Tag Archives: flash
Hi,
months ago i wrote this post where i commented about a tool that adobe was developing that convert any fla into html5. on the same post i also talk about the eternal fight of flash vs html5 and the “end of flash”, i recommend you to give it a quick read. today adobe have released this tool to the public, you can download it from here
of course that the app is on a test phase, is not even a beta version, but i hope flash will continue the development converting it into a real product.
Regards,
Shadow.
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Hi,
recently, i have a problem with the flash content in a page that is customized by the user. the problem was that i popup a div with a higher z-index to show some info, this popup was not showing it in front of flash or youtube embed videos. and to make it more difficult, this content was load using ajax and even that i could filter the information or the html code, i prefered to make it using javascript.
here i will share with you the function that process all the objects, embed and youtube iframe tags and set the wmode that you want to them.
function setWmode(mode,reinsert,youtube){
if(youtube==true){
var allIframes=$(document.body).getElements('iframe');
allIframes.each( function (item, index){
if(item.get('src').test('http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/')){
item.set('wmode',mode);
item.set('src',item.get('src')+"?wmode="+mode);
if(reinsert==true){
var newElem= item.clone(true,true);
var parentElem= item.getParent();
item.destroy();
parentElem.grab(newElem);
}
}
});
}
var allObjects=$(document.body).getElements('object');
allObjects.each(function (item, index){
var allParams=item.getChildren('param');
var WmodeExist=false;
allParams.each(function (item2, index2){
if(item2.get('name')=='wmode'){
item2.set('value',mode);
WmodeExist=true;
}
});
if(WmodeExist==false){
item.grab(new Element('param', {name: 'wmode',value: mode}));
}
if(reinsert==true){
var newElem= item.clone(true,true);
var parentElem= item.getParent();
item.destroy();
parentElem.grab(newElem);
}
});
var allEmbed=$(document.body).getElements('embed');
allEmbed.each(function (item, index){
item.set('wmode',mode);
if(reinsert==true){
var newElem= item.clone(true,true);
var parentElem= item.getParent();
item.destroy();
parentElem.grab(newElem);
}
});
}
this function requires of 3 paramenters:
mode: the value of wmode to set
reinsert: what this make is, clone the iframe/object/embed, erase the original and insert it again on the same location. this is made when you load the content before you set the wmode, so you can restart the load of the flash object and the wmode will have effect.
youtube: process or not youtube videos
i hope it help you in some way and save you maybe some time 
Regards,
Shadow.
Related Post
Hi,
just today, seeing some news sites, i discover this video where adobe at the MAX 2010 show that is developing a tool that converts a .fla file into html5. seeing the video, i need to say that is a awesome thing and i feel excited about this new way that adobe is approaching the problem between the flash platform and the upcoming html5 standard. also i would like to express some opinions about the subject.
Flash as a tool, not as a platform
if you look on google for “flash vs html5″ or “the end of flash”, whatever you want, you will found a lot of articles complaining about how flash made our lives miserably, with his bad performance, his closed source code, the impossible integration with search engines etc.. but what the people forget in this era of fights for what is the best technology, is that flash allow us to bring the web (and after years, to other platforms) the interactivity, rich applications, games, video etc… but the most strong point in flash is that is the only tool that let you make content fast. is easy for the designer, why you have a well designer interface, integrating a timeline and a vector editor and a lot of other tools. is easy for the developer, why actionscript have classes as movieclips, bitmaps, etc… that let you handle the resources easily making rotations, transformations, etc…
the path that adobe is taking is the right one, sooner or later, html5 will be a reality, the people is using more and more the web for their day to day activities, and only in the PC, from several types of devices, and different from the era when the web was building, when the only king was IE, now we have a lot of strong competitors that i suppose they will respect the standards and implement the correct interpretations for the html5 code i think.
the AIR project was a good idea, but is too big and complicated, even for adobe, trying to adapt a client to all platforms, when it didn’t even worked flawless in the PC, is a impossible mission. stick with a universal standard, that will work in all devices, where the interpreter is even build by other companies, just focus in make a tool that let the people produce content easily.
i’m excited about this news, and i hope adobre will continue this path and focusing his efforts on this matter
Regards,
Shadow.
