Flash Actionscript

As a Senior Multimedia Developer, I worked with a Senior Software Engineer to develop the ActivePlatform, the new platform for delivering ELT Digital product via physical media (CD-ROM / DVD-ROM) or via a website url. Detailed below are the activity components I developed.

Screenshot of boardgame digital activity

Boardgame

Classroom based activity. Any boardgame artwork can be loaded. An on-screen spinner and dice are available. Player's drag and drop the counters via mouse or iwb pen control.

Developed in actionscript 3. Game parameters and content are specified via an XML file. Different XML files can be passed to the flash swf, so multiple varying instances of the game can be created at runtime. XML Parameters include specifying the game board artwork. This could be a swf containing extra interactive elements. Also, the number and colours of the counters, optional on-screen instruction text, positions of on-screen elements and optional audio player.

Screenshot of colouring game digital activity

Colouring Game

This is a single-player game which begins with a line drawing of a picture, without colour and a paint palette. The player has to paint the picture by selecting colours and then filling areas. Instructions can be provided on-screen via text or audio.

Developed in actionscript 3. Game parameters and content are specified via an XML file. Different XML files can be passed to the flash swf, so multiple varying instances of the game can be created at runtime. The artwork is loaded as a swf, and contains movie clips defining each area the player should colour. The colour and instructions (text and or audio) for each area is specified in the game XML file, as is the location of the artwork swf. Additional XML parameters include switching on / off randomising the order of the instructions, so the player has to colour parts of the artwork differently each time the game loads or is reset. The colours contained in the colour palette, it's on-screen position and orientation can also be defined.

Screenshot of connection digital activity

Connection

Basically 'Connect four'. Two players compete to make a line of four counters in their own colour. This is achieved by answering on-screen questions correctly.

Developed in actionscript 3. Game parameters and content are specified via an XML file. Different XML files can be passed to the flash swf, so multiple varying instances of the game can be created at runtime. The questions are loaded via a separate flash based question engine, and are specified in the XML. Optional XML parameters include the grid size, the game skin or background (loaded as a separate swf) and the animation speeds.

Screenshot of crossword digital activity

Crossword

Players type the answers to a given set of clues into the crossword grid provided. Clues can be text or pictures. The colours can be customised. Includes support for acrostic style crosswords.

Developed in actionscript 3. Game parameters and content are specified via an XML file. Different XML files can be passed to the flash swf, so multiple varying instances of the game can be created at runtime. Optional XML parameters include the grid size, automatic movement to the next grid box after a player enters a letter in a preceding box, and the position of the clue boxes (left and right, left only, right only). The gui elements are automatically scaled to fit the defined activity size.

Screenshot of dictionary digital component

Dictionary

Dictionary application, with the ability to filter the dictionary contents via customised dropdown menus, by letter or search. Each dictionary entry can contain phonetics, multiple definitions, and example sentences. Entries can also contain an image, and one or more audio files.

Developed in actionscript 3. Earlier version coded in actionscript 2. The dictionary is compiled at runtime from XML files. There is a single 'master' XML file containing the filtering parameters (which are entirely definable by the author), the headwords and audio / image assets. This is to enable searching and filtering to take place without having to load in potentially hundreds of individual XML files. Each headword then has an individual XML file containing the definitions and examples for that headword. These individual XML files contain html formatted content, so additional html properties and features can be added for a particular entry.

Screenshot of flashcards digital activity

Flashcards

Application which has a collection of flashcards, each of which can be flipped and contain a combination of text, audio and image on either side. Optional thumbnails can be added for quick navigation, as well as custom filtering via dropdown boxes.

Developed in actionscript 3. The flashcards are compiled at runtime from an XML file. This XML file also contains the filtering parameters (which are entirely definable by the author). Optional parameters include the flashcard size and alignment and animation settings. Filtering can also be applied from an external source, so only a particular subset of flashcards are displayed at runtime.

Screenshot of free writing digital activity

Free Writing

The player is presented with a picture and or text and instructions about what to write. The player is able to save what they have written in memory, so they can move onto other activities and then come back afterwards. They can also print the text they have written.

Developed in actionscript 3. Game parameters and content are specified via an XML file. Different XML files can be passed to the flash swf, so multiple varying instances of the game can be created at runtime. This activity uses flash shared objects to save activity data to the user's local machine. The shared object name is defined in the XML, along with optional text, image, and audio assets.

