“Create something which does something”
What will I make?
For this module I will design and create a working prototype of a single player shooter game. I plan to produce a modern version of the classic asteroids game released in 1979 by Atari Inc. Using Adobe Flash CS3 and the Flash Media Server 3 I will create an updatable scoring system, which will enable a real time data, users will be able to potentially watch other players climb the rankings on the score board. Sticking to the set criteria I will use an object orientated approach to the design and structure of the coding. Objects will also take on “lifelike behaviours”, for this I will give objects their own set of individual characteristics, for example dynamic speed, gravity and so forth. Bee’s will fly and the plane will have a thrust like momentum, bullets will also act in a projectile way relevant to the current speed of the plane.
Game functionality:
Following the original concept of asteroids, with a modern touch the user will be presented with a series of levels on which he/she must progress. This is done by killing enemy bees on the stage, this will enable the user to gain points and advance to the next level. Collisions with the bees results in damage to the players health, this adds to the gaming experience giving the game some level of difficult , which will intensify as the user progresses.
Things to consider:
As the game will be creating objects dynamically along with movieclips and actionscript code (a significant number of them), I will need to consider how I will manage these objects and create effective ways to reduce and remove them when they are no longer needed, reducing the overall load on the operating system. Updating the score via the FMS will also be done in a way that reduces network traffic, enabling even the lowest of bandwidth users the opportunity to run the game effectively without lagging or delay.
To minimise code and to utilise simpler/effective ways of coding I will adopt the object orientated way of coding, creating 3 master actionscript classes Bee.as, Bullet.as, and Plane.as. Each of which will have their own characteristics and functions.
Tags: ActionScript, Flash, FMS, idat, idat311
