Syllabus

The course will be broken into two sections. The first half of the course will focus on the basic and intermediate topics that comprise ActionScript's core structure, syntax, and programming concepts. Assignments during the first half of the course will be somewhat more structured than those in the second half of the course. At the end of the first half, we will revisit all we have learned so far in the context of a midterm project.

The second half of the course will be an exploration and implementation of the more advanced and task-specific elements in the ActionScript language. As we progress into design and production of final projects, emphasis will shift toward topics relevant to each student's project development. Rather than attempt to cram an entire language into students' heads, this course is designed to enable students to develop projects on their own; the second half will introduce the tools that are necessary for students to conceptualize, structure, and build their final projects.

Class 1 -- Introduction
2006.Jan.18
- flash environment
- timeline navigation
- events
- best practices, commenting, trace()

reading:
Chapter 1 - Intro (pp. 3-22, don't bother with the quiz)
Chapter 2 - Variables
Chapter 16 - AS Authoring Environment (thru "Productivity", p407)

assignment:
interactive animation

examples:
timeline animation

Class 2 -- Variables and Conditionals
2006.Jan.25
- variables
- scope, 'this' keyword
- conditionals
- simple programmatic animation
- the MovieClip class
- hitTest

reading:
Chapter 7 - Conditionals

assignment:
single-player Pong -or- interactive story

examples:
event handlers
scope
variables
the MovieClip class
conditionals
simple collision detection

Class 3 -- Asset Management
2006.Feb.01
- internal asset management
- depth
- loops (with dynamic naming)
- prepping / importing images (transparent gifs)

reading:
Chapter 13 - Movie Clips: pp. 331-360
Chapter 8 - Loops

assignment:
crowd simulation

examples:
Pong
asset management
star field

Class 4 -- Loops and Arrays
2006.Feb.08
- arrays
- loops (revisited -- arrays)
- Key object

reading:
Chapter 4 - Primitive Datatypes: pp.83-105 ('The String Type', 'Working With Strings')
Chapter 11 - Arrays

assignment:
memory game -or- grid game -or- interactive family tree

examples:
basic arrays
array methods
loops
the Key object

Class 5 -- Functions
2006.Feb.16
- strings
- textfields
- functions (basic)
- pseudocoding
- debugging techniques

reading:
Chapter 9 - Functions

assignment:
rewrite an earlier assignment using functions
pseudocode midterm project (email me)

examples:
aliens!
functions
spaceship control
textfields
TextFormat object

Class 6 -- Midterm :: Workshop
2006.Feb.23
- present midterm concepts
- review basics; questions?

assignment:
complete midterm project

examples:
sample psuedocode
memory game -- random card distribution only
memory game -- complete

Class 7 -- Midterm :: Presentations
2006.Mar.02
- present midterm projects
- complete review; questions?

assignment:
complete any assignments not yet completed

Class 8 -- Multimedia
2006.Mar.08
- audio
- Sound object
- embedded video
- streamed video
- live video

assignment:
automated xylophone/videophone

examples:
the Sound class
embedded video (FP7)
streamed video (FP8)
the Camera and Video classes (live video input)

----- Spring Break -- March 13-17 (woohoo!) -----

Class 9 -- The ASMX Event Model / Programmatic Animation
2006.Mar.22
- functions (continued)
- flash as object-oriented system
- ASMX event model
- programmatic animation

reading:
Chapter 10 - Events and Event Handling

assignment:
interactive character (use states)

examples:
functions (continued)
ASMX event model
motion -- easing
motion -- trigonometry
motion -- random
motion -- mx.transitions

Class 10 -- Outside the Box, err, Flash Player
2006.Mar.29
- MovieClipLoader class
- preloading
- integration with html
- getURL()

assignment:
online slideshow
pseudocode final project
research final project

examples:
loadMovie
getURL
site building with external assets
preloader (Flash Player 6+ compliant)
preloader (Flash Player 7+ compliant)

Class 11 -- Final Project :: Concept
2006.Apr.05
- drawing API
- Color/Transform classes
- BitmapData class

assignment:
final project -- prototype

examples:
the drawing API
drawing recorder
the Color class (Flash Player 7)
the ColorTransform class (Flash Player 8+)
flower drawer
fills

Class 12 -- Final Project :: Personal Workshops
2006.Apr.12
- personal project workshops

assignment:
final project -- alpha/beta

examples:
(note, we won't have time to cover these in class, but feel free to peruse...)
basic xml
an xml website

Class 13 -- Final Project :: Alpha/Beta
2006.Apr.19
- discuss project progress

assignment:
final project -- beta/gold (complete)

Class 14 -- Final Project Presentation
2006.Apr.26
- present final projects