got this from a media100 mailing list, thought Id share:
>> I’m sorry to say I’m so ignorant I’m not familiar with
>> actionscripting [etc].
>
> I’ve become so immersed in the IT world that I’ve come to use their
> acronymns and buzzwords in everyday speech. Sorry.
>
> Flash is the application that is the front end for nearly everything
> we do, whether it be delivered via the web, CD, or IPAQ.
> Actionscripting is the language that makes Flash powerful. The people
> who are good make $100+ per hour… I just sent out a 1099 to one of
> them for $40k.
…
> My advice? First learn Flash really well. You can make good money
> with well done little Flash animations. Learn actionscripting and add
> advanced functionality and you can make great money. And its fun.
> Once you get past the intimidation of the new metaphors, its not tough
> at all. If you learn Actionscripting well, you can hire yourself out
> to big agencies and corporations and be busy 100 hours per week (if
> your a lunatic like me).
>
>
> RT
Well, Phil, I must confess to you, that all that talk about math? BS. You dont need to know a DARN thing about math to be any good at all with ActionScript! If Im wrong, let lightning stike me de…
The truth is, do you NEED math? No, of course not. But without it you can only do so much. Math allows you to use its “mathematical power” and do mathy and crazy things. However, chances are very similar things can be done in flash without math. And sometimes, the non-math approach is easier, quicker, and less resource intensive.
When I was teaching Flash in college, I would give a small task to accomplish and go around helping people achieve it with this massive (not too massive since they were just learning) scripting technique which not only confussed people, but scared them away from wanting to learn Flash altogether ahem So then this one guy showed me what he did and it was more or less the same effect (what effect exactly Im not sure as my memory is failing me) but through simple button actions and tweening. I felt kind of dumb but it was also an eye opener that these complicated things just dont need to be so… complicated.
Ive also seen the source to some pretty wild sites and alot of it, to my surprise, is a bunch of tweens and gotoandplays. And that which wasnt, was ripped (and it was obvious ;)) - well not all of it, but you know what I mean, the nasty stuff was. But whats the point of re-inventing the wheel right? Most of the Flash impression is the design and the implementation of motion. If thats solid and put together well, you can make yourself seem like a expert in Flash… even knowing minimum code. Of course appearences are decieving and a lot of people know that…
Still, theres a lot to AS which isnt math related. Just knowing how things work and how they relate is a big aspect of it all. If you have targetting down and know about your movie loadings, event handlers, functions and how sounds work etc, thats a good ways into being “good” with actionscript. Scoping (targeting) is one of the hardiest things to get past initially, and once that is gotten down, things are a lot easier there on out. Then a lot of everything revolves just around familiarity and experience. The more you work with it all the more you know it and the more comfortable you feel when using it.
The good thing to know is most coporate applications of Flash (other than games) dont require much math knowledge at all. I cant think of anything Ive done (other than games) which needed much if any math. So unless you want to be a game programmer, you’re probably pretty good with avoiding math - just ignore all those math related posts. Their for silly little game junkies.
*Originally posted by senocular *
**Ive also seen the source to some pretty wild sites and alot of it, to my surprise, is a bunch of tweens and gotoandplays. And that which wasnt, was ripped (and it was obvious ;)) - well not all of it, but you know what I mean, the nasty stuff was. But whats the point of re-inventing the wheel right? Most of the Flash impression is the design and the implementation of motion. If thats solid and put together well, you can make yourself seem like a expert in Flash… even knowing minimum code. Of course appearences are decieving and a lot of people know that… **
That applies to me, I’m not an actionscripting guru so to achieve the kind of effects I want, I rely on basic actionscripting that I picked up from reading tutorials and posts on this forum.
Creating engaging and entertaining content for designers and developers since 1998.
- just ignore all those math related posts. Their for silly little game junkies.