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Andrew Harris

Beginning Flash Game Programming For Dummies Updated Edition

by Andy Harris (Author)

41 ratings

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Enhance your purchase

You can start game programming in a flash

Here's how to create five different cool games - no experience necessary!

Ever think you could come up with a better computer game? Then this book is for you! No boring programming theory here, just the stuff you need to know to actually make something happen, and all in plain English. Build a brain-teasing math game, go classic with Pong, create monsters and mayhem, and much more.

Discover how to
* Build and control basic movie clips
* Make text appear and change
* Generate random numbers
* Add sound effects
* Create cars and space vehicles that move realistically
* Blow up stuff onscreen

ISBN-10

0764589628
ISBN-13

978-0764589621
Edition

Updated
Publisher

For Dummies
Publication date

November 21, 2005
Language

English
Dimensions

7.4 x 0.88 x 9.22 inches
Print length

408 pages
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Editorial Reviews

From the Author

I'm Andy Harris, the author of Beginning Flash Game Programming for Dummies. I'm very excited about this book. It's something I've wanted to write for a very long time. I love games, I love programming, and I love teaching. You'll see all three passions combined in this book.

I grew up inventing games long before ordinary people could own a computer. When I got ahold of my first computer, I wrote games on it (and did some serious stuff too.)

My first career was teaching severe disabilities special education. I really enjoyed that job, and it taught me a lot about how to explain things clearly without being insulting. While I was working as a special education teacher, I kept programming. I wrote some games for fun, and did some serious freelance programming, as well as teaching programming part time at the local university.

Now I'm a full time computer science instructor at Indiana University / Purdue University - Indianapolis. (Yes, that is the longest university name in the world.) I teach all kinds of programming languages and styles, but I never forget to have fun and enjoy teaching.

I've written several other books on various programming topics, but this one is special. First, I'm thrilled to be writing in the landmark Dummies series. It's an honor to be associated with such an established title. At the same time, it's fun to work with a publisher that encourages me to write bad puns. That turned out to be no problem, as you'll see. The best part is I get to write about my passion.

Computer games are a lot of fun. So why is it that books about writing games are so painful? I wanted to write a book that was fun, but also teaches you the stuff you need so you can write your own games. If you sit down and work through this book, I promise you you'll be able to make good games.

I can't wait to see the games you make. Get writing some games, and drop me an email some time!

-Andy

From the Inside Flap

You can start game programming in a flash

Here's how to create five different cool games — no experience necessary!

Ever think you could come up with a better computer game? Then this book is for you! No boring programming theory here, just the stuff you need to know to actually make something happen, and all in plain English. Build a brain-teasing math game, go classic with Pong, create monsters and mayhem, and much more.

Discover how to

Build and control basic movie clips
Make text appear and change
Generate random numbers
Add sound effects
Create cars and space vehicles that move realistically
Blow up stuff onscreen

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ For Dummies; Updated edition (November 21, 2005)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 408 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0764589628
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0764589621
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.72 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.4 x 0.88 x 9.22 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #5,113,942 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #104 in Flash Web Design
- #1,004 in Computer & Video Game Design
- #1,296 in Design & Graphics Software Books

Customer Reviews:
41 ratings

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Andrew Harris

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I live near Indianapolis, Indiana.

I am a lecturer in computer science at Indiana University / Purdue University - Indianapolis (Yes, that IS officially the longest university name on the planet... we call it IUPUI)

I was an army brat. I grew up in many parts of the Eastern United States and in Japan.

I've been interested in computing since the early eighties, when my brother and I took the money we were saving for a car and blew it on a TRS-80 model 1 with the built-in Japanese character set. (That machine is still in my garage. Don't tell my wife.)

My first career was as a special education teacher. I taught young adults with severe disabilities for several years. I really enjoyed my job and my students. I learned a lot about teaching through that experience.

While doing special ed, I kept my interest in computing, doing some freelance programming and writing about computer topics. Eventually, I became a lab instructor in the computer science program at IUPUI.

I moved to IUPUI as a full-time gig in 1995. Since then, I have been involved in creating a certificate of applied computer science. I have also worked on building a distributed education program. I especially love designing curricula using emerging and interesting technology and ideas.

I have taught many applied CS topics, but there is always more to learn.

Right now my focus tends to be on applied computing in programming languages, game programming, and mobile computing.

My favorite part about writing is hearing from readers. It's great when somebody sends me a link to a game or project they've written using one of my books. I'd love to get a line from you about one of my books, what you'd like to see me work on next, or just to say hi. I hope my writing feels like a conversation, and I'm looking forward to hearing from your side of the talk.

