24: Embedding Flash
375(14)
You can add Flash to a VB, C#, C++ or PocketPC program very easily. This chapter shows the options.
Appendix A: Integrating Flash with Director 389(6)
Director is starting to make a more significant impact on the Internet with the addition of Shock-wave 3D. Here you will find an introduction to controlling a 3D animation using a Flash interface in Director and how to package this for Internet distribution.
Appendix B: Tweening in code 395(16)
The easiest way to tween a graphic or a movie clip is to right-click on a frame layer in the timeline and chose 'Create Motion Tween'. Unfortunately the results are not always fantastic. In this appendix we look at how you can use ActionScript to provide dynamic tweening that gives a much smoother and more flexible result.
Bibliography 411(2)
Index 413

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