Getting started

Welcome.


This tutorial series will cover some of the most important elements of ActionScript 3, which is the programming language that you'll be using to create Flash games. 

By the end of this tutorial you'll be able to make a Flash game.

The first thing you'll need is a proper IDE to work with. For this tutorial, we'll be using FlashDevelop, which is one of the best tools for the job and it's totally free.


 Why FlashDevelop?

As stated above; Flash Develop is totally free which is by itself enough reason to use it. It's also 100% text-based, this means no drag-and-drop, no Paint-like stage to draw, no timeline... in other words, it looks like a coding IDE, which prevents a lot of bad coding habits. If you ever plan to learn another coding language, you'll be happy of this choice because most programming tools look and work like FlashDeveleop.

And why ActionScript 3?

AS3 is the most recent and most powerful version of the language. Its also more object-oriented than AS2, which leads to better code organization and best practices. Not to mention that is way, way faster than its predecessor.

Getting started.

Before getting into the code and the game, you need to get the tools to make it.

Download and install the latest version of FlashDevelop.

Then get Flex and install it somewhere (your FD folder is a good place).

Now we need to tell FD the location of Flex, which is the tool that we'll be using to compile (produce the SWC) our games.

• 1.- Open FlashDevelop.      
• 2.- Tools.
• 3.- Program Settings.
• 4.- AS3 Context.
• 5.- Set Flex SDK Location to the folder where you installed Flex.

 

Just one more download and we'll be ready...

•  1: Download the Projector content debugger.
•  2: Go to Tools ► Program Settings ► FlashViewer
•  3: On the ''External Player Path'' field set the location of the EXE file that you downloaded.

Now you have all the necessary tools to make a Flash game.

Some recommendations before you start:

• Type the code by yourself. Don't copy and paste. 
• If you don't understand something, look for it on the Live Docs
• Understanding is the key. If you understand how code works, you'll be able to do anything.

Main                                        Chapter 1: The basics