August 14th, 2009 by 
Adrian Parr
A couple of months ago I purchased Colin Moock’s Lost ActionScript 3.0 Weekend DVDs (Course 1 and Course 2). Basically, these two O’Reilly training DVDs were filmed over a weekend with Colin Moock, Hoss Gifford and James Paterson. They cover as lot of the material featured in Colin’s Essential ActionScript 3.0 book, but it is well presented in an informal and easy to digest manner. The training is broken up in to small, easily digestible chunks, which make it great to watch when you have a spare ten minutes here and there.
The video files provided on the DVDs are regular FLV files, and can be played back through the provided Flash Projector. Or, as I have done, convert the FLV files to MP4 (I used the now sadly discontinued VisualHub) and copy them across to your iPhone. This is a great way to improve your ActionScript 3.0 knowledge whilst on the bus or train.
I also purchased the electronic version of Learning ActionScript 3.0 by Rich Shupe and Zevan Rosser which comes in three formats (Mobi, PDF and ePub). The ePub version can be viewed on your iPhone using the free Stanza App (if you have a Kindle then the Mobi format will work well). I was pleasantly surprised how clear the text is and how easy it is to read on the small screen. Stanza works well and allows you to navigate around the sections, change the font size and colours etc.
Finally, if you haven’t already downloaded it, go and get Mike Chambers’ ActionScript 3.0 API Reference iPhone App. This puts the entire documentation for AS3 in your pocket. My only gripe is that the length of the line of text is quite long which makes the font become very small and difficult to read. It is a shame the text doesn’t wrap when you zoom in.
Posted in Uncategorized | 
1 Comment »
August 14th, 2009 by Adrian Parr
Yesterday I was taking a look at Balsamiq Mockups and liked the way that the mouse always pointed to the centre of the screen when in fullscreen mode. So I thought I’d quickly knock something to together that did this, and share it here.
It’s pretty simple stuff, but handy to have available to copy-and-paste, if you need something similar.
The code is all in the document class …
package
{
import flash.display.MovieClip;
import flash.events.Event;
import flash.events.MouseEvent;
import flash.ui.Mouse;
public class Main extends MovieClip
{
private var mouseIsOverStage:Boolean;
private var arrow:Arrow;
public function Main():void
{
arrow = new Arrow();
Mouse.hide();
stage.addEventListener(Event.MOUSE_LEAVE, onStage_MOUSE_LEAVE);
stage.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_MOVE, onStage_MOUSE_MOVE);
}
private function onStage_MOUSE_LEAVE(event:Event):void
{
mouseIsOverStage = false;
removeChild(arrow);
}
private function onStage_MOUSE_MOVE(event:MouseEvent):void
{
if (!mouseIsOverStage) {
mouseIsOverStage = true;
onStage_MOUSE_ENTER();
}
arrow.x = stage.mouseX;
arrow.y = stage.mouseY;
var dx:Number = arrow.x - stage.stageWidth/2;
var dy:Number = arrow.y - stage.stageHeight/2;
var radians:Number = Math.atan2(dy, dx);
arrow.rotation = radians * 180/Math.PI;
event.updateAfterEvent();
}
private function onStage_MOUSE_ENTER():void
{
arrow.x = stage.mouseX;
arrow.y = stage.mouseY;
addChild(arrow);
}
}
}
Download the source files here
Posted in ActionScript 3.0, Sample Code | No Comments »
August 13th, 2009 by Adrian Parr
I have just come across four great animations called Understanding Games. Each episode (1, 2, 3 and 4) looks at a different aspect of game design and is done in a simple, engaging and interactive way. I love the retro styling and the way the information is presented.
Whilst you are there (http://www.pixelate.de), check out the game called Mr Bounce.
Posted in Animation, Game, Infographics, Theory, Tutorials | No Comments »
August 12th, 2009 by Adrian Parr
I have just come across some great video tutorials for the Box2D physics engine in Flash AS3. They have been recorded by a chap called Todd Kerpelman. The website address is …
http://www.kerp.net/box2d/
He has over 70 screencasts on there going through the process of using Box2DFlashAS3.
I also found a few useful links over on a blog post by Matthijs Kamstra.
Posted in ActionScript 3.0, Tutorials | No Comments »
August 7th, 2009 by Adrian Parr
A blog focussing on the Open Source Media Framework has just been launched. Product Manager Sumner Paine has posted a couple of blog posts. I’d recommend adding their RSS feed to your aggregator of choice.
Find out more …
Posted in ActionScript 3.0, Adobe, Flash, Flex | No Comments »
August 6th, 2009 by Adrian Parr
Last week Mike Downey announced that he has taken a new job with the Microsoft Developer & Platform Evangelism team for Silverlight. Those of you that have been in the Flash world for a while will know that Mike was Flash’s senior product manager for a number of years. He has always been a great advocate of Flash, Interactive Media and RIAs. His departure from Adobe at the end of 2008 came as something of a shock and I was sure that we hadn’t seen the last of him. I think Microsoft have made a shrewd move employing the talents of Mike and I wish him well with his new position. The competition from Silverlight can only be a good thing for the Flash Platform and the RIA industry as a whole.
You can follow him on Twitter here.
Posted in Adobe, Flash, Silverlight | 2 Comments »
August 6th, 2009 by Adrian Parr
Over at 1stwebdesigner.com they have put together a list of 50 Flash Websites You Definitely Should See. There are some amazing sites on there to check out and take inspiration from. I’m pleased to see the likes of 2Advanced Studios, Magnetic North and Unit9 on there. I hadn’t come across this site before, but taking a brief look through there are some interesting acticles and great lists of things to inspire and educate.
Posted in Flash, Websites | No Comments »
