Chapter 12. DEVELOPING FLASH CONTENT FOR THE SONY PLAYSTATION 2

by Fred Sharples

TOPICS COVERED IN THIS CHAPTER:

• The three versions of the Flash Player

• Flash in action: Our experience with LucasArts

• The advantages of using Flash for Sony PlayStation 2 game titles

• User interface logic for Flash

• User interface design issues for Sony PlayStation 2

• The future of Flash development on consoles

The doors that open with the idea of Macromedia Flash on Sony PlayStation 2 are dazzling: interfaces for games, media browsers and players, online game interfaces, Radar and HUD layers for 3D games, multi-user puzzle and board games, and cartoons.

However, Flash on the Sony PlayStation 2 isn't just a cool idea. It's already being used successfully in games out on the market.

The user interface systems on LucasArts Star Wars Starfighter™ and its sequel, LucasArts Star Wars Jedi Starfighter™, are created in Flash (see Figure 12.1). Our company, Orange Design, was hired to develop these projects.

Figure 12.1. Main menu screen of Star Wars Jedi Starfighter™.

You can find more information on LucasArts Star Wars Starfighter™ and its sequel, Star Wars Jedi Starfighter™ at

http://www.lucasarts.com/products/starwarsstarfighter/

and

http://www.lucasarts.com/products/jedistarfighter/

Orange Design is a small Flash studio based in San Francisco. We specialize in Flash applications, including games, business applications, and entertainment-related Flash web sites. We were fortunate to be asked to create the first publicly released Flash application for the Sony PlayStation 2. The Flash application was the graphical user interface for the LucasArts Star Wars Starfighter™ game. As with the other Flash-enabled devices, this one is changing rapidly.

In this chapter, we will take some educated guesses on the direction this change is going and provide some in-depth knowledge about how Flash can work on the PlayStation 2. Additionally, you'll find out about

• The advantages of developing game user interfaces in Flash

• Flash, game code logic, and their relationship

• Working with other programming languages

• The immediate future of Flash on PlayStation 2 and the Xbox

At press time, there are some licensing, technology, and timing issues that have yet to be worked out by Macromedia and its partners before a Flash Player for PlayStation 2 is released to the general public or Sony developers. The player that we will be discussing in this chapter is not available to the general public at this time. Please stay tuned to the http://www.macromedia.com web site for upcoming information and announcements about possible Flash products for the PlayStation 2. Also be sure to check out the book's website, http://www.flashenabled.com, and the New Riders' site, http://www.newriders.com, for up-to-date information.