Tag Archives: games

Rugby game, AS3 – CE – haXe versions

AS3, Citrus Engine, Flash, Games, Haxe, Programming, , , ,

Two weeks ago at school we made a simple rugby game with graphics provided.
I take this opportunity to compare how I develop the game if I use different framewok :

– in AS3 with linked list and object pooling (refers to this previous tutorial). Obviously it is a little game, and we don’t need complex optimization, but that was a good implementation exercice. Moreover I’ve updated my class 😉

– with the Citrus Engine, managing Box2D. It was not easy to handle physics to have the same result that the basic AS3 version, and actually it is not the same (there is some inertia), but I really like how Box2d handle collision. We can manage before collision, the beginning and the ending. It is really more precise than a hitTestObject. Moreover we can separate art from physic body, and so change easily the “collision box”.

– last night, with lbineau we made a programming evening around haXe (and some beers 🙂 ). The idea was really simple : make the same game, using existing AS3 classes with haXe. I have already given a chance to haXe previously and saw how powerful it is. This time, I see how easy it is to use previous AS3 code. I didn’t rewrite my Opponent and Player class! And I used the fla to link graphics without any trouble! However I’m a bit disappointed : I used most of the time original AS3 objects instead of haXe primary objects. What I need right now is FDT5 with its full haXe support! Can’t wait for it… Oh! If you’re interesting by haXe, you should take a look on NME, it seems to be amazing.

The zip with the three versions.

Doubly linked list and object pooling

AS3, Data Structures, Entity/Component System, Games, Object Pooling, Programming, , , , , , , ,

After holidays, it’s time to get back to work 🙂
I was really busy last month, so this is some news on what I did and what is going on :

– I’ve made some experiments with the Citrus Engine on the Hero adding some functionality. But what appears is the Hero class becomes more and more complex… So I asked its creator if he knows a system/model which has a modular way to add features to the hero. And he gives me some information about the Entity/Component model. Woah, it is awesome! It’s really a new way of thinking about programming. No more OOP. This is 3 useful links/resources if you are interested : Gamasutra the Entity Component Model, Entity Systems are the future of MMOG development, Entity Systems. This links are very interesting, but there isn’t any implementation. You can find implementations with the PushButton Engine (flash), Artemis (java). However it is really complex, so I was not able to create a Component/Entity System for the CE due to my lack of experience… but if its creator has time, he will do!

– I was in holidays at Praha (Czech Republic), amazing city/country! And beer is really cheap 🙂

– I’m currently reading the book of Jesse Schell, The Art of Game Design it’s a masterpiece! Really, really interesting, lots of awesome advices. Approved & Recommended!

– I’m working/designing my next portfolio. It will be nice… 😉

– On Thursday 15 September, I go back to the Gobelins school! And I will make a point with Tiffany about Kinessia. We are thinking to create the game for mobile. I hope we will have enough time (there are already lots of project at school…), so stay tuned!

– Mobile, tablet and game design/programming is interesting me more and even more. This is two good links on mobile game programming : Starting with AIR for Android and iOS – building one app for both platforms, and Building mobile games in Adobe AIR – optimization techniques.

– And finally I’m also waiting FDT5 to invest more time in haXe and WebGL!

I think it’s enough for the news at the moment! Now it’s time to speak about the topic, this week I wanted to make some algorithms, doubly linked list and object pooling are a good exercice. Previously I made an oral in my school to introduce recurisivity and data structures (pdf link in french). Doubly linked list and object pooling are techniques optimizations used in game development and especially on mobile devices.

Continue reading Doubly linked list and object pooling →

Create a ladder for the Citrus Engine

AS3, Box2D, Citrus Engine, Flash, Games, Physics, , , , ,

Hi, today a quick post about how to create a ladder for the Citrus Engine.
It is a preview version, Michael Kerr requested me for his flash game scripting class !

I’m working with Eric to add it into the original package !!

So here is the result : the ladder in action

Continue reading Create a ladder for the Citrus Engine →

Teleporter, treadmill and cannon

AS3, Box2D, Citrus Engine, Flash, Games, Physics, , , ,

After my game school project (Kinessia), I’m still doing some experiments with the Citrus Engine.

On its latest update, there was some new objects :
– a powerful particle system.
– new objects : missile, reward and reward box.

In this tutorial, I wil explain how to create new specific object which extends a Citrus Engine object.
At the end, we will have : a teleporter, a treadmill and a cannon that fires missile !
An ugly example.

Continue reading Teleporter, treadmill and cannon →

Box2D with the WorldConstructionKit

AS3, Box2D, Games, Physics, , , ,

Before the weekend, I suggest to dig into the Box2D API for Flash with the great WorldConstructionKit.
Box2D is a physical engine wrote in C++ and translated into many languages such as Java, Objective-C, AS3, JavaScript…

For ActionScript3, there are 2 ports : Boris the brave’s port, and the WCK. You can find a performance comparison here made by Allan Bishop.
The WCK is the best thanks to the Alchemy port : it translates the C++ into something which can be understable by Flash. More information here.

The WCK provides a “a toolset / framework for rapidly developing physics based games / websites within the Flash IDE. WCK allows you to layout your 2d worlds / game levels entirely within Flash and have them hook into the physics simulation without writing any code.”

Continue reading Box2D with the WorldConstructionKit →