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Build Apps for IPhone with Flash, finally!
October 6th, 2009 - Category: Developers, FlashLooks like finally it's possible, thanks to Flash CS5, it will be possible to create Apps for IPhone and IPod Touch with firmware 3.0 or higher.
Great news actually, I was getting tired of all that people telling me: "Hey why don't you learn some Unity, so you can make Apps for IPhone and be a millionaire in few days!!!".
The difference with Unity will be anyway visible, Flash requires more memory to run... but I guess for most of Apps and 2D games, Flash will do great.
For 3D stuff there is still a lot of work to do...
One important thing that many people didn't understand is that, it's not that IPhone will build another firmware that will be able to read Flash files; Flash CS5 will support a new kind of Output that will work on IPhone.
So the firmware of the Iphone is alwasy the same, Flash changes, infact this thing will be possibile only with Flash CS5.
That is why the Safari Browser will not support Flash anyway...
The beta should be released by the end of 2009, you can subscribe here to be notified when it will be ready.
While waiting, please read this interesting this Developer FAQ about Flash CS5 and Iphone.
Great news actually, I was getting tired of all that people telling me: "Hey why don't you learn some Unity, so you can make Apps for IPhone and be a millionaire in few days!!!".
The difference with Unity will be anyway visible, Flash requires more memory to run... but I guess for most of Apps and 2D games, Flash will do great.
For 3D stuff there is still a lot of work to do...
One important thing that many people didn't understand is that, it's not that IPhone will build another firmware that will be able to read Flash files; Flash CS5 will support a new kind of Output that will work on IPhone.
So the firmware of the Iphone is alwasy the same, Flash changes, infact this thing will be possibile only with Flash CS5.
That is why the Safari Browser will not support Flash anyway...
The beta should be released by the end of 2009, you can subscribe here to be notified when it will be ready.
While waiting, please read this interesting this Developer FAQ about Flash CS5 and Iphone.
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20 useful Flash API's and Tools
July 1st, 2009 - Category: Developers, FlashReading the MochiAds Forum I have found an interesting post
containing a bunch of useful Flash API's and Tools.
I elaborated it a lil bit and here it is, the bible for every Flash
Developer! 
Mutiplayer APIs SmartFoxServer is probably the most used, it is the core of many Multiplayer Games, probably the biggest one is Club Penguin. ElectroServer powers Webkinz. Either one and the other give you the possibility to create your game from zero, lobby included. They cost probably too much for an independent developer. I personally have used a lot the Nonoba, winning many contest on their site and the 2ND place of the final contest. It is easy to use and it is free but sometimes I found it a lil bit slow and it didn't let me customize the lobby. I didn't like very much to have a white and green lobby for all my games. BlossomServer is new and it has been created by Jiggmin, the author of Platform Racing. It is free and it gives you the possibility to download the source code and change if you want. The only problem is that it is based on a PHP socket server... which is not stable as Java or C.Red5 is a free java server, but probably it crashes too much.
3D APIs I have used all of them and honestly my favourite is Away3D.It is quite simple to use and it has a lot of functions for game designer.I wrote an article about it few months ago, you can read it here .
3D physics APIs This is the only 3D physics engine that I'm aware of for Flash. From looking at a few of the tutorials, it looks like you would have use this physics API in conjunction with a 3D API so you can render what's actually going on. I haven't had a chance to actually use the API, so I can't give much of an opinion.
2D physics APIs I have used Box2D in my last game Dynamic Systems http://www.lorenzgames.com/game/dynamic-systems .
They have a nice community and it is easy to find tutorials on Internet.
IDEs From what i have heard FlashDevelop is great. It has great syntax highlighting, auto completion, and it's just overall a whole lot better to use compared to the built in Actionscript editor in the Flash authoring tool, plus it's free! FDT should be good too, but it's not free.
TweenersA Tweener is basically a tool that creates transactions in an object.
For example if you need to move an object from point A to point B with an animation.
The Caurina one is one of my favourite, probably because i have used it for so long.