Customer reviews

5 star		36%
4 star		29%
3 star		12%
2 star 0% (0%)		0%
1 star		23%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Randy Forgaard

Must make accommodations to use this book with current Flash CS3

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 15, 2008

Verified Purchase

IMPORTANT NOTE TO READERS: This book is not written for the current Flash CS3, so you need to make a few accommodations. When the book tells you to create a new Flash program, be sure to choose the option to create an ActionScript 2.0 Flash File, NOT the current ActionScript 3.0. In the very first line of game programming code described in this book (on p.38), it uses the "onRelease" property of a button, which is no longer available in ActionScript 3.0. The program won't compile or run, and right out of the blocks, the reader is stuck. However, if you create an ActionScript 2.0 program, it works fine, and then you can continue.

NOTE: I just noticed that Adobe is releasing their CS4 suite about a week from now, which will probably also update Flash again to CS4. Hopefully, Flash CS4 will still provide the ability to create ActionScript 2.0 files, so that Flash CS4 can still be used with this book.

This is as far as we have gotten in the book so far. I will update this review if we discover more things to watch out for when using this book with Flash CS3.

This updated version of the book is copyrighted in 2006 but was released in November 2005, and was written for Macromedia Flash MX 2004. Since then, Adobe has acquired Macromedia, and Flash has gone through two more releases. Flash 8 was released in September 2005 (two months before the book was released), and Flash CS3 was released in April 2007. Flash CS3 added support for ActionScript 3.0, but fortunately also supports ActionScript 2.0 files.

Except for this slight hiccup, this book is working well for us. I've started reading it, and it is very accessible, jumping right into the game programming topics to keep the reader interested. I am a software engineer by training, but I bought the book for my 15-year-old son because he is extremely interested in writing computer games. Flash is the best platform for game writing for teens, because it's fairly easy to use, is quite powerful, and it's incredibly easy to post their completed Flash games to web sites like Kongregate where zillions of other teens will find them and play them. My excited son took to this book like a duck to water, but then got stumped on the very first programming task, because of this ActionScript 3.0 issue. I figured out the problem and got him straightened out, using ActionScript 2.0 instead.

One significant issue, which I'm sure you've discovered, is that the Flash development environment is very expensive. Flash CS3 Professional costs $699 from Adobe, or $670 on Amazon. I was able to find a legal, new, shrinkwrapped copy on eBay for $499, but that's still a lot of money to allow my teen to learn how to program games. I'm sure we'll find other uses for Flash, though, in our web site work, and overall I think it is worth it to keep my son interested in software engineering as a career.

6 people found this helpful

Helpful

D. Eckhart

Action Script 2.0 is old, but book is good

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 7, 2009

Verified Purchase

This book may sound stupid, since it's a "-for dummies" book, but it would even be helpful for someone who knew how to program and wanted to pick up the concept of writing games for Adobe Flash.

If you have never written a computer program before, or you have never used Adobe's Flash editor before, you're going to have problems. This especially applies if you've never used Adobe's Flash editor. It's not the most user friendly program out there.

The author takes things very slowly and talks down to a very basic level and does everything possible to help you along. He has examples, shows you all the code and even lets you download it, but you may still struggle if you are a complete beginner.

If you stick with things, you will succeed, however. This book DOES show you the basics of how to design a flash game, and of how to design several types of Flash games. It's very good in that respect. It doesn't teach you how to be an artist and make beautiful games or how to be a sound editor and create exciting game music, but if you master the concepts in this book, you will be able to create the games that you want and will have the stepping stone you need to move forward to making the types of things you see on websites around the world.

The fact that this book provides a stepping stone to get you started is the main thing. Once you have even the smallest of basics, you can expand your knowledge by searching online for more information, since you will know what you are looking for.

Please note that this book is in Adobe Action Script 2.0 (action script is the adobe flash programming language), and action script was changed considerably when it moved to the 3.0 version. This will not affect you at all. Most of the games I've seen online now are written in Action Script 2.0. All the editors will allow you to create 2.0 content, and even better, you're almost assured that everyone in the world can run 2.0 content on their browser.

Overall, this is a great stepping stone to learning how to make games using Adobe Flash. It may be daunting for the complete beginner, but it's as good of a place to start as any. Even for a programmer who knows how to program already, this book isn't bad, since it will save you a lot of time piecing together information off websites. The basics are all here for around $16.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Danny G

Four Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on October 9, 2015

Verified Purchase

Very good, but note that this is for Action Script 2.0, not for Action Script 3.0.

T W Tansley

Real novice user

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on February 10, 2013

Verified Purchase

Like all Dummies Guides I have read (always as a Dummy rather than as an expert being reminded) I find the book clear and easy to comprehend. Time will tell if I actually find the time to master flash or not - but the book should help!!

One person found this helpful

Michael Mullen

Does exactly what it says.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on July 29, 2014

Verified Purchase

Easy to understand, excellent introduction to programming Flash.

One person found this helpful

Mrs H Falle

Dont buy this the book is very old and some ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on March 4, 2015

Verified Purchase

Dont buy this the book is very old and some the products in it are obselite making the book usless!

Lisa

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on March 7, 2016

Verified Purchase

Fab item

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