ActionScript for Multiplayer Games and Virtual Worlds (One-Off)

The demand for multiplayer games and virtual worlds has exploded over the last few years. Not only do companies want them for site stickiness through social networking, but developers have tremendous interest in exploring this niche area. While developing multiplayer content is challenging, it isn’t as difficult as you might think, and it is fun and highly rewarding!

ActionScript for Multiplayer Games and Virtual Worlds explains fundamental multiplayer concepts from connecting to a server to real-time latency hiding techniques. In this book you’ll learn:

• How to connect users to achieve real-time interaction

• When to make decisions on the server versus the game client

• Time synchronization techniques

• How to use dead reckoning smoothing to hide network latency

• About tile-based games the isometric view

• Techniques for customizing and rendering avatars in a virtual world

In addition, you’ll learn everything that goes into building:

• A real-time multiplayer tank battle game

• A real-time multilayer cooperative game

• A virtual world

 

Jobe Makar is a founder of and Chief Game and Virtual World Architect for Electrotank (www.electrotank.com), a company that specializes in online multiplayer game and virtual world development technologies and services. He is a developer on the widely used EUP™ virtual world and MMOG platform (www.eupsite.com). Jobe has developed over 200 Flash games and 9 virtual worlds over the last 10 years and has authored several books on advanced Flash, ActionScript, and game programming.

  1.    Web Game Landscape

  2.    Connecting Users

  3.    Security: You vs. Everyone Else

  4.    Introducing ElectroServer

  5.    Chat

  6.    Where Decisions are Made

  7.    Real-time Movement

  8.    Lobby System

  9.    Real-time Tank Game

10.    Tile-based Games

11.    Cooperative Game Play

12.    Isometric View

13.    Avatars

14.    Virtual Worlds

15.    Buddies and Relationships

16.    User Homes