They have surely saved me a lot of work.
Debuggers
For now this is all, if you have any other interesting Tool please contact me.
Mutiplayer APIs SmartFoxServer is probably the most used, it is the core of many Multiplayer Games, probably the biggest one is Club Penguin. ElectroServer powers Webkinz. Either one and the other give you the possibility to create your game from zero, lobby included. They cost probably too much for an independent developer. I personally have used a lot the Nonoba, winning many contest on their site and the 2ND place of the final contest. It is easy to use and it is free but sometimes I found it a lil bit slow and it didn't let me customize the lobby. I didn't like very much to have a white and green lobby for all my games. BlossomServer is new and it has been created by Jiggmin, the author of Platform Racing. It is free and it gives you the possibility to download the source code and change if you want. The only problem is that it is based on a PHP socket server... which is not stable as Java or C.Red5 is a free java server, but probably it crashes too much.
3D APIs I have used all of them and honestly my favourite is Away3D.It is quite simple to use and it has a lot of functions for game designer.I wrote an article about it few months ago, you can read it here .
3D physics APIs This is the only 3D physics engine that I'm aware of for Flash. From looking at a few of the tutorials, it looks like you would have use this physics API in conjunction with a 3D API so you can render what's actually going on. I haven't had a chance to actually use the API, so I can't give much of an opinion.
2D physics APIs I have used Box2D in my last game Dynamic Systems http://www.lorenzgames.com/game/dynamic-systems .
They have a nice community and it is easy to find tutorials on Internet.
IDEs From what i have heard FlashDevelop is great. It has great syntax highlighting, auto completion, and it's just overall a whole lot better to use compared to the built in Actionscript editor in the Flash authoring tool, plus it's free! FDT should be good too, but it's not free.
TweenersA Tweener is basically a tool that creates transactions in an object.
For example if you need to move an object from point A to point B with an animation.
The Caurina one is one of my favourite, probably because i have used it for so long.
They have surely saved me a lot of work.
Debuggers
For now this is all, if you have any other interesting Tool please contact me.
Write a comment
Make a game with PlayCrafter without a line of code!
June 25th, 2009 - Category: DevelopersIf you have alwasy wanted to make a game but you have zero clue about programming, today to help you there is PlayCrafter!
This brand new site is like a huge level editor, very similiar to Splooder that has tons of objects to just drag and drop on the stage.
It has the potential to make really good games.
It's like the TorqueX of Flash. So in some sorts, yes, it is more like a powerful level editor...
Watch this teaser to understand better:
This brand new site is like a huge level editor, very similiar to Splooder that has tons of objects to just drag and drop on the stage.
It has the potential to make really good games.
It's like the TorqueX of Flash. So in some sorts, yes, it is more like a powerful level editor...
Watch this teaser to understand better:
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How to add MochiAds to your game and earn money from it
June 21st, 2009 - Category: Developers, Flash, MonetizeAs many of you know it, Mochiads as improved a lot in the past 2 years.
One of its competitors, GameJacket, failed last week.
Many developers are doing good money with the Mochi Advertising right now.
Are you doing it? Probably you should give it a try!
Mochiads Version Control not only works as advertising but also protect the code of your game.
Here I am going to explain you how to add it to one of your games in ActionScript 3.
First important thing to do is, if you don't have an account, click here to Sign-Up MochiAds Developers Program.
Login in the dashboard and click on the yellow button Setup New Game.
Now it will ask you:
Now it will ask you to Authenticate your game, write that string of code on the first frame of the time line, or in the document class. The string will be something like this:
If you are using a Document Class remember to clear everything from the Main Function.
For example let's pretend your Document Class is named MyGame.As inside you need to be sure it will look something like this:
Now select the colors of you preloader, you can even upload a custom image if you want, make a custom JPG the same size of your game and upload it to make it appear under the preloader line. It will look more fancy!
Then upload your SWF, give it a version number, like "1.0" or" 0.5alpha"... as you want...