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Hi,
the game development indie/groups/companies appears and disappear every day, and in argentina are just a few in this business. just wanted to make a list and little review of the more relevant and still living projects, if you are looking for someone to make your game, or just want to contact them. also i know there are a lots of companies that make outsourcing, but i just wanted to list the small ones, to give them a little more of web presence.
if you have any suggestion for this list (add/change/delete any entry) just send me a email (david [AT] y-developments.info ) or make me a comment here.
be aware that the description (at least for the indies) are write in a funny way
indie people:
Tyranus
One of the promises in the indie world (?). he usually make that strange indie games, but at the same time, suitable for all the people, experimenting with the gameplay and the user experience. have improved her art skills in the last year, but anyway all his work have the correct art for the project. he usually work on flash, using flixel, and making pixel art. he is working now in a big and secret project that could change the world (ok maybe i’m exaggerating, but will be awesome anyway 
)
web: http://www.tyranus.com.ar/
contact: alejandro.adrian.iglesias[AT]gmail.com
2bam (nitram_cero)
The most ugly, crazy, and beared men in the argentinian indie scene. anyway, even with all his defects, is a good guy, with crazy ideas and *usually* know what he is doing. from a personal opinion, i’m amazed from his knowledge, he knows flash,c/c++,asm (?) and how to cook the rice xD. right now is working for a company making games (i’m not sure if a can say the name, sorry ) but he will be always a indie, making those flash and pixelated games. his last work was a entry for the last CODEAR, you can see it here. he also made a flixel map editor called flan, that you can see here
web: http://www.2bam.com/
contact: twobananasandmilk[AT]gmail.com
Daniel Bermegui
The indie Super Star, some people say that is a legend, other people say that have seen hus half-hair head (the urban myths says that he lost half of the hair making a art game called today i die ) i don’t know him too much, the last time i have seen some comics drawn by him, that i think still needs work, dunno what is he doing now, usually his project are a secret at least for me )
web: http://www.ludomancy.com/
contact: daniel[AT]ludomancy.com
Martin Gonzalez
martin is….. martin great experience making games, one of the founders of DarkSpell games, and creator WAK. he also developed several commercial games in companies as joju games, sabarasa etc.. right now is working in vostu and making a top down killing zombies games, i hope we could see it soon
web: i think don’t have one
Puelo Games
My old friend, puelo, he also make games ! he started making clones and is still doing it but is making some original project that we hope could see soon right now is working in a innovative TD type game, and making snowboard in his 5 star resort in rio negro (?) (yes, he is a eXtreme dev )
web http://www.puelogames.com.ar/
contact puelogames[AT]gmail.com
il Mare Games
another one that i don’t know too much, anyway his work have improved a lot from their first games. dunno what is doing now.
web http://ilmaregames.com.ar/
Small groups and companies
Heavy Boat
a small company formed by 2 experienced professionals in the game industry, david roguin (another founder of DarkSpell games, that worked also in tons of games in companies as QB9) and Juan (founder of 9a18 studio, that also worked in QB9) and also a great artist called leo, who really make amazing art pieces. they are working and making project for big and important companies, and also producing their own original projects, if you are looking for a company that could convert your idea into a reality, this is one of the best choices 
. also, if you are developer, is a MUST to read their devlog.
contact: contact[AT]heavyboat.com
Killabunnies
a group of 3 people that live and work on santa fe, away from the capital of the country, but producing amazing and innovative stuff. the team is composed by Luciano Vairoli, leader and game designer, with a career developing games from the stone age (and i’m being serious here). he made games for 486 DX, and consoles as atari. the other 2 members are a as3 dev (mariano obeid) and a artist (andres miranda). his biggest hit is a puzzle game called bubba time a game that mix the control of the time as braid with salomon key. a great and polished product indeed. they are available to make projects, so, give him a shout
web http://www.killabunnies.com.ar/
contact info[AT]killabunnies.com.ar
Jengibre
a game dev company managed by Andres Martinez Quijano, they focus to outsource and make advergames. they made great games for famous companies and sites as Taringa! and Fox. if you look for quality advergames, this is a good option.
contact: info[AT]jengibre.com.ar
South Winds Games
SWG is a company focused to produce family casual games and managed by Juan Pablo Ferreyra. they have 3 successful games that you can buy here
web http://www.southwindsgames.com/
contact contact[AT]southwindsgames.com
and that’s all buddies, i hope this could help you in some way, if you want to be in this list, just send me a email or write a comment in this post
PD: i’d like that ipsilon development could be there, but we are not making games at this moment, and i dunno when we could make them again 
Regards,
Shadow.
