Learn ActionScript 3.0 the fun way, by creating 16 great games: real, robust games - not just "web toys"! Highly-rated ActionScript tutorial, now with seven new 3D and card games! Code and techniques easily adaptable to training, advertising, and more For Flash artists learning ActionScript, Flash programmers seeking to create games, and upgraders from ActionScript 1.0/2.0. Includes a chapter on developing games in Flash for the iPhone! Gary Rosenzweig's ActionScript 3.0 Game Programming University, Second Edition is the best hands-on tutorial for learning ActionScript 3.0, the programming language behind Flash Professional CS5. You will master all the basics of ActionScript programming by building 16 robust games. One step at a time, you'll learn techniques (and get tested code) that can be adapted to virtually any project, from games to training and advertising. The first edition earned widespread raves; Rosenzweig has now updated it with seven brand-new games that teach even more valuable ActionScript 3.0 skills and techniques. You will first learn how Flash and ActionScript 3.0 work together, the elements of an ActionScript program, and how to build a basic game framework with ActionScript. Next, Rosenzweig walks you through building the full spectrum of ActionScript games, including brain games, animation-based games, picture puzzles, games based on direction and movement, casual games, word games, Q and A games, action games, game worlds, and more. This edition adds new chapters on card games and 3D games, with High-Low, Video Poker, Blackjack, 3D Paddle Ball, 3D Scavenger Hunt, and two other new projects.

This is the first definitive and authoritative book available on ActionScript 3 animation techniques. ActionScript animation is a very popular discipline for Flash developers to learn. The essential skill set has been learned by many Flash developers through the first edition of this book. This has now been updated to ActionScript 3, Adobe's new and improved scripting language. All of the code has been updated, and some new techniques have been added to take advantage of ActionScript 3's new features, including the display list and new event architecture. The code can be used with the Flash 9 IDE, Flex Builder 2, or the free Flex 2 SDK.

Adobe Flash Professional is the most popular software available for creating animations for the Web. Most people start using Flash to create vector-based animations that output small file sizes perfect for the Web. Later they want to branch out into creating rich interactive experiences for websites and mobile devices, and for that they need to learn ActionScript. Doug Winnie draws on the experience he’s gained from his years as an educator to teach not only what ActionScript can do, but also to show how the code works. This gives the reader a deeper understanding of how ActionScript functions, and gives them the power to come up with original solutions when creating their own projects. Doug’s book dives right into the concepts of manipulating Flash objects and the fundamentals of functions and mathematical operators. After presenting events and using scripts to control the Flash timeline, classes and conditionals are covered in depth. The final part of the book covers creating desktop applications with Adobe AIR, developing mobile applications, and working with external code libraries. Real-world projects are sprinkled generously throughout the book and Appendices include information on debugging, deciphering documentation, and using Adobe Flash Builder as an ActionScript development environment.

If you are new to game programming and want to learn how to create dynamic, robust, and fun 2D games, "Beginning Game Programming with Flash" is the book for you! Written for introductory game programming students and other enthusiasts, the book begins with an overview of the Flash graphical user interface (GUI), explaining the four main components of the Flash authoring environment: the stage, timeline, tools and panels, and symbols. Once you are comfortable working with the GUI, you'll dive into using ActionScript, the language used to write code in Flash, which controls the graphics, sound files, and interactivity between the player and the game assets. As you work through the book you'll discover how to create a storyboard for a game, add animation and visual effects, insert movie clips and sound files, apply math and physics concepts to make game objects move, and develop and test a Flash game. Easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions walk you through each step of the game-building process, and end-of-chapter exercises, tutorials, and games-based projects help you reinforce and apply the concepts you have learned. "Beginning Game Programming with Flash" covers all the essential elements of game programming, making it a comprehensive and fun guide for beginning game programmers.

Introducing actionscript - Using event handlers - Understanding target paths - Understanding and using objects - Using functions - Customizing objects - Using dynamic data - Manipulating data - Using conditional logic - Automating scripts with loops - Getting data in and out of flash - Using XML with flash - Validating and formatting data - Controlling movie clips dynamically - Time-and frame-based dynamism - Scripting for sound - Loading external assets.