AdvancED Game Design with Flash

pCreating games in Flash is a never-ending journey of exploration, learning, and most of all, fun. Once you’ve mastered the basics, a new world is opened up to you, enabling you to take your existing skills to the next level and discover new skills that will in turn open new doors. This book is a direct continuation of emFoundation Game Design with Flash/em, and is a complete point-by-point roundup of the most important skills a Flash game designer needs to know. You’ll increase your ActionScript knowledge and your game design skills while creating some excellent example games. You’ll learn advanced collision detection skills; professional AI and pathfinding; and how to load and save game data, create destructible environments, and build and switch game levels. /p ul liEach chapter highlights a new advanced technique illustrated by practical examples. /li liExamples of games are given in a variety of genres, all of which take an object-oriented programming approach. /li liAdvanced game design topics are covered, including vector-based collision reaction, pathfinding, billiard ball physics, and modeling game data. /li /ul h3What you’ll learn/h3ul liHow to use vectors to figure out where objects are going and how they should react to collisions /li liPixel-perfect collision detection for irregular shapes using hitTest and bitmapData /li liHow to use design patterns and abstract data models to manage complex games efficiently /li liHow to create advanced enemy artificial intelligence systems using pathfinding strategies in grid-based environments /li liHow to use XML to load and save game data /li liHow to use sound and music in games and create particle effects using blitting.  /li /ul h3Who this book is for/h3 p This book is for experienced Flash and ActionScript 3.0 developers who want to take their game design skills to a professional level. Readers should have a solid background in object-oriented ActionScript 3.0 programming, and may have attempted game projects of their own. If you have read emFoundation Game Design with Flash/em, then this book will be a natural next step for you. The book covers game design strategies and techniques common to many game design platforms—not just Flash—and will help you create top-quality games that are quick to build and easy to maintain. /p h3Table of Contents/h3ol liModeling Game Data /li liVectors: Ghosts in the Machine /li liCollisions Between Circles /li liCollisions Between Polygons /li liPixel-Perfect Collision and Destructible Environments /li liExplosions, Blitting, and Optimization /li liMake It Fun! Sound, Music, and AI /li liTile-Based Game Design /li liPathfinding /li liXML and External Data /li /ol