Related Post
Hi,
recently come up to the net 3 important contests to develop android compatible games with flash, the prizes are good, and is sponsored by adobe, if you are interested, are this:
in FGL: ?http://www.flashgamelicense.com/sponsor_pages/adobe/? there are 30.000 USD in prizes, 150 winners.
in mochimedia: http://mochiland.com/articles/announcing-the-mochi-made-for-mobile-contest-with-adobe here are 15.000 USD in prizes, less winner tough
in kongregate: http://www.kongregate.com/pages/mobile-game-contest like 30.000 USD in prizes.
anyway, check the rules of the contest (the detail ones, the user agreement) why usually just for winning or entering a contest like this you are giving to the sponsor a non-exclusive sponsorship.
Regards,
Shadow
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Hi,
when i installed the new 9.10 ubuntu in my new notebook, i realized time after the problem with the clicks in some flash app’s. was really troublesome, like see youtube videos or any other flash app i wanted to use/try.
today, after like 6 months with this problem i found the solution on this blog (in spanish). basically you need to edit the npviewer like this:
sudo gedit /usr/lib/nspluginwrapper/i386/linux/npviewer
and add this line before the last one:
export GDK_NATIVE_WINDOWS=1
save it and restart any browser that you have running
Regards,
Shadow.
Related Post
Hi,
i wanted to write some posts explaining the ways to get money from the web development, and for this first article i going to start talking about flash games.
just a little warnings, all of the exposed here is what i learned from other blogs, forums and people that are in the industry, i tried some methods and other i do not, so, take it as an opinion and not as a fact, i learned with the pass of the time that anything in business is a fact, everything that you think going to go okay could go wrong and vice versa, the only thing you can do is read, learn and try it yourself.
Flash the low entry platform
in my opinion flash is one of the best tool to start with the game development, and here i going to list the most important reason:
- learn curve is not too big as other languages
- have a lot of tools and functions for graphics operation
- exist a market for the flash games today
- you do not need to put a penny to develop in flash, you have great IDE and compiler to create your games
- there are lots of libraries ready for your animation, physics, network etc.. management
Flash games, how to make money from it?
there exist several ways to make money from it, you just need to see what fit better for your capacity of development and the games that you are aiming to make.
game sposnor: the game sponsor consist in that the game portals, pay you a fixed amount 1 time to put her logo and link into your game. there are several types of licensing, exclusive, non-exclusive etc.. each of them have different amount of revenue and obligations from the developer, usually is a common agree between the portal owner and the developer. the only and best portal for this, is flashgamelicense.com, there you can upload your game and the portal are able to test it and send you a offer to sponsor it. also recently has been launched the Mochi Fund, a sponsor program controlled my mochimedia. this is usually the most secure way to get a good money from your games, maybe it take a while to find a good sponsor (up to 1 month) but it can worth the effort
micro transactions: this type of revenue come directly from the user, you offer the game for free but the users need to pay to access extra content (as levels, custom character etc..). it usually have success in multi player or premium games, and you have several already made solutions for this as, gamersafe and mochicoins. the problem with this system is that the charge you 30% to 50% of your revenue and at the same time is not easy make a balanced game with the enough free content and attractive pay content, is usually used for mid-big projects
outsourcing-clone game: maybe this is the most hated of all the way to make money. if you are just starting and need fast funding to continue or want fast money, this is the short path. is like working as a freelancer, usually the portal owners request you to make a game “like this” with new art and maybe some change, you usually have a low rate but is secured money why you are just doing what the portal want and he decide all the game design stuff.
in-game ads: if you want to make your own creations whiteout taking in consideration standards or already proved gameplay, this going to be maybe your only option to make profit from your game. there are 2 main ads network, CPMstar and Mochiads, i used mochiads and is very good but the problem with this type of revenue is that you need to have a lots of gameplay (we are talking about millions) to make some hundred bucks and if you released a game with ads, is difficult to find a sponsor that want to pay a license for it.
donations: maybe this is the most “indie” way to make money from your games. of course that from here you can’t even expect get any money, as it depends from the willing of the people and that depends in the target of people that is reaching your games. usually is very good used for non-conventional games (and not only made it in flash).
