Mobile Game Development with Flash CS6 and ActionScript 3.0

Discover how to create a trace statement in action script 3.0, place it on a frame, test code in the output window, and check syntax with a test movie.

Create action script 3.0 file, convert a rectangle to a movie clip symbol with linkage, instantiate it, set x and y, add it to the stage, and rotate as needed.

Use a for loop to create five copies of a library symbol, arrange them in a row with 50-pixel spacing, and resize them for proportional scaling.

Learn to create an event listener in ActionScript 3.0 by wiring a library button to a click event and execute a trace statement.

Draw simple graphics in action script 3.0 using graphics.lineStyle to set line width and color. Use moveTo and lineTo with coordinates to render and test the line.

Program objects from the library with code by creating a movie clip symbol, adding it to the stage, and animating its x position via an enter frame listener.

Explore hit detection in Flash CS6 using ActionScript 3.0 by testing hit test point and hit test object between a rectangle and an oval, with mouse movement and enter_frame events.

Discover how a Flash game uses multiple ActionScript files with a main fla file, where the main file holds little code and imports classes to run the game.

Explains the differences between public and private statements in ActionScript, detailing visibility within a class, across classes, and the internal default.

Explore how the accelerometer (gyroscope) detects tilts and turns in mobile devices and learn to simulate its controls in Flash using a basic ball-tilt test.

Set up a new Flash CS6 document and assets, choose Android AIR project for testing, and build a simple gradient background and interactive marble to test accelerometer interactions.

Code a trace to read accelerometer data, set a refresh interval, and listen for accelerometer updates to display the X, Y, and Z readings for testing before applying to marbles.

Map the accelerometer to a marble by updating the marble's x and y with event.acceleration multiplied by 10, then test in the simulator.

Implement boundary logic in action script to keep the marble on screen by clamping x and y within zero and the stage width and height.

Explore how taps and touches control mobile apps and games, using a crosshair example to show tapping, dragging, and color changes, and compare touch gestures with mouse events for performance.

Set up a Flash CS6 document, build sky and hills with linear gradients, organize assets as symbols and layers, and create a crosshair as a movie clip.

Learn to code a touch-driven crosshair in Flash CS6 by enabling multi-touch input, handling touch begin events, and moving the crosshair to the touch coordinates on the stage.

Learn to implement drag functionality in flash cs6 with actionscript 3.0 by making the crosshair follow touch, change color on press, and handle touch move via an event listener.

Implement drag functionality by updating cross hairs with touch move and touch begin events using stage coordinates, change color on touch, and revert with stop to frame 1 after release.

Set up interactive assets and gesture-driven controls in Flash CS6 by enabling the touch layer, applying rotate and swipe gestures, and building an orb symbol to reference in ActionScript 3.0.

Master a rotation gesture with four lines of code, using multiday touch input mode gestures and a transform gesture rotate event to rotate the blue orb.

Learn how to implement a pinch-to-zoom gesture in Flash CS6 using ActionScript 3.0, enabling proportional scale of an on-screen orb and interactive zooming.

Add constraints in the action script to bound the blue orb on the screen, using scale x limits (0.5 to 3) and conditional statements that manage zoom behavior.

Apply if/else constraints in ActionScript 3.0 to cap the blue orb scale x and y, keeping values between 0.5 and 2.99 while maintaining proportional y scaling.

Explore implementing a swipe gesture in a Flash CS6 ActionScript 3.0 project by wiring stage gestures to navigate four gallery items using a template file and a structured swipe function.

Define a slide counter and implement swipe left and swipe right to move the gallery by 48 pixels, updating the counter, removing the listener at end, and resetting to zero.

Write a final function to move the gallery right and test swipe gestures using ActionScript 3.0 in Flash CS6, then troubleshoot errors and multi-touch input setup.

Set up a new Flash document at 60 fps and 480 by 320, import the fish tank background into the library, and place it on the stage while preserving resolution.

Insert a keyframe at frame 51, apply a classic tween to convert the explosion to a symbol, fade with alpha, stop the animation, and assign the linkage name boom.

