Multiplayer web-based games are more popular than any others, and developing your own is an exciting challenge. But developing multiplayer games is a complex task. There are few resources that explain how to build multiplayer games from the ground up.

This comprehensive guide is packed with practical examples and insights into basic and fundamental knowledge for developing real-time multiplayer games in Flash.

This book starts with the essential ingredients to develop Flash games using Flash Builder 4 and AS3, followed by the basic Flash programming that you need to know in order to write any Flash game. You will learn the basic features that a developer must implement for any multiplayer game. The chapters discuss the challenges you will face when developing a multiplayer game. You will learn to leverage the PulseUI framework to quickly develop a multiplayer game along with all the required screen management. The simple, but powerful, Pulse API model required for multiplayer game development is thoroughly explained as well. As you go through these concepts, you will learn to implement them using code examples.

The last section takes you through four multiplayer game implementations of increasing complexity: first a simple turn-based TicTacToe, followed by a multi-player Jigsaw, a card-based racing game, and finally a complex space racing game.

A development guide for all your multiplayer games

What you will learn from this book

• Explore the essential functionalities of a Game Server
• Exchange information between the players using game state actions
• Customize parts of the game screens--login, new game screen, players, friends display, and more
• Prototype your multiplayer games rapidly using PulseUI
• Walk through the code that manages the graphics of a game
• Model complex game environments using XML game schema
• Design the schema needed to implement a game using game states
• Delve into the basics of screen management and the Pulse game state APIs
• Deploy the game design schema required for multiplayer games

Approach

The book provides all the essentials needed to implement a fully featured multiplayer game in Flash. It begins by dissecting a basic hello-world example providing its code and an insight into each feature that is required. Following the book is easy because of the excellent illustrations and working code samples. Four complete game implementations with increasing complexity are discussed; each example is presented with detailed design, implementation code, and screenshots.

Who this book is written for

This book discusses essentials for beginner to intermediate Flash Developers who have perhaps created a game or two in Flash and want to take the next step, and create something that can be played by two or more players over the internet. This book will appeal to professional and amateur developers with an inclination to build synchronous multiplayer games with Flash. No prior knowledge of networking or server-side programming is required.