This is a pretty decent book in an easy-to follow format which does a great job of providing information for it's stated purpose (Flash MX game programming).As an experienced programmer who just started toying with Flash, I would say this book certainly opened my eyes to the capabilities of Flash and Actionscript. After reading Chapter 6, it took about an hour to modify the "Space Invaders" type game into a "Math Blaster" game to help my son learn his multiplication tables.
It also does an admirable job of being useful for beginners and experienced programmers. For those already familiar with Javascript, there will be a lot of repeated material but the book's format makes this easy to skim through.
Now for the problems. First off, the index is one of the worst I've ever seen. I typically scan through an entire book to see what kind of information is available then use the index when I need to look up the specifics. This book might as well not have one. I finally started writing my own additions in the margins of the index pages.
The second problem probably isn't fair to mention but, because of the useless index, you will definitely still need a good Actionscript reference (is there one out there?). Again, to be fair, the book never claims to be a reference.
If you plan to program Flash games or just want to learn what Flash is capable of doing, read this book. If you're looking for a reference guide, move on (and please let me know when you find one).
Product Description
"Macromedia Flash MX/MX 2004 Game Programming" takes thereader on a journey through the evolving art of Flash gameprogramming. It is designed for everyone from the absolute beginner tothe salty veteran. The book begins with a full introduction to theFlash MX authoring environment. Unlike nearly all web game programmingbooks, this book doesn't suffer from a lack of depth and shy away fromthe more advanced concepts that occur in game development. The authorbuilds several games throughout the book, some of which focus heavilyon artificial intelligence while another set of games will concentrateon physics. These games will get into mass, velocity, acceleration;etc. Great care is taken to present the foundational information fullyand clearly to ensure readers are fully prepared for the challenges tocome. Flash often suffers from performance issues due to its heavychip dependence. The last chapters of this book focus heavily onperformance and optimization issues.
About the Author
Craig Murray's first computer program was in the early 1980's, using AppleBasic.He has a BS in computer Science from Purdue University, with a minor in Mathematics.
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