This document summarizes the agenda for a class on March 9, 2009 about brain games. It discusses updates to the syllabus, an upcoming midterm exam with both essay and Flash parts, a guest lecturer, polls of the class, and an assignment to create a greeting card game in Flash. It also covers using arrays and objects to track game elements in sample memory and deduction games programmed in Flash. Tips are provided on publishing Flash files and optimizing file size. The class will conclude with lab and group work.

1. Brain Games
Working with Arrays and Game Objects
IT 7220 - March 9, 2009
Monday, March 9, 2009 1

2. Agenda
Syllabus Updates
✦
A word about the Midterm
✦
Guest Lecturer March 23
✦
Quick poll
✦
Greeting Cards
✦
Rosenzweig Chap 4 - Memory and Deduction
✦
Games
HOT: Publishing in Flash; Perkins Chap 17
✦
Lab and Group Work
✦
Monday, March 9, 2009 2

3. Midterm - March 23
Two Parts:
✦
An essay part where you will submit a
✦
Word document
A Flash part where you will submit a Flash
✦
movie
Monday, March 9, 2009 3

4. Guest Lecturer
Dr. Moon-Heum Cho
✦
Candidate for our tenure-track faculty search
✦
Will talk for 1-hour before the exam
✦
Would like to know something about you
✦
Monday, March 9, 2009 4

5. Quick Poll
By a show of hands:
How many Doctoral students?
✦
How many Master’s students?
✦
How many EdSpec students?
✦
How many non-IT majors?
✦
Monday, March 9, 2009 5

6. Greeting Cards
http://itlab2.coe.wayne.edu/tboileau/
IT7220WI09/GreetingCard/index.html
Points
Criterion
available
Create a greeting card using Flash 50
The card must include text and graphics 10
Provide a way to navigate back and forth between
15
pages (if a 2-page card) or replay (if an animation)
Publish and upload the html & .swf files to our web
15
server
Send the .fla file to me via Blackboard 10
Total 100
Monday, March 9, 2009 6

7. Rosenzweig Chap 4
Two game shell frameworks are provided:
✦
✦ Simple memory game - player watches and
repeats a sequence
✦ Deductive logic game - feedback is provided
to get better on each turn
Both frameworks rely on the use of data
✦
structures to keep track of game elements
Principal data structures are arrays and objects
✦
Monday, March 9, 2009 7

8. Arrays as Data Structures
Recall that an array in ActionScript is used to
store a list of values; ex: a list of characters
Arrays can store many types of objects including display
✦
objects such as movie clips and sprites (e.g., matching game in
Chapter 3)
You can also mix the types of types of values stored in arrays
✦
for example: [7, “Hello”]
Arrays are a common and indispensable data structure for
✦
games
Monday, March 9, 2009 8

9. Common Array Functions
Function Example Description
push myArray.push(“Wizard”) Adds a value to the end of an array
Removes the last value of an array and
pop myArray.pop()
returns it
unshift myarray.unshift(“Wizard”) Adds a value to the beginning of and array
Removes the first value in an array and
shift myArray.shift(“Wizard”)
returns it
myArray.splice(7,2,”Wizard”, Removes items from a location in the array
splice
”Bard”) and inserts new items there
Returns the location of an item, or -1 if it is
indexOf myArray.indexOf(“Rogue”)
not found
sort myArray.sort() Sorts an array
Monday, March 9, 2009 9

10. Data Objects
Data objects are used when we need to keep
track of (and store) multiple attributes in
order to describe an object using dot syntax.
An example in a game is character type, level
and health
Objects are dynamic: you can add new properties whenever you
✦
need to
Properties can be of any variable type and do not need to be
✦
assigned; you just need to assign a value to them as in the example
Monday, March 9, 2009 10

11. Data Objects and Arrays
Data objects and arrays work well together
✦
Objects organize all of the attributes and
✦
methods needed to describe and use a thing
Arrays help to organize and keep track of
✦
collections of objects in a game
Monday, March 9, 2009 11

12. Memory Game
Monday, March 9, 2009 12

13. Memory Game
Source: http://www.freegames.ws/games/kidsgames/simon/simon.htm
Monday, March 9, 2009 13

14. Memory Game
MemoryGame.fla MemoryGame.as
Monday, March 9, 2009 14

15. Memory Game
ActionScript files (game class) are starting to
✦
get a little longer--this one is 167 lines
Code is arranged in logical blocks
✦
Design rationale and description by
✦
Rosenzweig is provided in the text
Tips for modifying the basic game are on page
✦
137
Monday, March 9, 2009 15

16. Deduction Game
Game concept comes from a 2-
✦
player board game
Original concept dates back
✦
over a 100 years to a game
called “Bulls and Cows”
Object is to place five colored
✦
pegs in sequence to match a
hidden pattern (code) using
deductive logic
Involves strategy to break the
✦
“code” in the least number of
turns
Monday, March 9, 2009 16

17. Other Deduction Games
Monday, March 9, 2009 17

18. Deduction Game
http://www.netrover.com/~jjrose/deduction/deduction.html
Monday, March 9, 2009 18

19. Deduction Game
Deduction.fla
Deduction.as
Monday, March 9, 2009 19

20. Deduction Game
More robust strategy, similar to matching game i.e.,
✦
3 frames are used: intro, play, gameover
Deduction game class contains about 200 lines of
✦
code
Code is arranged in logical blocks
✦
Design rationale and description by Rosenzweig is
✦
provided in the text
Game is modifiable to support use of different story
✦
lines and graphics in adventure game genre
Monday, March 9, 2009 20

21. HOT: Publishing in Flash
We have already talked
✦
about publish settings, under
the file menu in Flash
Flash allows for publishing
✦
content in a variety of
options including: Web, CD,
EXE/APP, QuickTime, and
as image files
Publish profiles can be
✦
created for different project
types
Monday, March 9, 2009 21

22. HOT: Publishing Formats
Tabs available in publish
✦
settings are determined by
the outputs selected
Projector functionality is
✦
controlled using
fscommand(), typically in
first frame of movie (see
exercise 3 p 476 and table
on p 479)
Monday, March 9, 2009 22

23. HOT: Publishing Flash
Select “Top Down” load
✦
order to load layers from
top--best practice is to place
AS in top layer
Select “Protect from import”
✦
to ‘discourage’ people from
gaining access to your code
“Generate size report”
✦
provides a frame-by-frame
report of the size of all
objects in your project
Monday, March 9, 2009 23

24. HOT: Size Report
Size report for
Deduction.fla
Monday, March 9, 2009 24

25. HOT: Publishing HTML
Setting Dimensions to
✦
Percent allow the SWF file
to scale with the HTML
page it is opened within
Setting Dimensions to
✦
Match Movie sets the
HTML tags to the size of
the stage
Monday, March 9, 2009 25

26. HOT: Publishing Summary
Flash provides the ability to export graphics as
✦
image files
Publish settings are summarized on pp
✦
484-493
Perkins provides guidelines for optimizing
✦
movies on pp 494-495
Monday, March 9, 2009 26

27. Lab and Group Work
Monday, March 9, 2009 27