[question] What is the difference between shockwave and flash games?

[swcAndrew]

Hey guys,

I was asked by a friend today, what the difference between Flash games and Shockwave games are and I wasn't quite sure. I had thought shockwave was just a different way of exporting your game instead of a .swf. But what is the real difference between the two and is shockwave a completely different language or a just a different player. How do I use shockwave for my games? Any help is much appreciated.

Thanks,

Andrew.

[Nacrom]

Correct me if I'm wrong but Shockwave IS used for playing your games. Also you can play them directly by Testing it through Flash.
I think it might also be used for when you don't have Flash MX installed on another computer and you intend to play your games with a disc or CD on another computer.

[Nacrom]

I guess I'm part way wrong...

[token 3]

Macromedia Director is used to create shockwave content, and the language is Lingo - it's completely different to that of Flash, However, the latest version also uses JavaScript syntax - which Flash users will be more familiar with.

The major difference is that Director (SW) is generally used for offline applications, CD authoring etc. It's a lot more powerful than Flash (the processing power is much quicker), and there are many downloadable Xtras (plug-in that add more functionality to your app)

It's also capable of real-time 3D environments. Developers tend to use high-end 3D applications (such as 3D Studio Max) to create what's know as a .w3d file, these file can then be imported into the director environment and interaction added.

I mentioned Xtras before, have you ever heard of Havok? it's a physics engine / plug-in that is used in quite a few console games... well that's available for shockwave... so you can create quite sophisticated content.

Looking for what Director can do? Try www.shockwave3d.com

[swcAndrew]

Thats what I though it was. Thanks for clarifying that for me.

[Nacrom]

Oh well I tried...