Animate bubbles in Flash CS6 by resizing and keyframing them, starting the second bubble at frame 6, using classic tweens, labeling layers, and duplicating frames for bubbles, keeping size consistent.

Code the final bubbles: stop the animation, remove the bubble with removeChild(this), then name the symbol's linkage bubbles for integration with the game.

Create a sparkle starburst effect in Flash by importing an image, turning it into a movie clip symbol, duplicating into eight copies, placing them at the center, and tweening outward.

Animate a starburst by applying alpha from 100 to 0 across frames in Flash CS6, then use a removeChild action to free memory and finalize the starburst's library linkage.

Import and organize assets in the library by adding a bomb and coin as movie clips, set their action script linkage names, and import their sounds as mp3 files.

Draw a rounded rectangle with gray stroke and blue fill at partial transparency, convert it to a movie clip named game over, and organize text and icons on separate layers.

Learn to distinguish static and dynamic text in Flash, embed fonts to ensure a consistent look across devices, and set up dynamic fields with alignment, coin graphics, and glow effects.

Set up the main movie clip by arranging the coin and text fields, assigning instance names for lives, game over, and start button, and prep for ActionScript calls.

Organize your game assets and scripts by creating a dedicated com/fishtank folder, then create and save an ActionScript file ready to import into the main FLA file.

Open the main FLA file, go to frame 1 and actions, import the com.fishtank package, and create a fishTankGame as a new FishTank to load assets from the FLSA.

Explore importing classes and defining the package in a Flash CS6 ActionScript project, while outlining a fishtank game objective to collect coins, avoid bombs, and tilt with the accelerometer.

Open your action script file and define a class with private variables for main mc, lives, coins, bubble timer, coin appear timer, bomb appear timer, accelerometer, and animation timer.

Define and explain key game variables for a Flash/ActionScript 3.0 project, including lives, coins caught, bubble/coin/bomb timers, accelerometer input, player direction, speed, acceleration, game over screen trigger, and sound effects.

Implement accelerometer detection and timer-based events to spawn bubbles at random 3–8 second intervals, drive the fish animation, and ensure smooth gameplay with timer complete handling.

Configure coin and bomb timers with random bitmap spawning and timer complete events. Enable keep awake idle mode, bitmap caching, and keep the game over screen invisible at startup.

Define private functions to manage bomb and coin timers. Wire them to timer events, and set random delays to spawn bombs and coins in a Flash CS6 game.

Develop and manage a coin timer that fires 50 times per second to animate coins, detect hits with the fish, award points, spawn starbursts, and clean up on game over.

Trigger a starburst and update the coin counter when a coin hits the fish, align the starburst with the coin, play a sound, and remove the coin and timer instantly.

Implement a remove function to delete the coin from the screen, detach its event listener, null the timer, and remove the coin from the stage to enable garbage collection.

Explore creating the remove function for bombs in a Flash CS6 game, detailing private versus public functions, timer handling, and removing bombs from the stage.

Implement a bubbles function that spawns bubbles from the fish’s left or right side using a switch, assigns positions, and starts a randomized three to eight second delay to appear.

Set up acceleration for the fish to add physics with accelerometer controls, moving left or right with speed and acceleration. A timer-driven switch updates position, enforces bounds, and loops continuously.

Export your game to Android by configuring Android settings, output file, and app details, then set landscape fullscreen and use GPO rendering for bitmap images.

Create and save a self-signed Android certificate (P12) for publishing, configure deployment options, export the package file, and prepare for distribution on Android devices and the Google Android Market.

Publish your Android game to Google Play by following policies, testing for core app quality, setting content rating and pricing, paying the $25 registration fee, and using the developer console.

Enroll in the Apple developer program with a $99 fee to obtain an Apple developer certificate. Sign and publish iOS apps to the App Store after Apple's review, unlike Android.

Learn the basics of mobile game development with Flash CS6 and ActionScript 3.0 through a simple template game featuring accelerometer, coins, bombs, and options for touch controls and onscreen buttons.

Chad trav shares a decade of flash animation experience from macromedia flash five to flash CS6 and ActionScript 3.0, plus video tutorials on flash and anime studio.