There are three main aspects: the player, the file format, and
the authoring tool/IDE. Flash games can be developed for
websites, interactive TV, as well as handheld devices. There is
no need to adopt multiple programming languages to build games.
It is the universal tool that permits the development of
multimedia driven complex games. Games means fast, furious,
efficient with rich graphics.
Flash enables developers to build the most popular games for
online gamers. It just needs to support:
* Rich engaging graphics. * Smooth download of files from the
net. * A playback device that can interpret downloads.
There are three main areas: design, development, and hosting.
The first step is creation of graphics. One must use Fireworks
as well as Freehand for this aspect. The tools are compatible
and fireworks allows the addition of Java script to images.
The game development will be done in Flash by importing graphics
created in Freehand and Fireworks. The graphics are then placed
in Director the parent tool of Flash.
The next part, hosting, uses a Web server. Dreamweaver MX is the
tool that will create Web pages to host the game.
And, finally ActionScript is used to provide enhanced
functionality.
Advantages:
* Integrates almost all features needed for developing a game.
It is a great interactive tool. * Can be used anywhere does not
need additional software or plug ins. * It is Mac friendly. *
Permits conversion from a full game to web version and vice
versa. * Low cost and free to distribute. Licenses for decoders
MP3 and Sorensen Spark are included. * Artists that can use
flash easily are in plenty. * Flash delivers broadcast quality
images over the Internet. * Permits embedding of game in power
point for use in presentations. * Plenty of information as well
as guidelines can be accessed as well as understood by all
-tutorials, articles, as well as blogs. * The size of the game
file remains small as the vector graphics and sound files are
compressed. * Learning Flash language is easy. * Permits
copy-paste to test components
There are traps one must be wary of and a few cons. Know the
system well to maximize its use. There are plenty of tutorials
inline that can be used as guides. Flash interface is ideally
suited to both designer as well as developer, you can have fun
while creating the game.
Flash is simple to use and a game can be developed in a few
hours in a packaged form that can run on a PC, Mac, or Linux.
One can make use of a browser or run the game as a stand alone.
|
