Be able to use Flash tools for game construction

IDE(integrated development Environment) Flash report

What is Adobe Flash?

Flash is an animating and scripting program, it is very useful for making games and animations. It is relatively easy to use and looks very much like the other Adobe products, so if you use one I.e, Photoshop, you can seem pretty confident as a new user where basic tools like, move, brush and the shape tools are. The good thing about Flash too is it’s not just for the older market anyone can use it and it is quite fun to use.

Scripting in Adobe Flash.

 One of its main features is the ability to script a file and make it intractable using the scripting, by turning shapes into movie clips and buttons.

You can also use pre-written script that can be altered to user specification. Scripting allows you to make random generations, create different variations of movement and allow you to time animations perfectly by viewing them in the Time-line. With script you can create buttons and movie clips which can be scripted to do many things I.e, a button may be used to take you to another scene, activate an animation or even be a menu page to take you to a game, where as a movie clip can be scripted to be a solid object and can be scripted to even move remotely with the keys on your keyboard.

Creating Graphics in Adobe Flash.

You can also use flash for creating vector base graphics. The good thing about this is that you keep the quality when re-sizing the image it is scale able unlike pixel graphics that get distorted and blotchy when re-sized  With this you can make PNG images and even JPEGs. The re-sizing of vector graphics is done by calculations, so that the image will not get distorted and the edge of the image you create will stay crisp as intended.

Animating in flash.

Animating in Flash seems to be one of the more simple things to do by using the tween tools, with this tool you can create movement and even morphing of one object to another.

With the time line Key frames you can use the tweening tool and union skin tool you can create animation, you can also use these properties to create interactive movement that being, interactive story, games or even tests. 

To use the union skin is basically for Frame By Frame animation where it allows you to see the previous frame and the next frame so you can see the variation of what you are drawing, this allows you to get an accurate perspective when drawing to create the ‘perfect movement’. 

The timeline uses the key frames where you can see every frame and can change the Frame rate speed. I.e, 24.00 Frames per second. It is very useful that Flash allows a user to change the frame rate as it can make an animation seem smoother and higher quality, it can also change the speed of things.

Flash’s interface usability’s.

This program is quite user friendly too and is very organised allowing you to put graphics you may need in the library for later use or the use of stage layers to keep everything separated this also gives the user an easy way to re-access these graphics. The only feature that seems to be not so user friendly is the scripting as it requires a good memory and a good knowledge of code. All in all though once user gets used to them it seems to be pretty easy to understand, but even for a new user the pre-written script seems to do all of the basic jobs.

Importing into Flash.

It is also good for importing images to use on the stage or the library that you can create using other software as it is pretty flexible with what is allowed, you can also use PNG files so you are not left with a white background to remove. 

You can also import sounds into your game or animation and use script on sounds like explosions for example.

Debugging and testing in Flash.

When you test your videos or games you can use the de-bugger tool to pin-point mistakes very easily so you can patch your mistakes, then you can test your video or games in the device simulator. The de-bugger tool is very clever in letting the user know exactly what line of code it is that is clashing with other script. You can also use this program to make a game for other devices like android mobile phones and will use a good variety of emulators for testing.