Actionscript 3.0: Game Programming University

Provides information on the basics of ActionScript programming along with source code for sixteen complete games.

As a youngster, Gary Rosenzweig was allowed to play video games whenever he wanted, as long as his homework was done first. His parents got him an Atari 2600 and an assortment of games. He loved to play Adventure, Asteroids, Pitfall, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and even that dreadful E.T. game.

 

At age 13, in 1983, his grandmother gave him a new TRS-80 Model III. The first thing he did with it was learn to program. And then, make games. He made some text adventure games, and then some RPG games, and then some arcade games. He was allowed to stay up all night making games, as long as his homework was done first.

 

In high school, Gary got to play with the Apple II computers pretty much whenever he wanted, as long as his schoolwork was done first. He made space shuttle simulators and spreadsheet programs. And some games.

 

Gary went on to study computer science in college, at Drexel University. There he was told that with his degree, he could go on to be a programmer at any high-tech firm making business applications. But he wanted to make games, even if it was on the side, after he got his work done first.

 

After a side trip to get a Master's degree in journalism and mass communication from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, Gary ended up getting a job where he could make games for kids using Macromedia Director.

 

Then, they invented the Internet. It was soon followed by Shockwave, a way to play Director content in web pages. Gary started making his own games for his own website in the evening,

after his work was done first.

 

In 1996, Gary started hiw own company, CleverMedia, to produce games for the Web. He was soon creating both Shockwave and Flash games with some of the most creative people he ever met. CleverMedia and its sites grew over the years to become the single largest collection of web-based games by a single company. Gary has created more than 300 games in the past 12 years, most of which can be found at CleverMedia's main game site, www.GameScene.com.

 

Gary also likes to share what he knows. His sites http://FlashGameU.com, www.Director-Online.com, and www.DeveloperDispatch.com contain information for other developers. He has also written many books, including Macromedia Flash MX ActionScript for Fun & Games, Special Edition Using Director MX, and Advanced Lingo for Games. Gary wrote this book mostly on evenings and weekends, after his other work was done first.

 

Gary lives in Denver, Colorado, with his wife, Debby, and daughter, Luna. Debby and Gary also own The Attic Bookstore, an unusual used bookstore in Englewood, Colorado. Luna is only 5 years old, but is already playing games on her Macintosh computer, after her homework is done first, of course.