Flash MX 2004 Games : Art to ActionScript

Flash MX 2004 Games
if it is only drawing a small section of the screen as opposed to the whole stage. Sometimes the
best technique for achieving a high frame rate is to have a background where most of the design
remains static. Figure 5.8 shows an overhead view of a section of road. This background was used
for a game with a man running along the pavement. In the black and white version shown here it
may be difficult to see the image as a road and you are advised to look at the colour version on the
CD, which is much easier to understand. The narrow double line forms the edge of the road; two
yellow lines indicate a no-parking zone in the UK where this game was first used. The strip to the
left is green grass. Reading from left to right, the stripes are grass, pavement, road markings and
road. None of these elements would change if you were flying over the road in a helicopter, so to
give the illusion of movement we need an item to move down the screen. In the game we used
a fence between houses, fire hydrants and post boxes. These moved down as the player stayed in
the middle of the screen, suggesting movement along the road. Because only a small area of the
screen is changing the frame rate is maintained even on a slower computer.
Figure 5.8 Keeping it simple to allow for scrolling
Using abstract imagery
Another interesting technique for creating backgrounds is to use abstract imagery or imagery
derived from type. Figure 5.9 shows the background of a game that featured the pop group
‘Steps’. At first glance you may well have missed that the shapes at the top of screen form the word
steps. A second look makes it easy to see the letters. The graphic that forms the word was used
repeatedly with a fading effect to create the remainder of the background design.
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