Citrus Engine released for free for learning

Do you know Citrus Engine?

It’s a Box2D library designed to allow game developers making 2D side-scrolling platform games, including a graphical level builder that allows you to drag, drop, and customize all of the game objects and art in your game.

These are the main features, as they appear on the official site: Read more

Get up to $100,000 for your next Flash game with Mochi GAME Developer Fund

Imagine a Flash game sponsor encouraging you to use MochiAds, helping you to market and promote your game, reviewing and testing it putting his experience at your service and helping you to integrate the latest APIs in the most proficuous way.

For some developers this dream could become true because MochiMedia created the Mochi GAME Developer Fund: a $10 million fund that will help promising Flash and social game developers support their games through sponsorship, licensing and publishing deals.

The fund will assist small Flash game development studios and independent game developers worldwide in building world-class games and businesses.

You will find the details in the official page, with some FAQs. Here’s the four more interesting:

Q: What is the Mochi GAME Developer Fund?
A: The Mochi GAME Developer Fund $10 million USD fund for investing in promising Flash and social game developers through sponsorship, licensing, and publishing. The goal of the Fund is to assist developers in launching and building rockstar premium games on the Mochi platform, and to cultivate long term relationships with Flash and social game developers looking to build world-class games and businesses.

Q: What is the target deal size for the Mochi GAME Developer Fund?
A: The Mochi GAME Developer Fund intends to partner with Flash and social game developers on a sponsorship, licensing or publishing basis anywhere from $1,000 to $100,000. Additional consideration may be given to other types of relationships on a case-by-case basis. Generally, the funds will be given upon the achievement of certain milestones of the game development process. The specific milestones can be discussed with the Mochi GAME Developer Fund team.

Q: What types of games is the Mochi GAME Developer Fund seeking?
A: We are open to Flash and social games of all genres and gameplay types targeting all kinds of audiences. Particular attention will be given to games that have high potential to monetize via MochiCoins microtransactions, include social elements that may be enhanced via MochiSocial or are particularly great games.

Q: I don’t live in the United States. Can I still work with the Mochi GAME Developer Fund?
A: Absolutely! Flash and social game developers are located all across the world. We care less about where you live and care more about helping you build great games using the Mochi platform.

According to these FAQs, it looks like an exclusive sponsorship, but I hope to give you more information as I’m running to submit the form and ask for some millions for my next game.

Sell sitelocked version of your Flash games and even .fla sources to Free Online Games

Are you looking for a quick way to sell a site locked version of your game? Do you want to earn some more selling the .fla source code? Then Neil from Free Online Games (aka FOG) is your man.

FOG is looking for any game, no matter how old it is or how wide spread it is already, as long as it’s a decent game. In this case FOG will buy you a site locked version of your game, or even the .fla source code.

What happens when FOG buys a site locked version of your game

* The game is sitelocked to FOG
* You have to interface your game with their API
* You have to remove all external branding and ads

What happens when FOG buys the source code of your game

* FOG retains the rights to re-release, resell, re-use, delete, make more version and all in all everything with your code
* All branding, ads and credits will be removed

Note: if your game is already sponsored, you may no longer have the right to sell your source code. Check with your sponsor as FOG is not responsible for your previous deals Read more

Protect your work from ActionScript code theft with SWF Protector

« I’ve just found a site that won a top international online advertising award – and it’s been blatantly lifted from me!

Its a flash application that has the same vectors and almost certainly the same AS code. Is there anything I can do? I’m in the UK – they’re in Brazil. »

The guy who opened this thread looks quite desperate… now imagine this happening to your latest Flash game.

That’s why you must protect your code. You don’t want someone else stealing your work.

I am going to review DCOM Soft’s SWF Protector.

SWF Protector

SWF Protector is an swf protector software working through actionscript encryption to secure your actionscript content. This means decompilers won’t be able to read your actionscript. Read more

Understanding Box2D’s one-way platforms, aka CLOUDS

One of the new features introduced with Box2D 2.1a is the improved contact listener class which comes in hand when we want to create one-way platforms, or “clouds”.

This can be made thanks to a function called before the contact is processed… something like “hey, two bodies are about to collide, what should I do?”… so you can decide to disable the contact for every collision you want.

The function used to do this task is PreSolve, working for all awake bodies that aren’t sensors.

If you don’t know what is a Box2D sensor, check Box2D Flash game creation tutorial – part 2.

So the concept is: listen for collisions, if a collision involves the cloud wall and the player, then check if the player is higher or lower than the cloud. If it’s lower, don’t process the collision and let the player fly through the cloud.

Let’s see the script, directly taken from Box2D Flash game creation tutorial – part 2: Read more

Box2D Flash game creation tutorial – part 2

After seeing the character creation in Box2D Flash game creation tutorial – part 1, it’s time to add some coins to collect.

This process will involve some interesting Box2D features, like sensors and custom collision management.

I would suggest to read the basics of sensors at Erase Box: the tutorial and custom collision management at Creation of a Flash Stabilize! clone using Box2D – part 4.

Although they are both referred to an older Box2D version, they’ll introduce you to sensor and collisions.

Now the concept is simple: we are placing some circular sensors around the stage (the coins), then we’ll create a custom contact listener class to check whether the player is over a coin or not. If it’s over, we’ll remove the coin.

