Written from a personal, creative, professional perspective, Hillman drills deep into nine high-profile Flash projects that he s created. He explains why and how he designed the project as he did; then he deconstructs and explains step-by-step the major aspects of that project s Flash component. All screenshots have been updated to show how each project is create using Flash 5 The chapter that drills deeply into ActionScript (Chapter 8, MANIFESTIVAL deconstruction, Understanding Flash ActionScripting), has been rewritten from the ground up to show how this is done in Flash 5 s considerably changed ActionScripting environment.
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.
Creating games in Flash is a never-ending journey of exploration, learning, and most of all, fun. Once you’ve mastered the basics, a new world is opened up to you, enabling you to take your existing skills to the next level and discover new skills that will in turn open new doors. This book is a direct continuation of Foundation Game Design with Flash, and is a complete point-by-point roundup of the most important skills a Flash game designer needs to know. You’ll increase your ActionScript knowledge and your game design skills while creating some excellent example games. You’ll learn advanced collision detection skills; professional AI and pathfinding; and how to load and save game data, create destructible environments, and build and switch game levels. Each chapter highlights a new advanced technique illustrated by practical examples. Examples of games are given in a variety of genres, all of which take an object-oriented programming approach. Advanced game design topics are covered, including vector-based collision reaction, pathfinding, billiard ball physics, and modeling game data.
With 75% of U.S. households having Internet connections, more people than ever are going online for information, shopping, or just to surf. The need for interactive and well-designed sites has never been higher, and more people are looking to learn—or improve—their Web skills. For the busy professionals whose boss wants them to jazz up their Web site, or the student burning the midnight oil to put together some Web animations for a class, Creating a Web Site with Adobe Flash CS3 Professional: Visual QuickProject Guide is just the book they need to start creating Flash sites in an instant. Pared down to just the essentials, this book shows readers who are short on time just what they need to know to accomplish their first project in Flash. Topics covered include using the Flash authoring tool, creating and animating graphics, tweening, loading dynamic data, adding sound and video, plus coverage of new Flash CS3 features: Primitive Object drawing tools, Adobe Illustrator import, Active content detection, and more. It’s everything readers need to know to develop their Web site using Adobe Flash! The book’s companion Web site offers project files and updates.
The definitive guide to creating animation for the web and mobile devices with top animation designer Chris Georgenes and designer/developer Justin Putney. They reveal how to create and successfully animate characters in Adobe Flash Professional CS5 and how to push the limits of timeline animation with stunning visual effects using ActionScript® 3.0. This Studio Techniques book is designed for intermediate or advanced users who understand the basics of Flash and want to create a more immersive interactive experience. The book includes coverage of storyboarding, 2D character design and rigging, character animation, visual FX with code, workflow automation, and publishing your animation on the web and to mobile devices. Author Bios: Chris Georgenes is a highly respected authority on Flash and animation. He has used Flash professionally for more than a decade and is the proprietor of Mudbubble.com, a web animation studio. He has worked as an Art Director for Playdom and Acclaim Games as well as for clients ranging from the Cartoon Network and Dreamworks, to Comedy Central and Shockwave.com. Chris is a popular speaker at such conferences as Flash in the Can, Flash on Tap, FlashForward, and Adobe MAX. Justin Putney is a freelance designer, developer, and consultant, and he produces animations for his studio, Ajar Productions. Justin has created dozens of free Flash extensions and scripts for other Adobe applications that are used by animators and designers around the globe. See his animation work, tutorials, and extensions at blog.ajarproductions.com, and his portfolio at putney.ajarproductions.com. Note from the publisher: FREE Adobe Flash Professional CS5.5 updates are available for this title. Simply register your product at www.peachpit.com/register and you will receive the updates when they become available.
More than just a programming guide, this book takes you step by step through the process of gathering and preparing content, asking the right questions, determining the scope of the project and writing the project proposal. The authors cull from their professional experience of running their own digital media company to explain the special considerations in deploying Flash video applications, presenting ideas for solutions as well as tips for avoiding the most common pitfalls.
Macromedia Flash 4 is the first simple-to-use multimedia tool for creating vector-based animations with built-in interactivity. Its three programs in one: a drawing tool, an animation package, and an authoring program. Flash 4 is ideal for artists and designers who want to enliven the Web with animation and sound. You dont have to be a programmer - Flash 4 lets you create lively interactive sites without having to master JavaScript, Java, or HTML. Flash 4 Creative Web Animation introduces you to the art of creating Web animations incorporating resolution-independent graphics, antialiased text, and streaming sound. Follow step-by-step tutorials to master Flash 4, from basic drawing to authoring complex interactions. Learn to: *Create vector illustrations and modify images created in other drawing programs. *Make your Web site come alive with Flash animations, buttons, and actions. *Plan and test your creations. *Optimize Flash movies for faster downloading and smoother playback on the Web.
Though there are already books about web design, most are technical in nature, and none take this case study approach. The primary focus is on Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer's HTML extensions, with new material devoted to new tags. The book is aimed at those who have already designed a web site, as well as for those wannabe web site designers.
Flash movies—the ones that play and then, well...stop—are all well and good. They are great as platforms for cartoonists and motion type artists to showcase their stuff. But it's the non-interactive and uninterruptable aspect of these Flash events that has led to some serious underestimations of the power of Flash. All you need to do to begin creating the cutting-edge Flash web-sites of the future is learn how to get the most out of ActionScripting, how to hook up your Flash movie with client/server coding and begin working with a back-end database. And it really is that easy! Suddenly, the world of true Flash functionality is at your fingertips. Flash 5 Dynamic Content Studio is written by a collective of Flash 5 experts who will show you everything you need to know to upgrade your Flash 5 knowledge to Flash 5 expertise. Assuming a basic knowledge of Flash, the book gives you a thorough grounding in ActionScripting techniques, teaches you the basics of a myriad of scripting languages and their Flash interaction capabilities, discusses and implements client-side/server-side interaction, explains the middleware that can make your life considerably easier (Ultradev, Generator, Swift Generator, ASP Turbine), and demonstrates database interaction and usability (Access, SQL, and MYSQL). To conclude this admittedly tough but not prohibitive learning curve, the book walks you through a selection of fairly generic real world case studies, using Flash with middleware and database connectivity, demonstrating how these elements come together to give you truly dynamic, interactive Flash sites. This book is about visual richness and utility. This Web business is getting beautiful, and Flash is getting useful. What you’ll learnWho this book is for Flash 5 Dynamic Content Studio addresses the growing market of web artists under pressure to learn the finer points of interactive design with Flash 5. This book demonstrates the best tools for integrating dynamic content using a Flash front-end. Readers will see how to link Flash movies, via a middleware bridge, through to a back-end datastores (images and/or text). This book assumes that the reader already knows the fundamentals of creating Flash movies, but doesn't assume any programming knowledge at all. The book covers ActionScripting, (of course!), ASP, PHP, JSP, Perl, CGI, Cold Fusion, Macromedia Generator, ASP Turbine, Swift Generator, and Macromedia Ultradev.
