I was recently asked to give someone a sample of how to load an XML configuration file in AS3. It's a fairly simple thing to do, but I feel it is still is worth posting because it's one of those things you will probably have to do at some point. I have found that more and more of my games are built so that there is some sort of configuration file so that I can quickly swap out assets, change text in dialogue boxes, and other little tweaks that it just doesn't seem worth making the SWF all over again for.

Okay, okay. I know that things that scroll and whoosh and all that have gone out of style, but that doesn't mean that clients don't WANT them. This code snippet will show you how to create a scrolling pane on your web page that will automatically detect how much content is inside the DIV and make sure the content scrolls nicely in there.

Recently I read the Lost Garden article Flash Love Letter (2009) (part 2). In the article they cover the potential of Flash, how Flash devs currently make money, and ways of adding value to your game so players feel like they have gotten value for their dollar.EAVB_SLWGRGOIVR

I develop games not just on my own, but for a couple of government clients as well and one thing that the Government always has to be wary of is how tax dollars are being spent. If they use tax payer money on a game, they need to prove that the game is being played and that any educational material that is meant to be displayed is reaching the intended audience.

This tutorial covers one area of the article in particular, metrics and tracking actions in Flash. In the article they discuss using Google Analytics to track how much fun your players are having, but I prefer Clicky Web Analytics for a number of reasons. First because I find their dashboard is prettier and much more flexible, and second because I don't like to wait around to see if things are working, and Clicky has a fantastic feature called Spy that lets you see what players are doing in real time. Creepy? Maybe. Useful? Definitely.

Whether you love them or hate them, achievements in games are a common component that can add fun for your players and lead to repeat plays for developers. This tutorial covers the basics for creating achievements for your Flash game and implementing them using the GamerSafe API.

Game developers spend a lot of time thinking about light. The reason is simple: light can make or break a game. Light can be used both for effect and as a gameplay element- darkness can be used to mask enemies and provide surprise, and simple effects like a flash of white coupled with a clap of thunder can provide a sense of mood.

In this tutorial I will be going through some basic tactics for creating light and shadows in an ActionScript 3 based Flash game.