Game Programming at scriptedfun » flash

Multiplayer Dots and Boxes

Chuck — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 17:45:09 +0000

Hi everyone! I finally managed to complete a game using Nonoba’s Multiplayer API, and this is what I came up with:

Please play the game now – and bring a friend with you! If you have your own site / blog / page, I highly encourage you to embed the game in it as well. Basically, please help me promote this game all over the net!

I had a lot of fun implementing this classic pencil and paper game, writing the client in pure ActionScript using the free Flex SDK, and the server using Visual C# Express. This is truly an exciting time to be a game developer – multiplayer Flash games that can be played across different sites all over the net can now be built easily using free tools only!

To put things back on track, I hope to release the source code of the game in a week or so, but in the meantime, please share this game with all your friends! Thank you!

Poor Man’s Flash

Chuck — Fri, 16 May 2008 16:05:31 +0000

John Hattan has written a review of Express Animator on GameDev.net, and Flex SDK / Silverlight developers who do not have access to the corresponding designer’s tools (Flash / Expression Blend) might find his review interesting. Express Animator, as stated in the product name, is a tool that allows you to make animations, and publish them in SWF format for Flash, or XAML format for Silverlight. This basically allows you to make animations for your Flex / Silverlight project for just US$39, instead of paying US$699 for Flash or US$499 for Expression Blend. You won’t be getting all the features of the more expensive products, but you might be surprised to know that Express Animator has features which the other two do not, such as “hierarchical bones”. From the review:

In fact, the combination of Express Animator with the free Flex or MTASC compiler would make for a pretty good “Poor Man’s Flash” product that could be used to make full Flash CS3 quality games, and for quite a bit less than the $699 that you’d spend on a new license of Flash CS3.

Music and Sound Effects for Games

Chuck — Thu, 15 May 2008 13:15:57 +0000

A great article called Tools of the Trade has just been posted on MochiLand. It gives a list of software and libraries which you can use to generate sound effects and music for your games.

Among the different aspects of game development, I think I’m weakest at sound matters. This is something that has to change though, with the success that audio-based games have been having, such as the IGF winner Audiosurf and the Python-based Frets on Fire.

It’s good that Kunal Joshi pointed out in the comments the amazing DrPetter’s sfxr, an excellent (and free!) piece of software that generates retro-style sound effects. This was used by Kian in his very funny, and VERY ORIGINAL (you have to see it!) game You Have To Burn The Rope.

Make a Flash Game for Free

Chuck — Thu, 08 May 2008 15:41:20 +0000

One of the main reasons why people aren’t able to make their own Flash games is because the development environment is expensive. Currently, a copy of Flash CS3 Professional costs US$699, an amount which most people can’t just pull out of their wallet (although I think that this price is very reasonable, considering the product’s quality and the possibilities that it offers).

Fortunately, there are several alternatives to Flash for making Flash content. One of these alternatives is the Flex SDK, a free product which Adobe itself offers.

I’ve spent some time with the Flex SDK over the past months, and I’ve had success in writing games with it. Herder is my first game with the Flex SDK, and I have a few others which I haven’t had the chance to release yet. The Flex SDK is NOT Flash however – the development style is different. But this is good in my opinion, because making games with the Flex SDK is very similar to making games with a traditional programming language like C++, C#, or Python. Instead of the graphical approach that Flash offers, the Flex SDK offers a code-centered development platform.

If you want to make games for the web now, I suggest that you look into the Flex SDK. With this product, you can even make Flash content using Linux!

The article Intro to the Flex SDK on GameDev.net is a good starting point for anyone who wants to learn how to make games using the Flex SDK. Hopefully, I’ll have the chance to make my own tutorials as well. Any suggestions?

Herder – now in Flash

Chuck — Thu, 08 May 2008 07:10:47 +0000

Herder, a one button game, now in Flash!

I haven’t posted anything in a very, very long time, and I apologize for this. Recently, I have had time to pursue game programming again, and as a result, I was able to learn programming Flash games using the free Flex SDK, a programmer-oriented SWF development tool from Adobe. For my first project, I have decided to rewrite my favorite one-button game, Herder, and it is now available to play on my site, and also on Facebook, if you want to compete with your friends for the highest score. Here’s a video:

The video and screenshots are available on the game pages. I hope to write more about this project and Flex programming in general, but in the meantime, I’d be happy to hear your comments. Enjoy the game!