Amazing Memory? more developments

Compared with PHP, Flash this year has been a relative breeze. Perhaps it's error reporting is a little more specific, but I've enjoyed the game making process so far.

Since last time I've started to add an important part to games - scoring. It is this aspect that often encourage repeat plays in the hope of bettering previous scores. 

From my original game plan, I wished for any time left on completing a level to be converted into their score. Initial attempts had me trying to calculate the total time of a level (40) - timeremaining. This wouldn't function however. After a surgery session with David, I discovered it was as simple as printing the time when it stops (when they hit the finish line).

It is now simply a case of inserting the seperate score display between each of the stages. Admittedly, the graphics are currently below par. This will be addressed, although I've put it off so far! This will likely be the last development I make. I think I am going to struggle a little over graphics that are qualitative. I suppose the main essence of a game is gameplay, yet I clearly listed uninspiring graphics as a no-no in my game objectives, so I will have to commit myself to it.

Next up, the decision to include a reveal option is a great help for those struggling. It stops the main level timer whilst itself counts down for a limited period. However, I noticed that you could then cheat your way through the entire game by hitting it at any moment you become stuck. To counteract this, I decided to impose a set amount of strikes. 5 in particular, for the whole game. Even that might be too generous? I am going to conduct user testing to find out!

Lastly, I noticed just like the ping pong game, that the controls seemed a little sluggish/unresponsive. In response, I have set any key press to be a boolean: key up-true, key down-false etc. When they press the left key for example now, in the code it activates function keydown by making it true. Admittedly, the difference isn't that great compared with pingpong as I am using one frame per level, whereas ping pong streamed through 3. Nonetheless, it is perhaps still a more advanced method input for movement.

I am surprised at my development with Flash, in all. Whereas PHP has felt a bind, the syntax of ActionScript3 seems more straight forward if that's possible. Reverse a year and a bit and I would have been the complete opposite. Perhaps I can now add to my C.V: Other languages: French... German... AS3... 

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