Probably one of the best Flash books I've read so far.
In the early chapters, this book uses a tutorial styled approach with numbered steps. However, discussion and examination of game code is the approach utilized for the rest of the book. As the book states, this is a "look at and learn" approach. Some of the topics discussed include: sound, physics, optimization, and games for mobile devices. The included CD has the usual .fla sources files, trial software, images and other miscellaneous game files.
The book starts with an interesting and quite original history on gaming. Although a short section, I have never heard a history described like this before. The first game, a standard mouse clicker, is introduced in Chapter 3. In general, this book used fun and historically familiar games like block breakers, memory and various scrolling and shooting games. Only the basic foundation of each game was covered. Nevertheless, expanding the games with levels, modes of play or options should not be a problem for most. Chapter 8 on "Saving Data" covered some more useful and new material for me. Sadly, this was the first time learning that Flash uses browser like cookie files (.sol) to save data. When it came to physics, the chapters were straight to the point with what equations to use and what they do with plenty of short examples. There was no Trigonometry overview (sometimes from the beginning) that some books commonly use. While not for everyone, I actually preferred this direct approach to physics and math. Two chapters were dedicated to handling basic 3D using 2D imagery, including the final and most complex game in the book. This game, called "Asteroid Run," brought Flash to its limits while demonstrating a simple 3D shooter. All the code and concepts in the chapters were explained clearly and included plenty of screen shots. Surprisingly, it seemed as if every line of code had at least a sentence or two of related explanation. Many books might just reference a previous page or CD to save space. This book, conversely, would never hesitate to repeat code to make it easier to read and understand.
I only came across a few issues and problems with this book. First, the steps provided for creating the graphics were a bit inconsistent. Early on, they assume very little knowledge (think baby steps). Eventually, however, the graphics increase in difficulty and just become too time consuming to create. Typically, I prefer blank or codeless project files with the graphics already created as is the case with most books. In the chapter for saving data, the path listed for the .sol files was incorrect. It probably varies by system, but on my Windows XP SP2 machine it was in: "C:\Documents and Settings\UserName\Application Data\Macromedia\FlashPlayer\#SharedObjects\KDXDVGHB\localhost\)." Also, the shuffle function for the "Sound Hunter" game in Chapter 7 did not work based on either the printed code or on the CD. Finally, sometimes code snippets, that were supposed to be the same, differed a bit when repeated throughout a chapter (i.e. a function call appearing or disappearing). Ultimately, this is another book where a companion website with an errata sheet would have helped.
Although the difficulty level changed at times, this book is probably fine for beginner to intermediate level users as the back cover states. An overview on ActionScript was actually included as one of the last chapters. Even though placement was questionable, this ActionScript primer was a fairly long and thorough chapter. Macromedia Flash MX 2004 Game Development did have a few minor problems, but it had far more positives and included a few original topics (at least for me) as well. In the end, though, it turned out to be among the best of the Flash books I have read so far.
Rating: 4.5/5
Teaches you things tutorials simply cannot
I originally bought this book because I wanted to get better at actionscript. I, like many, had originally learned basic actionscript from tutorials. But that simply did not do it for me. So after buying this book I can happily say that I am a decent actionscripter. So far I have coded two video games since then, the first one wasnt very good, because most first times arn't, but the second one already has over 1 million views total on various different websites. This book teaches you the code, and how to code it properly. I will say that there are a few typos and errors in the book but I have noticed that in every programming book i've bought so far so no big deal. I think it was clearly worth the money and still use the book to this day.
An amazing book especially for beginner
I had never made a game with Flash before and had barely had any experience with Actionscript. But the chapter "Actionscript for Games Primer" helped me learn almost everything that I needed. The3 rest of the code that I needed to make games, I learned from the exapmles of the games. The book does an amazing job of show how to use Actionscript to make fundamental features like jumping, shooting and gravity. I can make my own games with confidence now, and rarely need to refer back to the book, but when I do it is always very helpful. It also has cool things like an ASCII chart which is very helpful. Gken Rhodes is a great author.
Flash games
I found this book very useful for me as a new beginner in game programming. Good examples. It teaches you the basics - all you need to start.
Not Worth the Price
I am an industry professional and have worked with Flash in varying degrees and versions from Flash 5 on up to Flash 8 Pro for the past 10 years. I inquisitively bought this book with the intention of learning game coding (specifically to learn an intro to 3d coding). While the book does contain an extensive amount of code and examples, the author fails to give satisfactory explanations within each tutorial. For instance, the author uses words such as "frame" in a sense not to suggest the frame on the timeline (as every Flash developer and designer would understand it to be), but rather to describe the line portion of a box one draws on the stage (as in a 'picture' frame). It took me a few moments to realize he meant the frame surrounding the box, and not the timeline. I was hopelessly clicking the frame in the timeline attempting to follow the tutorial. This is but one example of the confusing way the author designed his tutorials. If the tutorials contained detailed graphics of each step, they would also be less confusing. One would see, for example, that the frame of the box was at issue, and not the frame on the timeline. The book does not contain enough graphic materials to support the tutorials for someone who is not very VERY familiar with Flash.
Also, the code examples when followed exactly fail to produce the expected results. For example, the Sound Hunter game included in this book. While it is an interesting twist on the 'old-school' card game of Match, (utilizing sound instead of imagery), the code given does not work properly. The random function 'shuffle' fails to shuffle the boxes around, and instead produces a box which, if clicked twice, disappears without making a match. And the author in no way discusses HOW to apply the sounds bites to each box - the code simply does not suffice. I spent an hour trying to get the sounds to attach to the random boxes without success. If I use the Flash file contained on the CD it works, but if I attempt to create my own file, it fails.
Also, the code is sloppy - not at all the code of a professional (i.e. no documentation). Each tutorial should stress the use of documentation - again, as a professional in the industry, I cannot tell you how important it is to document your code! No one lives forever, and no one stays at one job forever - and only you know what is going on inside your own head. Document! Therefore I can better understand you when I need to make changes to your work 3 months from now....
This book is not worth the price - better to purchase it used and thusly cheap, or to borrow from a friend or the library for free. Better yet, find another book! The Lynda series offers better choices for learning ActionScript.
(7 reviews)
