Due dates:
NOTE: This is an individual assignment, not to be done in teams! I want each of you to have some general familiarity with Flash, even if tasks in later projects are more partitioned.
You will be using Flixel for this assignment and all your game development in this course. What is Flixel? Flixel is a library for developing games in Adobe Flash. It was created by Adam "Atomic" Saltsman and is freely available for personal or commercial use.
All the tools you need to create Flixel games are free. You can download and install them on any Windows PC. Games created with Flixel will run on any machine that runs Flash, including Windows, Macintosh and Unix systems (but not, sadly, iPad or iPhone; Steve Jobs has decided that Flash isn't good for you).
In this assignment, you will complete a sequence of four tutorials that demonstrate how easy it is to install Flixel on a PC and start making games with it.
Each tutorial explains how to make a small Flixel game. Working through all of the tutorials will put you in good position to develop an original Flixel game, either from scratch or by extending one of the tutorials.
This assignment has three objectives:
Visit and bookmark the Flixel Tutorials Homepage.
Read and complete all four tutorials in order. You should have no trouble doing this if you follow the instructions carefully and take your time.
Each tutorial builds on skills learned in previous tasks. Don't move on to the next tutorial until the one you're working on is playing perfectly!
Need help? Ask the expert!
The student assistant for this course, Morgan Quirk, is also the author of the Flixel tutorials. He knows Flixel inside and out, and he's always happy to answer questions and help you work through any problems.
Morgan will be available in the IMGD Lab (Fuller 222) every Wednesday between X-X pm, and anytime by email.
As you complete tutorials 2, 3 and 4 and get them working correctly, extend each one by 10% with some custom additions of your own. These extensions will help solidify your understanding of Flash.
How you do the extensions is up to you. You can add code, gameplay, modes, options, new or modified art, sound effects and/or music. Be creative!
Track your extensionsKeep track of the extensions you add in a text file. You will need this as part of your final submission.
It's okay to borrow images, sprites and sounds from online resources. However, you must thoroughly document the resources you use by recording the URLs.
When you're done extending each tutorial game, play it thoroughly to make sure it works. It's a good idea to let a few friends play it, too; they may find bugs you overlooked.
When your game works perfectly, create a text file called README.TXT that explains all of the extensions you have added to the game. Remember, make sure that the URLs of borrowed assets are fully documented! Failure to do this is a violation of academic honesty.
Zip your entire tutorial folder (including all subfolders) together with your README.TXT file into a single archive file. Don't forget to include the README.TXT file in the archive!
If you don't know how to zip a folder with subfolders preserved, ask someone.
IMPORTANT: Don't assume your zip file is okay! Before you submit it, unzip it into a safe place on your hard drive to make sure all of its contents and subfolders are intact.
Name the file:
lastname_tx.zip
where "lastname" is your last name and x is the number of the tutorial
being submitted (2, 3 or 4). So if you last name is Smith and you're
submitting tutorial 3, the filename would be:
smith_t3.zip
You will use the Web-based TurnIn facility to submit your work. Information about submitting can be found here.
Use your WPI user ID to login. You will be emailed a special TurnIn password.
Each tutorial will be graded the same way:
100-90. The submission clearly exceeds requirements. The tutorial game works without problems. The custom extensions exhibit an unusually high degree of effort, thoughtfulness, creativity and/or ingenuity.
89-80. The submission meets requirements. The tutorial game works without problems. The custom extensions exhibit substantial effort, thoughtfulness, creativity and/or ingenuity.
79-70. The submission barely meets requirements. The tutorial game may operate erratically. The custom extensions exhibit marginal effort, thoughfulness, creativity and/or ingenuity.
69-60. The project fails to meet requirements in some places. The tutorial game may crash occasionally. The custom extensions are of minor scope, or exhibit perfunctory effort, thoughfulness, creativity and/or ingenuity.
59-0. The project does not meet requirements. The tutorial game crashes consistently. The custom extensions exhibit little or no evidence of effort, thoughfulness, creativity and/or ingenuity.
Five (5) points will be deducted from your grade if the submitted files do not meet the filename specifications noted above or does not include the README.TXT.
Remember the WPI policy on academic honesty! You may discuss the project with others, but you are to do your own work.
The official WPI Academic Honesty policy can be accessed here.