Book description
This book covers Flash for the everyday developer. The average Flash developer doesn't have luxurious timelines, employers who understand the value of reusability, or the help of an information architect to design a usable experience. This book helps bridge the gap for these coders who may be used to C++, Java, or C# and want to move over to Flash. Griffith covers real-world scenarios pulled from his own experiences developing games for over 8 years in the industry.Gifts from Griffith's REAL-WORLD experiences include: Game design templates and pre-written scripts to automate tasks within Flash; Classes for handling common math computations used in gaming, so that game developers can see how to set up a simple game flow; Powerful debugging tools for your games(debuggers for Flash games are hard to come by, and this book provides them for you).
The associated web site offers: Code from the game examples in the book with fully build-able source files. Additional code snippets, classes, and utilities. Scripts for automating tedious and repetitive tasks within Flash. Template game-design documents for planning game proposals in the same manner outlined in the book. Links to other helpful online resources for both Flash and game development.
Table of contents
- Cover
- Title
- Copyright
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 Computer Science Isn’t for Everyone
- Chapter 2 The Best Tool for the Job
-
Chapter 3 A Plan is Worth a Thousand Aspirin
- Step 1. Be Able to Describe the Game from a Bird’s-Eye View in One or Two Sentences
- Step 2. Outline or Wireframe Out the Flow of All of the Game’s Screens
- Step 3. With Your Description and Basic Wireframe in Hand, It’s Time to Outline the Core Mechanics That Your Game Will Utilize
- Step 4. Build an Asset List
- Step 5. Make a List of Technical Requirements for Your Game
- Step 6 (Optional). Diagram Your Classes Using a UML Modeler
- A Quick Review of the Planning Steps
-
Chapter 4 //FTW!
- Fair Warning
- PART 1: Classes
- Packages
- Classes as Files
- Constructors
- Constants, Variables, and Methods
- Getter/Setter Methods
- Class Identifiers
- Inheritance and Polymorphism
- Interfaces
- Linking Classes to Assets in Flash
- Class vs. Base Class
- Using Exported Symbols with No Class File
- getDefinitionByName and Casting
- PART 2: Events
- dispatchEvent
- addEventListener, removeEventListener, and Event Phases
- Event Propagation and Cancellation
- Custom Events
- PART 3: Errors
- try, catch, finally
- Throwing Your Own Errors
- PART 4: Data Structures and Lists
- Objects
- Arrays
- Vectors
- Dictionaries
- ByteArrays
- So What Should I Use For My Lists?
- Custom Data Structures
- PART 5: Keep Your Comments to Everyone Else!
- The Bottom Line
- PART 6: Why Does Flash Do That?
- Event Flow
- Frame Scripts
- Working with Multiple SWF Files
- Garbage Collection
- Conclusion
- Chapter 5 Managing Your Assets/Working With Graphics
- Chapter 6 Make It Move: Actionscript Animation
- Chapter 7 Turn It Up To 11: Working With Audio
- Chapter 8 Put the Video Back in “Video Game”
- Chapter 9 XML and Dynamic Content
-
Chapter 10 Four Letter Words: M-A-T-H
- The Math Class
- PART 1: Geometry and Trigonometry
- A Quick Explanation of Radians and Pi
- 3D in Flash
- The SimpleTunnelShooter Example
- PART 2: Physics
- Scalar
- Vector
- The Vector3D Class
- Displacement
- Velocity
- Acceleration
- Friction
- Inertia
- Simulation vs. Illusion
- Reality vs. Expectations
- Example: A Top-Down Driving Engine
- Example: Top-Down Driving Game with Drift
- Review
- Chapter 11 Don’t Hit Me!
- Chapter 12 I Always Wanted to Be An Architect
- Chapter 13 We’ve All Been There
- Chapter 14 MixUp—A Simple Engine
- Chapter 15 Bringing It All Together: A Platformer
- Chapter 16 Don’t Play By Yourself: Multiplayer Development
- Chapter 17 Squash ‘Em If You’ve Got ‘Em: The Bug Hunt
- Chapter 18 On Your Guard
- AFTERWORD
- APPENDIX A Webcams and Microphones
- INDEX
- ONLINE CONTENTS
Product information
- Title: Real-World Flash Game Development
- Author(s):
- Release date: November 2012
- Publisher(s): Focal Press
- ISBN: 9781136137013
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