And eneter a little description only for you, like "First upload".
OK, now continue, download the file they just created for you, it contains the SWF you will have to distribute.
It's almost over
.
You need to fill out the game profile.
In Game URL write the Link of a page where people will be able to see your game and then upload the swf you just got there.
Add Description, an icon of 100x100 (I suggest you to make a very cute icon becouse it is the first thing people will see), Catoegories, Keywords and Save.
Great, now you are DONE!
Last thing to do if you want is to enable your game for distribution so that Mochiads will help you to spread it on internet.
One of its competitors, GameJacket, failed last week.
Many developers are doing good money with the Mochi Advertising right now.
Are you doing it? Probably you should give it a try!
Mochiads Version Control not only works as advertising but also protect the code of your game.
Here I am going to explain you how to add it to one of your games in ActionScript 3.
First important thing to do is, if you don't have an account, click here to Sign-Up MochiAds Developers Program.
Login in the dashboard and click on the yellow button Setup New Game.
Now it will ask you:
- The Title of your game.
- The dimensions of you game, write it how big it is, like 640x480 for example (The game must be not smaller than 300x300).
- Version Controll click Yes.
- Create Game.
Now it will ask you to Authenticate your game, write that string of code on the first frame of the time line, or in the document class. The string will be something like this:
var _mochiads_game_id:String = "your code";
If you are using a Document Class remember to clear everything from the Main Function.
For example let's pretend your Document Class is named MyGame.As inside you need to be sure it will look something like this:
package { //...imports public dynamic class MyGame extends MovieClip{ //...declarations of variables public function MyGame () { //Here nothing! } //... other functions. } }
Now select the colors of you preloader, you can even upload a custom image if you want, make a custom JPG the same size of your game and upload it to make it appear under the preloader line. It will look more fancy!
Then upload your SWF, give it a version number, like "1.0" or" 0.5alpha"... as you want...
And eneter a little description only for you, like "First upload".
OK, now continue, download the file they just created for you, it contains the SWF you will have to distribute.
It's almost over
.You need to fill out the game profile.
In Game URL write the Link of a page where people will be able to see your game and then upload the swf you just got there.
Add Description, an icon of 100x100 (I suggest you to make a very cute icon becouse it is the first thing people will see), Catoegories, Keywords and Save.
Great, now you are DONE!
Last thing to do if you want is to enable your game for distribution so that Mochiads will help you to spread it on internet.
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Moving Bones in AS3 and Flash CS4
June 19th, 2009 - Category: ActionScript 3, Developers, FlashThis tutorial will teach you the basics to add bones to an object and move them using ActionScript 3.
It is quite simple, those are the steps to do:
Make sure the last bone on the head is called: ikBoneName6
As you can see in the TimeLine now you have a new layer called Armature_(Number), rename it to Armature_1 if it has another number.
Now click on the Armature_1 layer and you should see in the properties something like this:
Make sure to change the Type in Runtime.
Now create an empty layer where to place the ActionScript on the TimeLine (to keep the tutorial short i placed everithing on the timeline).
Now you are set, Test the movie and you should get something like this:
It is quite simple, those are the steps to do:
- Design something ( to test i designed something like a snake ).
- Click on the button Bone Tool (X).
- Draw a bunch of bones on the object making sure they are attached.
Make sure the last bone on the head is called: ikBoneName6
As you can see in the TimeLine now you have a new layer called Armature_(Number), rename it to Armature_1 if it has another number.
Now click on the Armature_1 layer and you should see in the properties something like this:
Make sure to change the Type in Runtime.
