Looking for a flash tutorial - Gamebook anyone?
NeonSpyder
"Das est NTLDR?" Join Date: 2003-07-03 Member: 17913Members
"Das est NTLDR?" Join Date: 2003-07-03 Member: 17913Members
in Off-Topic
<div class="IPBDescription">Choose your own adventure for fun and profit</div>Hey, this topic isn't about my computer breaking in some way - isn't that awesome?
I'm actually looking for some kind of tutorial or any additional information on how to make a multi-branching Gamebook (Why don't any of the special functions like hyperlinking work? <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamebook" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamebook</a> )
Basically like those old choose your own adventure books but with a modern twist, namely Flash.
I've been looking into it, and while there are a few alternatives I don't like the idea of using a 3rd party system for writing and reading gamebooks since there's much lower incentive for people to download and install some obscure reader then just using flash. The other alternative is to write it out in HTML but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to write out any fancy code like "If player has visited page 55 then give them an extra option on page 64." unlike what's possible in flash.
Trouble is I've been having trouble finding any good tutorials on the subject, since flash is primarily an *animation* software program and not really popular for still frames, I've only been able to find one tutorial that described how to make a slideshow and one podcost that did a good job of describing the exact procedure I need to go through, but without the helpful *visual* components for me to make sense of what's happening when all his students go "OOOH look at what he did!"
The only functionality I need is for a relatively easy way in flash to visualize the seperate scenes or 'pages' for the book. So far I haven't been able to quite figure out a good way to do that. Aside from that maybe some suggestion of the code to use to describe the "If visited page # Then show option #" function.
Any ideas you guys?
I'm actually looking for some kind of tutorial or any additional information on how to make a multi-branching Gamebook (Why don't any of the special functions like hyperlinking work? <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamebook" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamebook</a> )
Basically like those old choose your own adventure books but with a modern twist, namely Flash.
I've been looking into it, and while there are a few alternatives I don't like the idea of using a 3rd party system for writing and reading gamebooks since there's much lower incentive for people to download and install some obscure reader then just using flash. The other alternative is to write it out in HTML but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to write out any fancy code like "If player has visited page 55 then give them an extra option on page 64." unlike what's possible in flash.
Trouble is I've been having trouble finding any good tutorials on the subject, since flash is primarily an *animation* software program and not really popular for still frames, I've only been able to find one tutorial that described how to make a slideshow and one podcost that did a good job of describing the exact procedure I need to go through, but without the helpful *visual* components for me to make sense of what's happening when all his students go "OOOH look at what he did!"
The only functionality I need is for a relatively easy way in flash to visualize the seperate scenes or 'pages' for the book. So far I haven't been able to quite figure out a good way to do that. Aside from that maybe some suggestion of the code to use to describe the "If visited page # Then show option #" function.
Any ideas you guys?
Comments
If it's a private group (classroom, family, etc) it'd be much easier to just go with PowerPoint, since that's what it's made for.
Unless you actually are wanting to have a book worth of content. If so, Flash and PowerPoint, as well as anything similar, are the wrong way to go. For that you'll need to know how to program some server-side languages such as PHP or JSP. Probably not what you're looking at. Of course you could also just make a Wiki out of the thing and turn off the index...
Also, are you interested in learning Flash, and just want to do this as one of your projects? Or do you want to do this one project as the only goal, and don't really care about learning flash? Because if it's the latter, I'm sure that someone else already has something like this done...
If it's a private group (classroom, family, etc) it'd be much easier to just go with PowerPoint, since that's what it's made for.
Unless you actually are wanting to have a book worth of content. If so, Flash and PowerPoint, as well as anything similar, are the wrong way to go. For that you'll need to know how to program some server-side languages such as PHP or JSP. Probably not what you're looking at. Of course you could also just make a Wiki out of the thing and turn off the index...
Also, are you interested in learning Flash, and just want to do this as one of your projects? Or do you want to do this one project as the only goal, and don't really care about learning flash? Because if it's the latter, I'm sure that someone else already has something like this done...<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
As far as I know, powerpoint was not designed with the multiple branching paths capability inherent in a choose your own adventure style format, unless you mean to... hmm, I can see how it could be used in that way, assuming it has hyperlinking capability built into the slides. Though I can now see how I might develop a similar type of system using flash.