Conclusion:
basically here i detail the different revenue sources that you can get making flash games, but at the end just depend of what is your capacity of making games and what you are aiming (make original games or just make money from it). is proved that the art and the original ideas can make a lot of money, but is just proved by a few smart people that was able to find the balance between art and diversion.
i hope this post has been useful for you in some way
Regards,
Shadow.
Related Post
Hi,
today i wanted to share the final and absolute way to embedded fonts in as3 for flashdevelop or flex, why is something that is not real clear when you search in internet and like you usually don’t get warning and that stuff when something is wrong, is hard to diagnostic the problem.
this is an example class using a embebbed font:
package{
import flash.display.Sprite;
import flash.text.TextField;
import flash.text.TextFormat;public class test extends Sprite{
[Embed(source = "C:/7theb.ttf", fontFamily = "7th Service",fontStyle="normal", fontWeight = "bold", mimeType = "application/x-font")]
private var theboldfont:Class;
public var txtFormat:TextFormat = new TextFormat();
public var textTest:TextField = new TextField();
public function test(){
txtFormat.font = new theboldfont().fontName;
txtFormat.color = 0xFFFFFF;textTest.embedFonts = true;
textTest.defaultTextFormat = txtFormat;
textTest.text=”Testing font”;
}
}
}
now, let analyze the code:
1)the EMBED tag:
maybe this will be the most common source of the problems when you need to embebbed a font. in the example, the font have 5 parameters:
source: this is where the font file is located, as you see, even it’s windows. is needed to use / and not \ as is commonly use for this OS
fontFamily: this is basically the fontFamily that the font belongs, to know it just open the font and you will see it
fontStyle: this is as the word say, the style of the font, can be normal, italic etc..
fontWeight: this could be bold or normal
mimeType: for fonts is always: application/x-font
also there are other properties that can be defined:
fontName: this is the name of the font, if you open the font you will see it and you can define it (some times is necessary but other times broke the code and the font is now showing, like the example i put here)
usually the use of this tag is something of try and fail thing with each font, some fonts will work with all parameters, others you just need to ignore them or you put the wrong family name, weight or style.
then following with the code, we are setting the textFormat.font instancing a new object from the class “theboldfont” that is the one that keeps the properties of the embebed font. in the same line we access to the fontName property that the class have to assign this value to the textFormat.font property.
them, line below, we set the property embebedFonts to true in the textField object and the defaultTextFormat to the textFormat previously defined. i tried to use the function setTextFormat for this also but didn’t work, maybe is why i’m using flash develop but i do not know why
and we are done ! you have embebbed your font and should be working
if not, check and play with the properties of the embed tag, adding/changing/erasing the attributes.
i hope it help you to save some hours of work
Regards,
Shadow.
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Hi,
something weird that happened to my 2 days ago, i was working in a component that load images in a slideshow gallery, and like can load images from other url’s that are not where the swf is hosted, you can’t access the content of the loader for the security policies of flash, so the only way to show the loaded images is getting the loader (and in bulkloder the Loader-get(ID).loader don’t work also).
the solution was easy, just update your version of bulkloader to the last revision where this bug has been fixed
just i wanted to share this tip so someone else don’t lose time searching for it
Regards.
Shadow.
Related Post
Hi,
today in this post i going to explain how to use this helpful class that have the purpose to call and receive the return of javascript functions from the flash enviorment.
Basically the function that make the trick is call(), this static function let you call any existent javascript function in the current document and get the returned value if exist.
in an example:
Flash side:
import flash.external.ExternalInterface;
var result:String=ExternalInterface.call(“alertFunction”,”Hello World”);
trace(result);
Javascript Side:
function alertFunction(message){
if(alert(message)){
return true;
}else{
return false;
}
}
As you see, in the flash part we are calling statically the call functions and passing as first parameter the name of the javascript function and secondly and string, that are the parameter required by the javascript function. there is no limit in the amount of parameter that can be passed to the call function and going to be passed to the javscript function when is called. also as you see, we are storing the value returned by the javascript function in a variable also to use it later.
it’s useful method to manipulate html info or elements from the flash using this function as a bridge.
as far as i know, it work also on actionscript 2 but i’m not sure. also this work on the major browser that have javascript supported but again, i’m not sure if it work in all (example: IE6, IE7 etc..)
i hope it help you to use this function and if you need more reference, just look at the adode docs
Regards,
Shadow.
