Beginning Flash Game Programming for Dummies

by Andy Harris

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... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0764589628
• ISBN13: 9780764589621
• Release Date: November 2005
• Publisher: For Dummies
• Length: 416 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 7.3" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Best book about making games in flash

This book teach you all the skills you need, to make a great flash game. It is very easy to understand, even for me who was a totally newbie to programming and beside that, have English as my second language. If you are a totally newbie to flash programming and want to make some great games fast then this book is for you!

Great for Beginners. Highly recommended

I bought about 4 books about getting started in flash and gaming, and this one was far and away the best. Great examples, step by step walkthroughs. I actually still use some of the examples as referece in creating new games. Highly recommended for beginners.

Excellent book

I highly recommend this book. I was impressed with the clarity of writing and the depth of ideas. I previously bought other books about Flash and Actionscript, but none of them come close to the quality of this book. You won't regret buying this book!

Your Adventure Begins Here

I am a non-programmer computer user (video editor, Photoshop artist) who came to Flash intrigued but overwhelmed with the prospect of using something called "ActionScript." After several years using Flash for authoring personal web projects, I grew hungrier. Hungry to somehow make basic 2-D games inspired from plonking away on my Apple II all those years ago (Wizardry, Lode Runner, Zork, etc.) Lo and behold, when I spied Andy Harris' "Beginning Flash Game Programming for Dummies" on the bookshelf at Border's, I found the book I had been waiting for. There are dozens of Flash books out there now, it's easy to get lost in a maze of choosing the right one. What makes this book stand out from the rest is that it makes the F in Flash stand for Fun and not for Frustrating. Harris' prose is funny, fascinating and easy to follow, which for this programming newbie is a must. But don't be fooled by the "easy to read" dynamic. Harris also makes sure you get another big F in Flash, that of Fundamentals, which helps you start "thinking" like a programmer, even if you're just a fan of games so far. Already, the choose-your-own adventure game example (in Chapter 3) has rocked my world. Okay, so I'm a little excited. What can I say? After hours combing thru Flash MX and now Flash Pro 8, I've found the secret guidance counselor I was missing so far in the School of Code. If you've got Flash, and you've got game, get this 392-page treasure trove right now, please. Thank you.

A diamond in the rough

This book is a really excellent *programming* introduction to Flash; apparently the only one of its kind on the market! I consider myself a "programmer" type, and had been turned off by most of the other introductory Flash material that I'd encountered, which was mostly designed for graphic designers who wanted to avoid programming. Even the most basic introductory ActionScript books out there begin by assuming you already know how to make a pretty good Flash movie, which is really terrible, because you have to unlearn a lot of so-called "advanced" Flash-animation techniques to get good at Flash programming. As a programmer, you should be able to read through this book in a day... Then spend another day or two working on the official exercises. You could then easily blow weeks on this book's ten "starters" (available for free on fordummies.com): unfinished games whose final implementation is left up to your imagination. These are a fantastic resource; finishing the exercises and starters will prepare you to read the other Flash introductory in a new light.