The idea is to provide easy accessibility to the file using the web-friendly and 'one-container' aspects of flash, along with the fact that Flash sits on about 98% PCs it would be already playable on practically every computer without need for tinkering with third party programs such as powerpoint (which not everyone has installed).
Not a 'books' worth of content, since most of the Choose your own adventure books I remember generally had under 100 pages and that's including pictures. The wiki idea's not bad, but I'd like to be able to set the whole thing up in one file like flash, without having to set up a website.
Perhaps my desires are unconventional to want a gamebook style in flash, a bit like using a sledgehammer to peel an orange considering what the software can do, the next easiest alternative would seem to be HTML somehow, though I've never explored any javascript programming or PHP.
When are you planning on doing this? I'm working on a tutorial which is right up your alley.
To answer your question in brief...
Just make a different scene/frame for each page, and tell it to pause playback on each.
If you want to, you can track which frames they've visited so on the option pages you can provide options based on where they've been.
The hardest part is not the flash implementation. It is the content.
If you want some more help with setting this up let me know. I need to do it in the next few days anyways so I wouldn't mind if my work helps you too.
Re: what C3 said..
A website format is better if you have lots of text because it might be annoying to read pages and pages in flash. On the other hand, you can get a lot more interactivity in Flash.
It is not difficult in either to implement a choose your own adventure style book though.
The idea isn't to jump beyond maybe 100 pages (or frames) and to implement a combination of text, branching options and using pictures for every or every other page as well, which would make using flash a little more appropriate I think?
I've been poking around in flash, and after looking at a few unrelated tutorials I think It'll be the best option because:
a. If I find the need to do something at a later time, flash will most likely have the capability to do it - Animations, inventory management, stats, etc.
b. Learning flash would enable me to have more option and flexibility for any future projects, since it's the most popular tool by far for this sort of thing.
I think I have a halfway decent idea on how to do it in flash, I understand the process of button making and I think I'll be making the buttons out of text. i.e. "Go west" <- would be a button
The idea that each frame is a separate page is helpful, I understand somewhat the concept of the button linking and the gotoandstop function... but I am concerned with being able to keep track of all the different pages and frames, considering how the game is designed to branch and circle around in some places... I should probably hand-write a flowchart.
You can also use something called "scenes" in flash... If I remember correctly they are pretty much the same as a normal frame on the timeline, but it is kept separated for organizational purposes *.
Maybe you could put each node of your story into a scene (and in the scene would be the collection of pages), and then at the end of the scene you have the branching options which would bring you to a different scene (a different node in your plot graph / flow chart...)
* By this I mean, if you press play it will play frames 1-4 in scene 1, and then 1-4 in scene 2, etc... They're really all on the timeline together, but while working in flash the scenes are kept as separate timelines which could make things easier for you to keep track of.
The idea of an inventory is pretty cool. You could actually make it like the backpack in Resident Evil 4... Like you press the inventory button and up comes the backpack showing what you've picked up.
I think this is essentially what you are hoping to do with the "if player has visited page x"... If you created a backpack system like that you could just add items to it, and if it's a more abstract concept... like they insulted a key person, you could add an invisible item to their inventory (it wouldn't be shown to them, but you'd be able to check for it, code-side)
You also might want to look into mudlib and lpc.
There's the flash project at it's present point. If you don't get what is going on from that, I am writing a tutorial which I will be done with in a few days which will explain it more thoroughly.
NOTE: This includes frame labels so that you can move stuff around without breaking links, and keyboard input. Though the CYOA actionscript logic could be put in the frame, I am making this for a game development course so I wanted to show good practices rather than the easiest way.
p.s. I just woke up and so if this post is riddled with typos, that is why.
<a href="http://sky.freolic.com/a/imgd1001/tutorial1/" target="_blank">http://sky.freolic.com/a/imgd1001/tutorial1/</a>
Enjoy it.
I finished my second flash tutorial, for any who are interested. It teaches you how to make a top-down shooter:
<a href="http://sky.freolic.com/a/imgd1001/tutorial2/" target="_blank">http://sky.freolic.com/a/imgd1001/tutorial2/</a>
One more (How to make a Platformer) to finish before this job is done!
I feel a little bad having made this thread and everything and then not even being able to look at the tutorial specifically covering the topic at hand, but believe me when I say that I look forward to getting knee deep in those Tuts as soon as I'm free again.
Much <3 to the Psyke