Creating Game Objects

• Every game has objects. These could be game pieces, the game board or cards. One way to create game objects in Flash is to draw them with the Flash drawing tools. With Flash drawing tools you can draw straight lines, circles, squares, rectangles and triangles. You can also add color to the objects that you draw. With the flash text tool, you can also create game cards. Just select the text tool and draw a text box. Then add in text and select different colors from the Flash color palette.
  
  Although most of the Flash drawing tools are easy to use and self-explanatory, your best learning approach is to read a well-written Flash book. Look for a book that offers step-by-step instructions on the use of each drawing tool.
  
  

Creating Frames and Animations

• Frames are the basic component of a Flash animation. A frame is like a slide in a slide show. And a flash animation is a series of frames that are sequenced through at a high rate of speed.
  
  The simplest approach to create an animated flash game is to first create the frames on flash's timeline. Then on the first frame draw a graphic such as a circle with Flash's circle tool. On each successive frame, move the circle a little bit to the right. After you have finished run the animation. The circle will move from left to right.
  
  You can also add additional moving objects to the animation. One idea might be to add a rectangle that moves from the top of the Flash stage to the bottom. To do this, go back to the first frame. Then at the top of the stage draw a rectangle with Flash's rectangle tool. On each subsequent frame, place the rectangle such that it is slightly below the position of the rectangle on the previous frame. When you run the animation this time, you will see a circle moving from left to right and a rectangle moving from top to the bottom.
  
  

Flash Game Control

• To control objects on the stage with the mouse you must know the Flash actionscript programming language. If you are not skilled in computer programming, the best approach is to take a Flash course or find a tutor that can teach you actionscript basics. For interactive game control with a mouse, knowing how to use the actionscript's addEventListener method, function class and MouseEvent argument is critical. So focus your learning effort in these areas.