Now create an empty layer where to place the ActionScript on the TimeLine (to keep the tutorial short i placed everithing on the timeline).
import fl.ik.*; var tree:IKArmature = IKManager.getArmatureByName("Armature_1"); var bone:IKBone = tree.getBoneByName("ikBoneName6"); // tailJoint will manage the point of your bone, if you want to manage the head of your bone you need to use headJoint var tJ:IKJoint = bone.tailJoint; var posT<img src='http://www.lorenzgames.com/smiles/P.gif' alt='Emoticon' width='14' height='14' />oint=tJ.position; var ikMover:IKMover = new IKMover(tJ, posT); addEventListener(Event.ENTER_FRAME, onFrame); function onFrame(event:Event){ posT.x=mouseX; posT.y=mouseY; ikMover.moveTo(posT); }
Now you are set, Test the movie and you should get something like this:
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How to start to make Flash Games?
April 19th, 2009 - Category: DevelopersTo start to make Flash Games is actually not that complicated, anyone with a lil bit of passion and time can have a try!
I suggest you to download Adobe Flash CS4 from Adobe, they will give you for free the 30 days trial version, so you can evaluate it.
OnLine you can even find some free programs that compile ActionScript, like FlashDevelop.
Then, when you get your program check on Google for: ActionScritp 3 Tutorials.
You can find the best on the site of Emanuele Feronato.
Kirupa is a good forum where you can register and ask any question you want about ActionScript 3 (Shortly AS3).
On LorenzGames you can have an idea of the best flash games made by the best game designers on the world.
I organized few super best game on another site ILikeToGame, you can check them.
In this industry they pay those games from $3k to $10k for the cool ones or more for awesomeness, or you can just put your own advertising like MochiAds, there are so many ways of monetization with this kind of games, you just need to start and give a try!
I suggest you to download Adobe Flash CS4 from Adobe, they will give you for free the 30 days trial version, so you can evaluate it.
OnLine you can even find some free programs that compile ActionScript, like FlashDevelop.
Then, when you get your program check on Google for: ActionScritp 3 Tutorials.
You can find the best on the site of Emanuele Feronato.
Kirupa is a good forum where you can register and ask any question you want about ActionScript 3 (Shortly AS3).
On LorenzGames you can have an idea of the best flash games made by the best game designers on the world.
I organized few super best game on another site ILikeToGame, you can check them.
In this industry they pay those games from $3k to $10k for the cool ones or more for awesomeness, or you can just put your own advertising like MochiAds, there are so many ways of monetization with this kind of games, you just need to start and give a try!
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Watch the Flash Gaming Summit 2009
March 22nd, 2009 - Category: DevelopersWatch here the Flash Gaming Summit 2009!
Flash Gaming Summit is a one day conference dedicated to fostering the growth and success of the Flash games community. The conference will bring together leaders in the Flash game space to share industry insights and strategies for monetization, distribution and successful game development.
Flash Gaming Summit is a one day conference dedicated to fostering the growth and success of the Flash games community. The conference will bring together leaders in the Flash game space to share industry insights and strategies for monetization, distribution and successful game development.
Video of Flash Gaming Summit
Intro, Keynote and Session 1: Designing and Building Successful Multiplayer Games
Session 2 - Getting Eyeballs - Marketing and Distributing Flash Games
Session 3 - The Future of Flash
Unfortunately the Internet started acting up, so we had a lot of trouble recording video for this excellent talk by Ryan Stewart. You can access the multiple fragmented parts here: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
Session 4 - Monetization and Business Models for Flash Games
The Mochis Flash Game Awards
Video Interview with Jacob Grahn of Platform Racing 2
Video Interview with Dain Saint & William Stallwood of Auditorium
Video Interview with Scott Bailey, Haiku Contest Winner
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How to save a JPG or PNG image with AS3
March 9th, 2009 - Category: ActionScript 3, FlashToday I was looking for a way to create a game that makes screenshot of the played levels and then save them as JPG on my server.
Luckly I have found a class made by STROEP at this address.
This class actually works on everything and the quality of the PNG is great!
I have tried to make some screenshot while I was playing and it is pretty fast.
You can turn into a file whatever thing is happening during the game, or if you want you can decide to print on a file only a MovieClip instead of all the window.
To integrate it is very easy:
1) First of all download the class here!.
2) Put the directory 'com' and 'nl' inside you class folder or simply in the folder of your FLA.
