Gary Rosenzweig
800 East 96th Street
Indianapolis, Indiana 46240 USA
ActionScript 3.0 Game
Programming University
Copyright
©
2008 by Que Publishing
All rights reserved. No part of this book shall be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other-
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preparation of this book, the publisher and author assume no responsibility for errors or omis-
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contained herein.
ISBN-13: 978-0-7897-3702-1
ISBN-10: 0-7897-3702-7
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Rosenzweig, Gary.
ActionScript 3.0 game programming university / Gary Rosenzweig.
p. cm.
ISBN 0-7897-3702-7
1. Computer games—Programming. 2. Computer animation. 3. ActionScript
(Computer program language) I. Title.
QA76.76.C672R73 2007
794.8'1526—dc22
2007028659
Printed in the United States of America
First Printing: August 2007
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programs accompanying it.
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Contents at a Glance
Introduction
1. Using Flash and ActionScript 3.0
2. ActionScript Game Elements
3. Basic Game Framework: A Matching Game
4. Brain Games: Memory and Deduction
5. Game Animation: Shooting and Bouncing Games
6. Picture Puzzles: Sliding and Jigsaw
7. Direction and Movement: Space Rocks
8. Casual Games: Match Three
9. Word Games: Hangman and Word Search
10. Questions and Answers: Trivia and Quiz Games
11. Action Games: Platform Games
12. Game Worlds: Driving and Exploration Game
Index
Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
Flash and Game Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
Who Is This Book For? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
What Do You Need To Use This Book? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
Prerequisite Knowledge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
Software Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Source Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Using the Example Games in Your Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
What You’ll Find in This Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
The FlashGameU.com Website . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
1. Using Flash and ActionScript 3.0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
What Is ActionScript 3.0? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Creating a Simple ActionScript Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
A Simple Use of trace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Creating Screen Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
Our First ActionScript 3.0 Class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Working with Flash CS3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
Display Objects and Display Lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
The Stage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
The Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
The Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
Writing and Editing ActionScript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
ActionScript Game Programming Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
Single Class Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
Smallest Step Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
Good Programming Practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
Basic ActionScript Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26
Creating and Using Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26
Condition Statements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
Loops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
Testing and Debugging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
Types of Bugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
Methods of Testing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30
Using the Debugger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
