Making a Flash DDR Game: Game Layout

Welcome back, as we continue our series on how you can make your very on Flash DDR game (dancing pad not included). The major response I've been getting from this article, especially from friends is...."Re-programming a game that's already created, doesn't prove that you are cool nor that you can make games." Oh cointreau, many games are copy cats of another game, movie, or even book and remaking or mimicking a certain style is beneficial in that it shows that you understand programming, no matter how simple nor how complex. Having the creation of a video game down on your resume, goes a long in way in that it shows that you not only have artistic understanding but logic skills as well. Lastly, after you created your game, you can modify it as much as you like and improve it to meet your needs. So now that we've understand why we are doing this, lets move along to the first leg of the game creation marathon.

The Board Layout

In every game the basic component is the gaming environment, i.e. the scenery, the game board, the arena. Our environment, like al DDR games comprises of a game board and music. Here is the game board that I created:


The game board, which is 300 px wide by 488 px tall, was designed in Adobe Photoshop using a photo that I found using my trusty old friend Google Images. Once I had decided on the perfect pic, I placed a layer below the layer containing the girl, and painted it black and then removed all of the excess background around her body using the eraser. Afterward I made a 4 pixel border which you can do by using the rectangle tool to select the entire picture, and then choose Edit-> Stroke.


Afterward, I put a blue tint on the girl by making new layer, and then filling it with blue and using a Darken, blend effect in the Layer window.

Importing into Flash

The next step is actually bringing the board into the Flash environment. Before I imported the picture, I needed to change the dimensions of the flash document to suit that of the picture. To do that, click on the dimension button at the bottom of screen (I'm using Flash 8 by the way), and change the values to 299 px by 488px.


Now your ready to bring in the picture, so select File and Import to Library, and then find the picture that your using for your background. Then you should see your file in the Library Tab and if your not able to see it, select Window and check Library. Then drag your photo onto the stage, and lock the current layer.

Planning Arrows and Gameplay

DDR type games have huge screens for you to play on meaning that there is plenty of time for you to recognize which directional arrow is being required, and then for your neural system to comprehend which body part needs to be moved. This is why the arrows are either at the extreme bottom or the extreme top. This is why players who use regular controllers will always be better then players using pads, because there is a faster response time between your brain and fingers than your brain and feet. To increase the level of difficulty I've decided to place the "arrows" in the middle of the screen, and limit amount of travel time for the arrows. If someone can be successful at this game then they are nothing but a true neural master. This is the modified board, which is always subjected to change:


The box setup I came upon by accident but once I got into it, I said to myself that the arrows can actually be in the shape of boxes, which allow for multiple types of arrows being able to settle in one location. The 'up' arrow can arrive at the smae place a 'right' arrow can leaving plenty of possibilities. I created them using the rectangle tool and then removing the area for some of the boxes. Afterwards I created the pattern and converted the entire pattern to a movie symbol. As you also notice, the set of boxes at the bottom is for maintaining the players health. The further to the right the boxes fill up is the more closer the player is getting to losing. Next we'll look at programming in arrows and selecting music. The fourth part of the series will be devoted to programming in the score and health bar.

To be Continued........