Adobe Flash has evolved from a tool for simple vector animations and interactivity to a platform for rich media, games, and applications, but recent developments have diminished its role on the modern web. It started by adding capabilities like video playback and webcam support. However, the rise of mobile devices without Flash support, and the development of open web standards for multimedia, led Flash's prominence to decline. While still used for games, video, and by some creators, its future role is uncertain as HTML5 and native apps become more capable.

1. Adobe Flash
Past, Present and Future

2. Adobe Flash - Past
• Flash started out as a tool for creating vector
animations that you could show on the web
via the Flash plug-in.
• At the time, there was no way to create
decent layouts on the web, use special
fonts, play audio or show animation or add
interactivity.
• Flash was used to fill these gaps and make
the web a much more interesting place.

3. Adobe Flash - Past
• To show video you needed to use truly
horrible plug-ins like Real Player that most
users didn’t have installed.
• In Flash version 7, developer Macromedia
added video playback, making web video
ubiquitous and making YouTube possible.
• Flash also included webcam support, making
Chat Roulette possible!

4. Adobe Flash - Past
• Advertising agencies and networks used Flash
to make web advertising more “engaging” with
animation, interactivity and video. See
TheFWA.com for examples.
• Independent “bedroom coders” and animators
used Flash to create cartoons and games and
uploaded them to sites like NewGrounds.com.
• The massive audience of Facebook allowed
companies like Zynga to turn Flash games into
big business.

5. Adobe Flash - Past
• Adobe added the fully object-oriented
ActionScript 3.0 programming language to
Flash making more complex projects
possible.
• Corporations used the “Flex” framework to
create business applications.
• Adobe AIR allows these applications to be
turned into installable desktop software, like
BBC iPlayer.

6. Adobe Flash - Present
• A few years ago, “smart phones” and tablet
computers became available. Unlike desktop
operating systems where users could install
any software they wanted, here the
manufacturers controlled what you could
install.
• Apple chose not to allow the Flash plug-in
within their mobile Safari browser, spelling
the beginning of the end for Flash as a web
technology.

7. Adobe Flash - Present
• At the same time the HTML5 and CSS3
standards began being adopted, bringing
most of Flash’s advantages to the web
without plug-ins.
• “Web standards” technologies now allow
special fonts, animation and games via the
Canvas tag, video and audio, that (mostly)
work cross-platform across all devices.
• The Flash industry is now tiny compared to
the status it once held.

8. Adobe Flash - Future
• Flash continues to be widely used to make
online games and kids “virtual world” sites.
• Flash is still widely used for video as it allows
for DRM.
• Adobe are trying to reposition Flash as a
gaming technology. You can now publish
Flash games into the iOS and Android
appstores.
• Flash professional remains a widely known
and used tool for 2D animators.

9. Adobe Flash
• Flash designs, layouts and animations are created
with Adobe Flash Professional (sometimes called the
Flash IDE, even though it isn’t an IDE).
• Flash professional files use the .fla file extension.
Once you publish/compile the file it becomes a .swf
file.
• Flash games and applications (often called Flash
“movies”) are coded using ActionScript. ActionScript
is based on JavaScript, so it should look quite
familiar, but it adds lovely things like data types for
variables, and classes.

10. ActionScript
• You can write ActionScript code on the
timeline in Flash Professional, or in
external class files with a .as file
extension.
• You can compile Flash projects from
Flash Professional, or from an external
code editor like FlashBuilder, Eclipse FDT
or FlashDevelop (which I use).

11. Assignment!
• Create a real-time game or simulation.
• Real-time means it’s constantly running a
“game loop” and responding to user
input.
• You can use Flash or Canvas via
CreateJS, I’ll be covering both.

12. Marking Criteria
• Is it fun or engaging?
• Is it doing something clever technically?
• Does it look good?
• Does it animate well?
• Does it work properly?
• Is it free of bugs?

13. Due for presentation and
hand-in on the last lesson
of this semester.
(exact date to be
confirmed)

14. Try to get it finished a few
weeks before the deadline
so I can help you improve
your grade.