[Disc] What tutorial would you like to see the most? [Help with College Course]

Hey there forum users,

I'm preparing for another college year studying Interactive Media, which Flash design is a major part of. I want to try and prepare for the projects and assignments given to us by asking a few questions and getting to understand the Flash community a lot better and so I can represent said community more accurately in my work.

I know that this year we'll have to eventually produce some tutorial style videos in order to demonstrate our knowledge and skills with Flash software and techniques. With that in mind, could I kindly ask the forum to answer some questions for me so I can produce a video that is tailored to meet with what the community demands? I'd like to thank everyone who helps me out with this.

1. Why did you decide to learn Flash? Is there a specific reason?

2. In Flash, would you like to make games, applications or website graphics? etc. What do you want to make the most?

3. If you found a tutorial that teaches you how to code in Flash by showing you how to make something (like a game, app, web banner, etc.) what would you like the tutorial to teach how to make?

4. Are there any features you would like to learn how to make? for example, inventory systems in games, etc.

5. Would it encourage you to look at a tutorial if it taught you how to make something in both ActionScript 2.0 and 3.0? (to cover both beginner and more advanced skill levels).

6. Would it encourage you to look at a tutorial if it showed you how to use both older and modern Flash software (like Flash 8 and Flash Professional, for example)? What kind of software would you personally like to see a tutorial video to use?

7. What would you put in your perfect tutorial? for example, would you like to have things explained simply, or in a more technical way? Would you like short tutorials? what is your ideal length for a tutorial? what kind of things would keep you interested n the tutorial, etc.

Thanks again! All answers will be a big help.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SlimJimmi

4. Are there any features you would like to learn how to make? for example, inventory systems in games, etc.

one of these that can be controlled by the keyboard would be amazing to learn to do

1. Why did you decide to learn Flash? Is there a specific reason?

Ever since I was young, I wanted to make computer games but I had no idea how to. My older brothers used to mention this software called Flash for making games, and I became instantaneously interested. After finally getting the program, I started with basic animation, copied and pasted basic coding to jump between frames, and have ever since slowly built my skills.

2. In Flash, would you like to make games, applications or website graphics? etc. What do you want to make the most?

I would mostly like to make games, but at times the urge to make cool innovative applications, or just some new features I would like to try to code, can also be very exciting to try to make! For example, when I first got the idea to make my own Operative System in Flash, I was so excited and wanted to add so many different things and stuff :) Websites on the other hand are not really my thing in Flash, I would much rather use HTML and CSS there, but during one period it did appeal to me as well and I wanted to make cool websites with mindblowing transitions, button effects and web design.

3. If you found a tutorial that teaches you how to code in Flash by showing you how to make something (like a game, app, web banner, etc.) what would you like the tutorial to teach how to make?

If there is something specific I need to figure out how is done, then that part would of the tutorial would interest me the most as I would like to know how they did it and how I can do it as well. Other than that, usually when looking at a tutorial I'm mostly interested in the specific thing I want to accomplish, not the whole bunch of code added around it just to make the program fully functional and to add unnecessary decorations. For instance, recently I've wanted to know how to detect when two bitmap images collide with each other, and I found this good tutorial with the code I needed, but apart from the one line of code which I was interested in, it presented me with 30 lines or so of other coding which instantly intimidated me and made me click away from the tutorial, because obviously I didn't want to read all the coding just to understand 1 line which I was looking for. However, I later returned and actually took the liberty of reading the tutorial and finally found my code, after wasting many minutes of trying to understand unnecessary codes. Another thing which is important when it comes to a tutorial, is the way it is presented. Obviously you don't want to shove a huge wall of coding on the user and expecting him to understand it all or even bother to read it. The colors need to be appealing and fitting, the font size needs to be medium, the font itself needs to look good and easy to read, and there needs to be a lot of space in the tutorial to make it easy to read, and it also needs to be organized into sections and small amount of text to explain things.

4. Are there any features you would like to learn how to make? for example, inventory systems in games, etc.

Not that I can think of right now, but perhaps how to make physics in games, or even 3D games in Flash?

5. Would it encourage you to look at a tutorial if it taught you how to make something in both ActionScript 2.0 and 3.0? (to cover both beginner and more advanced skill levels).

I'm not sure, but I would appreciate it if you included AS2 as well since it's still in use today, as I would love to have an AS2 version of a tutorial I'm interested in.

6. Would it encourage you to look at a tutorial if it showed you how to use both older and modern Flash software (like Flash 8 and Flash Professional, for example)? What kind of software would you personally like to see a tutorial video to use?

All the versions are basically the same, the only thing that varies is the user interface and new tools added. However, personally I would prefer the version I use, which is Flash 8, but if the tutorial is in a newer version then I wouldn't mind as long as the features used in the video are accessible in my version as well.

7. What would you put in your perfect tutorial? for example, would you like to have things explained simply, or in a more technical way? Would you like short tutorials? what is your ideal length for a tutorial? what kind of things would keep you interested n the tutorial, etc.

I would to have things explained simply, and for the tutorial to jump right into the coding it's actually supposed to teach the reader, as many of us are quite impatient. Then the tutorial could explain it briefly, and also show a few examples to let us know how it works. If then someone wants to know more about it, another section can be added with technical details, and the styling, or rather how the tutorial is presented, the page's layout itself, are very important factors which decide whether someone wants to read a tutorial or not.

I hope this helps :)