So this is the main script: Read more

11 Flash isometric engines you can use in your games

I am playing isometric games for more than 20 years… probably started with Q*bert, one of the oldest games I played is Head Over Heels on my Commodore 64, and I was an hardcore player of UFO: Enemy Unknown.

As you should know, isometric projection is a method of visually representing three-dimensional objects in two dimensions, in which the three coordinate axes appear equally foreshortened and the angles between any two of them are 120 degrees. A great way to represent 3D worlds on old 8-bit computers since their CPUs did not handle a real 3D world, and a great way to create casual adventure games nowadays.

I am showing you a list of 11 Flash isometric engines, some of them are free, others are commercial, and some still unreleased. I am writing to all authors to have more info about their engines, meanwhile this the most complete list I was able to make.

Engines are listed in alphabetical order.

2D isometric engine – Free

http://code.google.com/p/2d-isometric-engine/

Open source, multilevel and multiplayer tilebased isometric engine, reviewed in this post

as3isolib – Free

http://as3isolib.wordpress.com/

As3isolib is an open-source ActionScript 3.0 Isometric Library developed to assist in creating isometrically projected content (such as games and graphics) targeted for the Flash player platform. As3isolib includes utilities, primitives and views. As3isolib was developed with simplicity, speed and performance in mind so that developers can focus on actual implementations rather than having to learn a complex API.

You can see latest project using this engine at http://apps.facebook.com/downtowngame/ Read more

Monetize your Flash games with GamesChart

Do you remember Emanuele Ornella from Mind the Move? It’s the guy behind the Come2Play multiplayer API tutorial posted about a month ago.

Now he is explaining us a new way to monetize Flash games: GamesChart

« When I first saw the announcement on Flash Game Developers group on www.linkedIn.com about the GamesChart beta program I immediately thought to participate. It was a surprise to me to find that my game Haunted House was at first position for the entire 4 weeks of the beta program!

Actually also my Alice Memory game is also on the chart, even if never more than in the 6th position.

What GamesChart is about?

It’s another way to generate money from you Flash games. The nice thing is that it is not an alternative to the traditional banner you place during the loading of the game. But it goes together.
The main idea is to have publisher to “bid” for which game will be in the chart and this will generate extra revenue to the developer, to the publisher who correctly bid and of course to the GamesChart organization.

This is from Barry White directly from linkedIn group. Read more

Box2D Flash game creation tutorial – part 1

My first Flash game tutorial ever was Flash game creation tutorial – part 1.

It was the first of a series to create a game like jmtb’s ball games. It was an old AS2 series, and some steps have been ported in AS3 with Create a Flash ball game using AS3.

The “ball” game is so simple yet addictive and customizable that I think it’s the perfect game to start a tutorial series based on a new language.

This time I am not covering a new language but the famous Box2D library, but I am going to add all necessary features to make it an interesting game to play.

In this first chapter, I am going to create the ball and the way you control it, by tapping arrow keys.

I am using the basics of Understanding Box2D applicable forces and Box2D tutorial for the absolute beginners – revamped, which I recommend you to read.

Now this is the code: Read more

Understanding Box2D applicable forces

In Box2d, bodies aren’t only affected by gravity and collisions, but you can also apply forces to them.

Knowing the right force to apply is very important when you want to control a body, as you may want to do in a Flash game

Let’s see the forces you can apply:

Applying a force

public function ApplyForce(force:b2Vec2, point:b2Vec2):void

Apply a force at a world point. If the force is not applied at the center of mass, it will generate a torque and affect the angular velocity. This wakes up the body, so you don’t have to wake it up by yourself.

The force is applied inNewtons (N).

Applying an impulse

public function ApplyImpulse(impulse:b2Vec2, point:b2Vec2):void

Apply an impulse at a point. This immediately modifies the velocity. It also modifies the angular velocity if the point of application is not at the center of mass. This wakes up the body, so you don’t have to wake it up by yourself.

The impulse is applied in Newton-seconds or kg-m/s.

Setting a linear velocity

public function SetLinearVelocity(v:b2Vec2):void

Set the linear velocity of the center of mass. This function will not work if the body is sleeping, so you must wake it up with SetAwake before applying the velocity.

What force should I apply?

You should choose the force according to the result you want to achieve. Let’s suppose you want to apply a vertical force, to make something jump in the air, and let’s suppose you can apply the force at any time, even when you just applied it.

You will have three cases:

Applying the force when the body is not moving: this happens when you apply the force when the body lies on the ground or when it’s in the air, in the moment it finished its “jumping” speed and it’s about to fall down. In this case there aren’t any noticeable difference among applied forces.

Applying the force when the body is moving up: this happens when the body is in the air and still has “jumping” speed. In this case, applying a force or an impulse will sum the “jumping” speed to the applied force to produce a “boost”, while setting the velocity again will just apply the velocity again, no matter the “jumping speed”

Applying the force when the body is falling down: this happens when the body finished its “jumping” speed and it’s falling down. As in the previous case, applying a force or an impulse will sum the falling speed to the applied force, and according to falling speed and applied force, the body will continue falling or jump a little (how little? the difference between the falling force and the applied one). Setting the velocity will just stop the body to fall and make it jumping again, no matter of the falling speed. Read more

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