Screenshot of word guess digital activity

Wordguess

The player needs to discover the hidden word which is displayed as a series of dashes. They type letters via keyboard, or an on-screen keyboard to decipher the word or phrase. Each question can contain an optional clue. And the game can be re-skinned so that the underlying functionality remains the same, but the number of bad attempts is expressed differently.

Developed in actionscript 3. Game parameters and content are specified via an XML file. Different XML files can be passed to the flash swf, so multiple varying instances of the game can be created at runtime. The game skin to load is set via the XML. The game engine gets the number of frames in the loaded skin and uses this to determine how many goes the player gets to guess the word or phrase. You can also specify certain characters to display and or omit from the game.

Screenshot of hotseat digital activity

Hotseat

A classroom based iwb game. The teacher selects a student to face away from the iwb. A word, phrase or picture is then shown in the game and the rest of the class gives clues to the student facing the wrong way so they can guess what's being shown.

Developed in actionscript 3. Game parameters and content are specified via an XML file. Different XML files can be passed to the flash swf, so multiple varying instances of the game can be created at runtime. The team names, default timer values and gui element positions can all be specified in the XML.

Screenshot of matching digital activity

Matching

Players are presented with two lists of items in two columns. They must then click on one item in each column to match them up. The items in either column can be pictures, text or audio.

Developed in actionscript 3. Game parameters and content are specified via an XML file. Different XML files can be passed to the flash swf, so multiple varying instances of the game can be created at runtime. Additional parameters include gui element positions and randomising the order of boxes.

Screenshot of noughts and crosses digital activity

Noughts and Crosses

Based on a conventional noughts and crosses game, where the players have to get three in a row before their opponent. There is no on-screen questions, so a teacher has to decide how each square is claimed. Each square contains either a piece of text or a picture.

Developed in actionscript 3. Game parameters and content are specified via an XML file. Different XML files can be passed to the flash swf, so multiple varying instances of the game can be created at runtime. Any number of game items can be specified in the XML, and the game picks nine at random during runtime.

Screenshot of phonetic chart digital activity

Phonetic Chart

Simple phonetic chart with audio files giving pronunciation and examples for each phonetic character.

Developed in actionscript 3. Earlier version wasactionscript 2. The content and chart layout is specified entirely in an XML file. And the chart is then compiled dynamically at runtime.

Screenshot of scoreboard digital component

Scoreboard

Pop-up scoreboard for use with activities. Can contain any number of 'teams'.

Developed in actionscript 3. Parameters are specified via an XML file, including the number of scorecards and the team names.

Screenshot of space invaders digital activity

Space Invaders

This is a single-player activity based on the classic Space Invaders arcade game. The player has to kill all the invaders before they reach Earth. A question is asked for every x amount of invaders they kill. The speed the invaders move gets faster for each wrong answer the player gives, and their score increments as they kill invaders and answer questions correctly.

Developed in actionscript 3. Game parameters and content are specified via an XML file. Different XML files can be passed to the flash swf, so multiple varying instances of the game can be created at runtime. The questions are loaded via a separate flash based question engine, and are specified in the XML. There are over thirty optional XML parameters including animation settings, colours, and sound effects. The stars in the background are also generated at runtime in random positions, sizes and transparencies.

Screenshot of stopwatch digital component

Stopwatch

Pop-up stopwatch and countdown timer for use with other activities.

Developed in actionscript 3. Links to an XML file containing a few optional parameters, such as the button labels and background colour.

Screenshot of storyboard digital activity

Storyboard

Players are presented with a series of pictures, which can also include a caption, audio and or 'speech bubble' functionality (where parts of an overlying text can be revealed).

Developed in actionscript 3. Game parameters and content are specified via an XML file. Different XML files can be passed to the flash swf, so multiple varying instances of the game can be created at runtime. The story frame artwork can be loaded in as a swf and contain additional interactive, or animated elements if necessary.

Screenshot of story builder digital activity

Storybuilder

This activity is intended for use by a teacher or student. The player can create a storyboard by compiling images from a library at the bottom of the screen. They can add different styles of speech bubbles to each story frame, with text. The story frames can then be played through either manually or via an automated timer.

Developed in actionscript 3. Game parameters and content are specified via an XML file. Different XML files can be passed to the flash swf, so multiple varying instances of the game can be created at runtime. This game uses a flash shared object to save the game data to the user's local machine. So the game state is retained after the application is closed. The library asset links (all external files) and filtering categories are all contained in the XML.