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Warriors Adventure Game

February 10th, 2010

I have not read Erin Hunter’s Warriors series. I have yet to delve into the dark world of killer cats. It’s not that I’m against the series, considering how much I enjoy a good Brian Jacques killer mice novel.

While flipping through Hunter’s The Fourth Apprentice, I was looking for the adventure game that is included since I’m always a fan of games.

Picture my excitement when I found a hybrid of the Choose Your Own Adventure/Lone Wolf stories. There’s an adventure for a narrator to lead a group down a series of paths.

But then imagine my surprise when I saw a reference to stats and a character sheet. It’s not just a Choose Your Own Adventure, it’s more like a paper and pencil role-playing game. Very exciting. You don’t have to use someone else’s concept for a character – you can make your own. I’m a hug fan of these types of RPGs because of their storytelling aspects, so I applaud Erin Hunter for taking the series in this direction.

You can find out more about the adventure game by clicking here.

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Posted in Fantasy, Game

Continuing in Isometrics: A hero stepping on a tile

February 1st, 2010

We started with this great game engine and we edited the arrays to add walls at different locations on the map. This week we’re going to add a custom floor tile that:

  • Checks to see if the hero is standing on the tile.
  • If the hero is on the tile, sends the entire Flash timeline to the next frame.

First let’s make sure we know how to recognize the hero stepping on a tile.

  1. Open up your project file from last week. (Remember: the original file can be found here if you were gone.)
  2. Open up the project’s library.
  3. Right-click/CTRL+click on the ’tile100′ movie clip in the library. Choose ‘Duplicate’.
  4. Name it ’tile101′. Make sure to click the checkbox next to Linkage: Export for ActionScript.
  5. Double-click the ’tile101′ movie clip to edit it. Double-click the square and select a new color from the paintbucket for it.
  6. Click on Scene 1 to go back to the main timeline.
  7. Click on the frame with all the ActionScript in it. To edit the ActionScript, click on the arrow in the frame’s Properties window.
  8. Look for the code that reads:

    _root.onEnterFrame = function():Void
    {
    input(); // Handle keyboard movement
    return;

    };
    Let’s add a message that pops up, showing that the exit was stepped on. We’ll use the trace function for that:
    _root.onEnterFrame = function():Void
    {
    input(); // Handle keyboard movement
    if(canvas.map[hero.y][hero.x] == 101) trace("Exit");
    return;

    };

A message should pop up in the debugger window with the word “Exit” showing up while you step on the tile.

Now that we can tell if the tile is being stepped on, see if you can figure out how to send the hero to a new map.

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Posted in Flash, Future Professionals, Game

Isometric Game Engine

January 26th, 2010

Isometric perspective is a way to use 2D images to create a 3D environment. Flash normally operates in 2D images; Chris Lindsey created a game engine in Flash to represent a 3D environment. The engine does require ActionScript 3, though, so it won’t run properly in ActionScript 2.

A game engine is not a game in itself- it is the power behind the game. Programmers will design an engine to run their video game and then license that engine to other game developers. Here’s a list of some of the current game engines out there.

Things to look at in this game engine:

  1. There are no movie clips on the stage to begin with. The code places the movie clips onto the stage when you test the movie/make the .SWF file.
  2. All of the code is in just one frame. You don’t have to search all over for it – this is really appreciated.
  3. There’s a giant array of numbers.
    Photobucket
    This is your map. If it says ’200′, that’s a wall piece that gets placed. If it says ’100′, that’s a floor piece.
    Photobucket

Save a copy of the .FLA file so you have the original and then one to work with. Try editing the ‘hero’ movie clip. Draw your artwork on a new layer inside the movie clip. You can then delete the original box image layer. To help you out, you can turn the box layer into an outline by clicking on the colored box on the layer (in this picture it’s yellow).
Photobucket

Once you get used to how the artwork is set up, try expanding the map by adding a new line of 100s and 200s in the ActionScript.

Click on the game to play it. Use the arrow keys to move your character around.

The .FLA file with all of the code can be found by clicking here.

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Posted in Flash, Future Professionals, Game

Looking Glass Wars 3: Arch Enemy by Frank Beddor

January 21st, 2010

Frank Beddor was the first author that I hosted in my library, so the Looking Glass Wars has a bit of nostalgia for me. When I read Beddor’s books, I can hear his voice coming through (and when the narrative gets excited, I remember when he jumped on a desk and yelled to the kids).

Arch Enemy has the same fun from the other books. Hatter Madigan shows up (I’d be angry if he didn’t) complete with his Millinery arsenal. As in Seeing Redd, we witness more of the Hatter’s family life. This book definitely has an emphasis on developing the character of Homburg Molly. She’s the one to show up in England and interact with the Liddells and Charles Dodgson.

We get to see more of Dodgson’s day-to-day life. What makes it LGW, though, is when the assassin with razor blade fingerprints shows up to harass the Liddells.

You definitely need to read the first two books in order to understand Arch Enemy. It had been a couple of years since I did, so it took me some time to recall the plotline of the others. Beddor does a good job of re-describing characters but does not spend much time re-telling history.

If you’re a fan of the caterpillar oracle council, you get to see the whole rainbow discussing the fate of Wonderland. Part of the intrigue is trying to figure out the caterpillars’ motivation. Pay attention to them, though, because their part grows throughout the book.

For me the ending seemed kind of rushed. I was reading, thinking, “There’s ten pages left…how is this going to resolve?” I pictured Alyss and Dodge as in their teens but then some artwork inside the book makes Dodge look more Han Solo-ish. Also, there’s a marriage proposal brewing that came out of nowhere. Sure, it adds to the relationship with Alyss and Dodge, but it seemed kindof tacked on to me. I’d be interested to hear other people’s thoughts.

This is an enjoyable book and fans of the series won’t be disappointed. It says that it’s the conclusion of the trilogy, but Beddor left the world wide open for more exploration. Expect more Hatter comics and online games.

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Posted in Action, Flash, Game, Sci-fi

Spielberg Wants in on the 39 Clues

December 7th, 2008

Steven Spielberg is scheduled to direct the 39 Clues movie. I read the first one and enjoyed it, but this announcement came out over the summer. It shows just how much financial backing this series is getting if a movie is discussed even before students start reading it.

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Posted in Game

Cooper’s Road

May 21st, 2008

This is Cooper’s Road, a game made for his Advanced Computers final. Nice job!
Use the mouse to move around, avoiding the oncoming traffic.

Here’s the .swf file.

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Posted in Game

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