Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
of specifications and design documents; we are talking about creating a code base that
can be used, reused, updated, and expanded upon as your development takes shape
over the course of many projects. This topic's game framework was a very good
example of this. We were able to create code that could be reused for nearly every
game in this topic by laying down the framework first. However, that framework was not
set in stone. We updated it, iterated it, and kept it relevant, even as the games expended
and became more and more in-depth. At the same time, we made many different
games, but all made use of the same framework. The planning that went into the game
framework benefitted every project that came after it.
Practice
: We started the topic by making some very simple games. The Balloon Saw
game from Chapter 1 was really just a slight modification on the Atari arcade game
Avalanche and the first catch games like Activision's Kaboom!. Those games were some
of the very first arcade and video game contests. Over the course of 12 chapters, you
iterated, practiced, refactored, and iterated some more until you were making games like
the most modern arcade, casual, and web games around. We did this simply by making
games. You can read all the game development topics in the world that you want, but
unless you actually put those words into practice, you still will never make a game.
You've finished this topic, but we are not done with you. We encourage you to visit this topic's
web site at
www.8bitrockert.com
or
www.friendsofed.com
if you have not already done so. At
these sites, you can get access to the code from this topic, discuss games and development on
the forums, and even read new Web-only tutorials and content about Flash games and the Flash
game world. We'd love to meet you, play your games, and welcome you into the world of Flash
game development. We hope to see you there.
In a sense, we now leave you with the eleventh game theory. We showed you how to make ten
different games in this topic and gave you the tools to make your eleventh game. What will that
game be? We are anxious to find out.