3) Put the PHP file in your server directory, if you don't have a server install one with WAMP.
Now in your code write this wherever you need it:
You can use it on a button and just magically an image will appear in the directory where you placed the PHP file!
Enjoy it!
Luckly I have found a class made by STROEP at this address.
This class actually works on everything and the quality of the PNG is great!
I have tried to make some screenshot while I was playing and it is pretty fast.
You can turn into a file whatever thing is happening during the game, or if you want you can decide to print on a file only a MovieClip instead of all the window.
To integrate it is very easy:
1) First of all download the class here!.
2) Put the directory 'com' and 'nl' inside you class folder or simply in the folder of your FLA.
3) Put the PHP file in your server directory, if you don't have a server install one with WAMP.
Now in your code write this wherever you need it:
import nl.stroep.utils.*; var imageSaver:ImageSaver = new ImageSaver( "http://www.yoursite.com/save-my-image.php" ); imageSaver.save ( this, "filename.png" );
You can use it on a button and just magically an image will appear in the directory where you placed the PHP file!
Enjoy it!
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How to customize the SWF right click menu with AS3
March 8th, 2009 - Category: ActionScript 3, FlashI personally don't like the context menu that appears when we right-click in our SWF,
so I decided to create a class to change it with things that I like.
Below you can see what I see now in my games:
It is all pretty easy, all you have to do is to create a class file AS inside your class directory and write something like this:
then you can load it in your Document Class writing:
It is all pretty easy, all you have to do is to create a class file AS inside your class directory and write something like this:
package { import flash.events.EventDispatcher; import flash.ui.ContextMenu; import flash.ui.ContextMenuItem; import flash.events.ContextMenuEvent; import flash.net.navigateToURL; import flash.net.URLRequest; public dynamic class MyMenu extends EventDispatcher{ var myContextMenu:ContextMenu = new ContextMenu(); var item1:ContextMenuItem = new ContextMenuItem("LorenzGames.Com"); var item2:ContextMenuItem = new ContextMenuItem("Play More Games"); public function MyMenu(cosa){ myContextMenu.hideBuiltInItems(); cosa.contextMenu = myContextMenu; item1.addEventListener(ContextMenuEvent.MENU_ITEM_SELECT,function() { navigateToURL(new URLRequest("http://www.LorenzGames.com"), "_blank");}); myContextMenu.customItems.push(item1); item2.addEventListener(ContextMenuEvent.MENU_ITEM_SELECT,function() { navigateToURL(new URLRequest("http://www.LorenzGames.com"), "_blank");}); myContextMenu.customItems.push(item2); } } }
then you can load it in your Document Class writing:
var menu=new MyMenu(this);
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Away3D updates to Flash 10
March 7th, 2009 - Category: 3DRob Bateman has just written an article about the new update of Away3D for Flash 10.
As you can see in this demo they have boosted the rendering speed increasing the quality of it.
It's unbelievable how the normal mapping and the HDR technique are used in a normal SWF file.
I really think that soon we will see some high quality 3D game made entirely with Flash.
The problem right now is the compatibility (not everybody has installed Flash Player 10 on their browser) and that using too many polygons would slow down very much everything.
Personally I have made some games using Away3D last year and I had some trouble with the speed, infact one of them, Fartunes Jumper, was so slow that I had to set up the quality to low, and the result was not the best. I guess I could rewrite it with Flash 10 and probably add some more details.
It's unbelievable how the normal mapping and the HDR technique are used in a normal SWF file.
I really think that soon we will see some high quality 3D game made entirely with Flash.
The problem right now is the compatibility (not everybody has installed Flash Player 10 on their browser) and that using too many polygons would slow down very much everything.
Personally I have made some games using Away3D last year and I had some trouble with the speed, infact one of them, Fartunes Jumper, was so slow that I had to set up the quality to low, and the result was not the best. I guess I could rewrite it with Flash 10 and probably add some more details.Read 2 comments - Write a comment
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